Deuteronomy 12

1 And these [are] the ordinances and the judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you for an inheritance, all the days which ye live upon the land.

“These [are] the statutes and the judgments which you observe to do in the land which YHWH, God of your fathers, has given to you to possess it, all the days that you are living on the ground.

2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places in which they served their gods, whose [land] ye inherit, on the high mountains and on the hills, and under the thick tree.

You utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you are dispossessing served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the heights, and under every green tree;

3 And ye shall destroy their altars, and break in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their groves, and ye shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods, and ye shall abolish their name out of that place.

and you have broken down their altars, and shattered their standing pillars, and you burn their Asherim with fire, and you cut down carved images of their gods, and have destroyed their name out of that place.

4 Ye shall not do so to the Lord your God.

You do not do so to your God YHWH;

5 But in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose in one of your cities to name his name there, and to be called upon, ye shall even seek [him] out and go thither.

rather—that you seek after the place which your God YHWH chooses out of all your tribes to put His Name there, for His Dwelling Place, and you have entered there,

6 And ye shall carry thither your whole-burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your first-fruits, and your vowed-offerings, and your freewill-offerings, and your offerings of thanksgiving, the first-born of your herds, and of your flocks.

and have brought in there your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the raised-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock;

7 And ye shall eat there before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all the things on which ye shall lay your hand, ye and your houses, as the Lord your God has blessed you.

and you have eaten there before your God YHWH, and have rejoiced in every putting forth of your hand, you and your households, with which your God YHWH has blessed you.

8 Ye shall not do altogether as we do here to-day, every man that which is pleasing in his own sight.

You do not do according to all that we are doing here today—each [doing] anything that is right in his own eyes—

9 For hitherto ye have not arrived at the rest and the inheritance, which the Lord our God gives you.

for until now you have not come to the rest and to the inheritance which your God YHWH is giving to you.

10 And ye shall go over Jordan, and shall dwell in the land, which the Lord our God takes as an inheritance for you; and he shall give you rest from all your enemies round about, and ye shall dwell safely.

When you have passed over the Jordan, and have dwelt in the land which your God YHWH is causing you to inherit, and He has given rest to you from all your surrounding enemies, and you have dwelt confidently,

11 And there shall be a place which the Lord thy God shall choose for his name to be called there, thither shall ye bring all things that I order you to-day; your whole-burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the first-fruits of your hands, and every choice gift of yours, whatsoever ye shall vow to the Lord your God.

then it has been, the place on which your God YHWH fixes to cause His Name to dwell there, there you bring in all that which I am commanding you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the raised-offering of your hand, and all the choice of your vows which you vow to YHWH.

12 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 that is at your gates; because he has no portion or inheritance with you.

And you have rejoiced before your God YHWH, you, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your handmaids, and the Levite who [is] within your gates, for he has no part and inheritance with you.

13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy whole-burnt-offerings in any place which thou shalt see;

Take heed to yourself lest you cause your burnt-offerings to ascend in any place which you see;

14 save in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, in one of thy tribes, there shall ye offer your whole-burnt-offerings, and there shalt thou do all things whatsoever I charge thee this day.

rather—that in the place which YHWH chooses in one of your tribes, there you cause your burnt-offerings to ascend, and there you do all that which I am commanding you.

15 But thou shalt kill according to all thy desire, and shalt eat flesh according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he has given thee in every city; the unclean that is within thee and the clean shall eat it on equal terms, as the doe or the stag.

Nevertheless, you slaughter anything of the desire of your soul, and have eaten [its] flesh according to the blessing of your God YHWH which He has given to you in all your gates; the unclean and the clean eat it, as [if] the roe and as [if] the deer.

16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it out on the ground as water.

Only, you do not eat the blood—you pour it on the earth as water;

17 Thou shalt not be able to eat in thy cities the tithe of thy corn, and of thy wine, and of thine oil, the first-born of thine herd and of thy flock, and all [your] vows as many as ye shall have vowed, and your thank-offerings, and the first-fruits of thine hands.

you are not able to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, and of your new wine, and your oil, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock, and any of your vows which you vow, and your free-will offerings, and a raised-offering of your hand;

18 But before the Lord thy God thou shalt eat it, in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the stranger that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, on whatsoever thou shalt lay thine hand.

but you eat it before your God YHWH in the place which your God YHWH fixes on, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your handmaid, and the Levite who [is] within your gates, and you have rejoiced before your God YHWH in every putting forth of your hand;

19 Take heed to thyself that thou do not desert the Levite all the time that thou livest upon the earth.

take heed to yourself lest you forsake the Levite [for] all your days on your ground.

20 And if the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy borders, as he said to thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh; if thy soul should desire to eat flesh, thou shalt eat flesh according to all the desire of thy soul.

When your God YHWH enlarges your border, as He has spoken to you, and you have said, Let me eat flesh—for your soul desires to eat flesh—you eat flesh of all the desire of your soul.

21 And if the place be far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself, that his name be called upon it, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which God shall have given thee, even as I commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy cities according to the desire of thy soul.

When the place is far from you [in] which your God YHWH chooses to put His Name there, then you have sacrificed from your herd and from your flock which YHWH has given to you, as I have commanded you, and have eaten within your gates, of all the desire of your soul;

22 As the doe and the stag are eaten, so shalt thou eat it; the unclean in thee and the clean shall eat it in like manner.

only, as the roe and the deer is eaten, so do you eat it; the unclean and the clean alike eat it.

23 Take diligent heed that thou eat no blood, for blood [is] the life of it; the life shall not be eaten with the flesh.

Only, be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood [is] the life, and you do not eat the life with the flesh;

24 Ye shall not eat [it]; ye shall pour it out on the ground as water.

you do not eat it—you pour it on the earth as water;

25 Thou shalt not eat it, that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee, if thou shalt do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord thy God.

you do not eat it, in order that it may be well with you and with your sons after you when you do that which [is] right in the eyes of YHWH.

26 But thou shalt take thy holy things, if thou hast any, and thy vowed-offerings, and come to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to have his name named upon it.

Only, your holy things which you have, and your vows, you take up, and have gone to the place which YHWH chooses,

27 And thou shalt sacrifice thy whole-burnt-offerings, thou shalt offer the flesh upon the altar of the Lord thy God; but the blood of thy sacrifices thou shalt pour out at the foot of the altar of the Lord thy God, but the flesh thou shalt eat.

and you have made your burnt-offerings—the flesh and the blood—on the altar of your God YHWH; and the blood of your sacrifices is poured out by the altar of your God YHWH, and you eat the flesh.

28 Beware and hearken, and thou shalt do all the commands which I charge thee, that it may be well with thee and with thy sons for ever, if thou shalt do that which is pleasing and good before the Lord thy God.

Observe, and you have obeyed all these words which I am commanding you, in order that it may be well with you and with your sons after you for all time, when you do that which [is] good and right in the eyes of your God YHWH.

29 And if the Lord thy God shall utterly destroy the nations, to whom thou goest in thither to inherit their land, from before thee, and thou shalt inherit it, and dwell in their land;

When your God YHWH cuts off the nations—to where you are going in to possess them—from your presence, and you have possessed them, and have dwelt in their land—

30 take heed to thyself that thou seek not to follow them after they are destroyed before thee, saying, How do these nations act towards their gods? I will do likewise.

take heed to yourself lest you are ensnared after them, after their being destroyed out of your presence, and lest you inquire about their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods, that I also do so?

31 Thou shalt not do so to thy God; for they have sacrificed to their gods the abominations of the Lord which he hates, for they burn their sons and their daughters in fire to their gods.

You do not do so to your God YHWH; for every abomination that YHWH has hated they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters with fire for their gods.

32 Every word that I command you this day, it shalt thou observe to do: thou shalt not add to it, nor diminish from it.

The whole thing which I am commanding you, you observe to do it; you do not add to it, nor diminish from it.”