Deuteronomy 12

1 These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to follow all the days you live in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess.

These are the statutes and ordinances, which ye shall observe to do, in the land which the Lord, the God of thy fathers, giveth unto thee to possess it, and all the days that ye live upon the earth.

2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.

Ye shall utterly destroy all the places whereon the nations which ye are about to drive out served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree;

3 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.

And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their statues, and their groves shall ye burn with fire; and the graven images of their gods shall ye hew down; and ye shall destroy their name out of the same place.

4 You shall not worship the LORD your God in this way.

Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God;

5 Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.

But unto the place which the Lord your God may choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye repair, and thither shalt thou come;

6 To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

And ye shall bring thither your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the first-born of your herds and of your flocks;

7 There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.

And ye shall eat there before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice with all the acquisition of your hand, ye and your households, wherewith the Lord thy God may have blessed thee.

8 You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.

Ye shall not do after all the manner that we do here this day, every one whatsoever is right in his own eyes.

9 For you have not yet come to the resting place and the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you.

For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you dwell securely,

But ye will go over the Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God causeth you to inherit, and he will give you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye may dwell in safety.

11 then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.

And then shall it be, that the place which the Lord your God will choose to cause his name to dwell there, —[even] thither shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye may vow unto the Lord;

12 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.

And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; because he hath not any portion nor inheritance with you.

13 Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see;

Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place which thou mayest see;

14 you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you.

But in the place which the Lord will choose in one of thy tribes, there shalt thou offer thy burnt-offerings, and there shalt thou do all that I command thee.

15 But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Both the ceremonially clean and unclean may eat it as they would a gazelle or deer,

Notwithstanding, according to all the longing of thy soul, mayest thou kill and eat flesh, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee, in all thy gates: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.

16 but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.

Only the blood shall ye not eat: upon the earth shall ye pour it out as water.

17 Within your gates you must not eat the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, the firstborn of your herds or flocks, any of the offerings that you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.

Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, nor the first-born of thy herds or of thy flocks, nor any of thy vows which thou mayest vow, nor thy freewill-offerings, and the heave-offering of thy hand;

18 Instead, you must eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in all you do,

But before the Lord thy God must thou eat them in the place which the Lord thy God may choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite who is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God with all the acquisition of thy hand.

19 and be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.

Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon thy land.

20 When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want.

When the Lord thy God will enlarge thy border, as he hath spoken unto thee, and thou dost say, I wish to eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh: then mayest thou, according to all the longing of thy soul, eat flesh.

21 If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.

If the place which the Lord thy God may choose to put his name there be too far for thee: then mayest thou kill of thy herds and of thy flocks, which the Lord hath given thee, as I have commanded thee; and thou shalt eat in thy gates according to all the longing of thy soul.

22 Indeed, you may eat it as you would eat a gazelle or deer; both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.

But as the roebuck and the hart are eaten, so shalt thou eat the same: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof together.

23 Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.

Only be firm so as not to eat the blood; for the blood is the life; and thou shalt not eat the life with the flesh.

24 You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.

Thou shalt not eat it: upon the earth shalt thou pour it out like water.

25 Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

Thou shalt not eat it; in order that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou wilt do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

26 But you are to take your holy things and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose.

Nevertheless thy holy things which thou mayest have, and thy vows, shalt thou take, and go unto the place which the Lord may choose:

27 Present the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your other sacrifices must be poured out beside the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat.

And thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the Lord thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and the flesh shalt thou eat.

28 Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

Observe and hear all these words which I command thee; in order that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou wilt do what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord thy God.

29 When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations you are entering to dispossess, and you drive them out and live in their land,

When the Lord thy God will cut off the nations, whither thou goest to drive them out from before thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land:

30 be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”

Then take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after they have been destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.

31 You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.

Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God; for every abomination to the Lord, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burnt in the fire to their gods.

32 See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.

What thing soever I command you, even that shall ye observe to do: thou shalt not add thereto, and thou shalt not diminish therefrom.