Deuteronomy 12
12
The Lord’s Chosen Place of Worship
1 # ch. 6:1 “These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, #ch. 4:10all the days that you live on the earth. 2#ch. 7:5; Ex. 34:13 You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, #1 Kgs. 14:23; 2 Kgs. 16:4; 17:10; Jer. 3:6on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces #See ch. 16:22 their pillars and burn their #See ch. 16:21 Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and #[Zeph. 1:4; Zech. 13:2]destroy their name out of that place. 4#ver. 31You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. 5But you shall seek #ch. 16:2; 26:2; 1 Kgs. 8:29; 2 Chr. 7:12; [Josh. 18:1]the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation#12:5 Or name as its habitation there. There you shall go, 6and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, #ch. 14:22, 23; 15:19, 20 your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the #ch. 14:23firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7And #ch. 14:23, 26; 15:20 there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and #ch. 14:26; 16:11, 14, 15; 26:11; 27:7; 28:8; Lev. 23:40you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
8“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, #Judg. 17:6; 21:25everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, 9for you have not as yet come to #1 Kgs. 8:56; Ps. 95:11; [Heb. 4:8]the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you. 10But when #See ch. 11:31 you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, #ch. 25:19; Josh. 23:1; [2 Sam. 7:1; 1 Kgs. 5:4]and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, 11then to #[See ver. 5 above] the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, #[See ver. 6 above]your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. 12And #[See ver. 7 above] you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your towns, since #See Num. 18:20he has no portion or inheritance with you. 13#Lev. 17:3, 4; [1 Kgs. 12:28, 33]Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, 14but at #[See ver. 5 above]the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.
15“However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, as much as you desire, #ch. 16:17 according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. #ch. 14:5; 15:22The unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and as of the deer. 16#See Lev. 3:17Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 17You may not eat within your towns #[See ver. 6 above]the tithe of your grain or of your wine or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vow offerings that you vow, or your freewill offerings or the contribution that you present, 18but #[See ver. 7 above] you shall eat them before the Lord your God in #[See ver. 5 above] the place that the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your towns. And #[See ver. 7 above]you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake. 19#ch. 14:27; [2 Chr. 31:4]Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.
20“When the Lord your God #ch. 19:8 enlarges your territory, #ch. 11:24; 19:8, 9; Gen. 28:14; Ex. 34:24as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you crave meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire. 21If #See ver. 5 the place that the Lord your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, #ver. 15then you may kill any of your herd or your flock, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. 22Just #ch. 14:5; 15:22as the gazelle or the deer is eaten, so you may eat of it. #ch. 14:5; 15:22The unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23#See Lev. 3:17 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, #See Gen. 9:4for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 25You shall not eat it, #ch. 4:40; [Eccles. 8:12; Isa. 3:10] that all may go well with you and with your children after you, #ch. 6:18; 13:18; Ex. 15:26; 1 Kgs. 11:38when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. 26But the #[Num. 5:9, 10; 18:19] holy things that are due from you, and #[1 Sam. 1:21] your vow offerings, you shall take, and you shall go to #[See ver. 21 above]the place that the Lord will choose, 27and #Lev. 1:5, 9, 13; 17:11offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but the flesh you may eat. 28Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, #[See ver. 25 above]that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
Warning Against Idolatry
29“When #ch. 19:1; Josh. 23:4, 5the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30take care #ch. 7:16that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ 31#ver. 4; Lev. 18:3, 26, 30; [2 Kgs. 17:15] You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every #ch. 7:25; 17:1; 18:12; 23:18; 25:16; 27:15 abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for #2 Kgs. 17:31; Jer. 7:31; 19:5they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 # 12:32 Ch 13:1 in Hebrew “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. #See ch. 4:2You shall not add to it or take from it.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Deuteronomy 12
12
The One Place of Worship
1#1Ki 8:40These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. 2#2Ki 16:4; Dt 7:5You must utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you will possess served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every green tree. 3#Nu 33:52; Jdg 2:2And you shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their Asherah poles#Wooden symbols of a female deity. with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods, and eliminate their names out of that place.
4#Lev 20:23; Dt 16:21–22You shall not act this way toward the Lord your God. 5#2Ch 7:12; Dt 12:11But you must seek only the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to establish His name, and there you must go. 6#Dt 15:19–20There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the offerings of your hand, your vows, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and of your flocks. 7#Dt 12:18; 14:26; Lev 23:40There you must eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, where the Lord your God has blessed you.
8#Jdg 17:6; 21:25You are not to do all the things that we are doing here today, where every man does whatever is right in his own eyes. 9#Dt 25:19; 1Ki 8:56For you have not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God has given you. 10#Dt 11:31But when you cross the Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God has given you to inherit, and when He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, 11#Dt 12:5; 15:20then there will be a place which the Lord your God will choose to cause His name to dwell. There you must bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, the offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to the Lord. 12#Dt 12:7; 10:9You will rejoice before the Lord your God, you, your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion or inheritance with you. 13Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see. 14#Dt 12:5; 12:11Rather, in the place which the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you must offer your burnt offerings, and there you must do all that I command you.
15#Dt 14:5Notwithstanding, you may kill and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and of the deer, 16#Ge 9:4; Dt 15:23only you must not eat the blood. You shall pour it on the ground like water. 17#Dt 12:6; 26:14You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, your wine, your oil, the firstborn of your herds or of your flock, any of your vows which you vow, your freewill offerings, or the offering of your hand. 18#Dt 12:7; 14:23; 12:5Rather you must eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God will choose—you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, and the Levite that is within your gates—and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake to do. 19Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live on the earth.
20#Dt 19:8; 11:24; Ge 28:14When the Lord your God shall enlarge your border as He has promised you, and you say, “I will eat meat,” because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat as much meat as your heart desires. 21#Dt 12:5If the place which the Lord your God has chosen to put His name is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you must eat in your gates whatever your heart desires. 22Even as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you shall eat them. The unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. 23#Ge 9:4; Lev 17:11Only be sure that you do not eat the blood. For the blood is the life, and you may not eat the life with the meat. 24You must not eat it. You must pour it on the ground like water. 25#Ex 15:26; Dt 4:40You must not eat it, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.
26#Nu 5:9–10; 18:19You shall take only your holy things which you have, along with your vows, and go to the place which the Lord shall choose. 27#Lev 1:9; 1:13You must offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God, and the blood of your sacrifices will be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall eat the meat. 28Observe and hear all these words which I command you, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
29#Jos 23:4; Dt 19:1When the Lord your God shall cut off the nations from before you, where you go to possess them, and you dispossess them, and dwell in their land, 30#Dt 7:16take heed to yourself so that you are not ensnared by following them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, “How did these nations serve their gods? Even so I will do likewise.” 31#Jer 32:35; Lev 18:3You shall not do so to the Lord your God, for every abomination to the Lord, which He hates, they have done to their gods. They have even burned their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
32#Dt 4:2; Jos 1:7Whatever I command you, be careful to do it. You shall not add to it or take away from it.
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