Deuteronomy 12

1 These are the ordinances and the lawes, which ye shall obserue and doe in the lande (which the Lord God of thy fathers giueth thee to possesse it) as long as yee liue vpon the earth.

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.

2 Yee shall vtterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possesse, serued their gods vpon the hie mountaines and vpon the hilles, and vnder euery greene tree.

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.

3 Also ye shall ouerthrowe their altars, and breake downe their pillars, and burne their groues with fire: and ye shall hew downe ye grauen images of their gods, and abolish their names out of that place.

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.

4 Ye shall not do so vnto ye Lord your God,

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

5 But ye shall seeke the place which the Lord your God shall chose out of all your tribes, to put his Name there, and there to dwell, and thither thou shalt come,

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.

6 And ye shall bring thither your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the offring of your hands, and your vowes, and your free offrings, and the first borne of your kine and of your sheepe.

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.

7 And there ye shall eate before the Lord your God, and ye shall reioyce in all that yee put your hand vnto, both ye, and your housholdes, because the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.

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.

8 Ye shall not doe after all these things that we doe here this day: that is, euery man whatsoeuer seemeth him good in his owne eyes.

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

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

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

10 But when ye goe ouer Iorden, and dwell in ye land, which the Lord your God hath giuen you to inherit, and when he hath giue you rest from al your enemies round about, and yee dwel in safetie,

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,

11 When there shalbe a place which the Lord your God shall chose, to cause his name to dwell there, thither shall yee bring all that I commaund you: your burnt offrings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the offring of your hands, and all your speciall vowes which ye vowe vnto the Lord:

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.

12 And ye shall reioyce before the Lord your God, yee, and your sonnes and your daughters, and your seruaunts, and your maidens, and the Leuite that is within your gates: for hee hath no part nor inheritance with you.

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.

13 Take heede that thou offer not thy burnt offrings in euery place that thou seest:

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

14 But in ye place which the Lord shall chose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offrings, and there thou shalt doe all that I commaund thee.

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.

15 Notwithstanding thou maiest kill and eate flesh in all thy gates, whatsoeuer thine heart desireth, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath giuen thee: both the vncleane and the cleane may eate thereof, as of the roe bucke, and of the hart.

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,

16 Onely ye shall not eat the blood, but powre it vpon the earth as water.

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

17 Thou maist nor eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corne, nor of thy wine, nor of thine oyle, nor the first borne of thy kine, nor of thy sheep, neither any of thy vowes which thou vowest, nor thy free offerings, nor the offering of thine hands,

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.

18 But thou shalt eate it before the Lord thy God, in the place which the Lord thy God shall chuse, thou, and thy sonne, and thy daughter, and thy seruat, and thy maid, and the Leuite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt reioyce before the Lord thy God, in all that thou puttest thine hand to.

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,

19 Beware, that thou forsake not the Leuite, as long as thou liuest vpon the earth.

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

20 When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as hee hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I wil eate flesh, (because thine heart longeth to eate flesh) thou maiest eate flesh, whatsoeuer thine heart desireth.

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.

21 If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put his Name there, be farre from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy bullockes, and of thy sheepe which the Lord hath giuen thee, as I haue commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates, whatsoeuer thine heart desireth.

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.

22 Euen as the roe bucke, and the hart is eaten, so shalt thou eat them. both the vncleane and the cleane shall eate of them alike.

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

23 Onely bee sure that thou eate not the blood: for the blood is the life, and thou maiest not eate the life with the flesh.

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

24 Therefore thou shalt not eat it, but powre it vpon the earth as water.

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

25 Thou shalt not eat it, that it may go well with thee; and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt doe that which is right in the sight of the Lord:

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.

26 But thine holy things which thou hast, and thy vowes thou shalt take vp, and come vnto the place which the Lord shall chuse.

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

27 And thou shalt make thy burnt offerings of the flesh, and of the blood vpon the altar of the Lord thy God, and the blood of thine offerings shall bee powred vpon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eate the flesh.

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.

28 Take heede, and heare all these woordes which I commaund thee, that it may goe well with thee, and with thy children after thee for euer, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.

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.

29 When the Lord thy God shall destroy the nations before thee, whither thou goest to possesse them, and thou shalt possesse them and dwell in their lande,

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,

30 Beware, lest thou be taken in a snare after them, after that they be destroied before thee, and lest thou aske after their gods, saying, Howe did these nations serue their gods, that I may doe so likewise?

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.”

31 Thou shalt not doe so vnto the Lord thy God: for al abomination, which the Lord hateth, haue they done vnto their gods: for they haue burned both their sonnes and their daughters with fire to their gods.

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.

32 Therefore whatsoeuer I command you, take heede you doe it: thou shalt put nothing thereto, nor take ought therefrom.

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