Deuteronomy 12
12
1‘These [are] the statutes and the judgments which ye observe to do in the land which Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath given to thee to possess it, all the days that ye are living on the ground:
2ye do utterly destroy all the places where the nations which ye are dispossessing served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the heights, and under every green tree;
3and ye have broken down their altars, and shivered their standing pillars, and their shrines ye burn with fire, and graven images of their gods ye cut down, and have destroyed their name out of that place.
4‘Ye do not do so to Jehovah your God;
5but unto the place which Jehovah your God doth choose out of all your tribes to put His name there, to His tabernacle ye seek, and thou hast entered thither,
6and hast brought in thither your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock;
7and ye have eaten there before Jehovah your God, and have rejoiced in every putting forth of your hand, ye and your households, with which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.
8‘Ye do not do according to all that we are doing here to-day, each anything that is right in his own eyes,
9for ye have not come in hitherto unto the rest, and unto the inheritance, which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee;
10and ye have passed over the Jordan, and have dwelt in the land which Jehovah your God is causing you to inherit, and He hath given rest to you from all your enemies round about, and ye have dwelt confidently:
11‘And it hath been, the place on which Jehovah your God doth fix to cause His name to tabernacle there, thither ye bring in all that which I am commanding you, your burntofferings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all the choice of your vows which ye vow to Jehovah;
12and ye have rejoiced before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your handmaids, and the Levite who [is] within your gates, for he hath no part and inheritance with you.
13‘Take heed to thee, lest thou cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend in any place which thou seest,
14except in the place which Jehovah doth choose in one of thy tribes, there thou dost cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend, and there thou dost do all that which I am commanding thee.
15‘Only, with all the desire of thy soul thou dost sacrifice, and hast eaten flesh according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which He hath given to thee, in all thy gates; the unclean and the clean do eat it, as of the roe, and as of the hart.
16‘Only, the blood ye do not eat — on the earth thou dost pour it as water;
17thou art not able to eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, and of thy new wine, and thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock, and any of thy vows which thou vowest, and thy free-will offerings, and heave-offering of thy hand;
18but before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth fix on, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who [is] within thy gates, and thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God in every putting forth of thy hand;
19take heed to thee lest thou forsake the Levite all thy days on thy ground.
20‘When Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath spoken to thee, and thou hast said, Let me eat flesh — for thy soul desireth to eat flesh — of all the desire of thy soul thou dost eat flesh.
21‘When the place is far from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, then thou hast sacrificed of thy herd and of thy flock which Jehovah hath given to thee, as I have commanded thee, and hast eaten within thy gates, of all the desire of thy soul;
22only, as the roe and the hart is eaten, so dost thou eat it; the unclean and the clean doth alike eat it.
23‘Only, be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood [is] the life, and thou dost not eat the life with the flesh;
24thou dost not eat it, on the earth thou dost pour it as water;
25thou dost not eat it, in order that it may be well with thee, and with thy sons after thee, when thou dost that which [is] right in the eyes of Jehovah.
26‘Only, thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou dost take up, and hast gone in unto the place which Jehovah doth choose,
27and thou hast made thy burnt-offerings — the flesh and the blood — on the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices is poured out by the altar of Jehovah thy God, and the flesh thou dost eat.
28Observe, and thou hast obeyed all these words which I am commanding thee, in order that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee — to the age, when thou dost that which [is] good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.
29‘When Jehovah thy God doth cut off the nations — whither thou art going in to possess them — from thy presence, and thou hast possessed them, and hast dwelt in their land —
30take heed to thee, lest thou be snared after them, after their being destroyed out of thy presence, and lest thou enquire about their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods, and I do so — even I?
31‘Thou dost not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every abomination of Jehovah which He is hating they have done to their gods, for even their sons and their daughters they burn with fire to their gods.
32The whole thing which I am commanding you — it ye observe to do; thou dost not add unto it, nor diminish from it.
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Deuteronomy 12: YLT98
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Deuteronomy 12
12
Regulations and the case laws:
Worship at the location the LORD selects
1These are the regulations and the case laws that you must carefully keep in the fertile land the LORD, your ancestors’ God, has given to you to possess for as long as you live on that land:
2You must completely destroy every place where the nations that you are displacing worshipped their gods—whether on high mountains or hills or under leafy green trees. 3Rip down their altars and shatter their sacred stones. Burn their sacred poles#12.3 Heb asherim, perhaps objects devoted to the goddess Asherah with fire. Hack their gods’ idols into pieces. Wipe out their names from that place.
4Don’t act like they did toward the LORD your God!
5Instead, you must search for the location the LORD your God will select from all your tribes to put his name there, as his residence, and you must go there. 6You must bring your entirely burned offerings, your sacrifices, your tenth-part gifts, your contributions,#12.6 Or the contribution of your hands; also in 12:11, 17 your payments for solemn promises, your spontaneous gifts, and the oldest offspring of your herds and flocks to that place. 7You will have a feast there, each of you and your families, in the LORD your God’s presence, and you will celebrate all you have done because the LORD your God has blessed you. 8Don’t act like we’ve been acting here lately—everyone doing what seems right to them— 9because up to this point you haven’t yet reached the place of rest or the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you. 10But you are about to cross the Jordan River and will settle in the land the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance. Then he will give you rest from all your enemies on every side so that you live safely and securely. 11At that point, you must bring all that I am commanding you, your entirely burned offerings, your sacrifices, your tenth-part gifts, your contributions, and all your best payments that you solemnly promised to the LORD, to the location the LORD your God selects for his name to reside. 12Then you will rejoice in the LORD your God’s presence: each of you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites who dwell in your cities because they have no designated inheritance.
13But watch yourself! Make sure you don’t offer up your entirely burned offerings in just any place you see. 14No, only at the location the LORD selects from one of your tribal areas—that’s where you must offer up your entirely burned offerings and that’s where you must perform everything I’m telling you. 15However, whenever you wish, you may slaughter and eat meat, as the LORD your God sees fit to bless you with such in your cities. People who are polluted and people who are purified can join in the feast, as they would if they were eating gazelle or deer. 16But you must not consume any of the animals’ blood. Pour it out on the ground, just like water.
17Within your cities you are not allowed to eat any of the following: your tenth-part gifts of grain, wine, and oil; the oldest offspring of your herds and flocks; any of the payments you have solemnly promised; your spontaneous gifts or your contributions. 18Only in the presence of the LORD your God, at the location the LORD your God selects, can you eat these things—that holds true for you, your son and daughter, your male and female servant, and the Levite who lives in your city. Then celebrate all you have done in the LORD your God’s presence. 19But watch yourself: as long as you are on the land, don’t forget about the Levites.
20Once the LORD your God has enlarged your territory, as he promised you, and you think to yourself, I’d like to eat some meat (because you have the desire to do so), feel free to do so whenever you want. 21But if the location that the LORD your God will choose to put his name is far away from where you live, then slaughter an animal from your herd or flock that the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you, and eat it in your cities whenever you wish. 22But be sure to eat it as if it were gazelle or deer. People who are polluted and people who are purified can feast on it together.
23Furthermore, make sure that you don’t consume any of the blood, because blood is life. You must not consume the life along with the meat. 24You must not consume any of it. Pour it out on the ground, just like water. 25You must not consume any of it so that things go well for you and for your children later because you did what was right in the LORD’s eyes.
26Note that you must bring your sacred offerings and your payments for solemn promises to the location the LORD selects, 27offering up your entirely burned sacrifices—both meat and blood—on the LORD your God’s altar. The blood from your sacrifices must be poured out on the LORD your God’s altar, but you are allowed to eat the meat. 28Observe and obey all these words that I am commanding you so that things always go well for you and your children later because you did what was good and right in the LORD your God’s eyes.
29Once the LORD your God has removed from before you all the nations that you are entering and taking possession of, and you have displaced them and are living in their land, 30then watch yourself! Don’t be trapped by following their practices after they’ve been wiped out before you. Don’t go investigating their gods, thinking, How did these nations worship their gods? I want to do the very same thing!
31Don’t act like they did toward the LORD your God because they did things for their gods that are detestable to the LORD, which he hates. They even burned their own sons and daughters with fire for their gods!
32 # 12.32 13:1 in Heb Everything I’m commanding you, you must do it with utmost care! Don’t add anything to it or take anything away from it.
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