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 precepts and judgments, that you must do in the land, which the Lord the God of thy fathers will give thee, to possess it all the days that thou shalt walk upon the earth.

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 all the places in which the nations, that you shall possess, worshipped their gods upon high mountains, and hills, and under every shady 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.

Overthrow their altars, and break down their statues, burn their groves with fire, and break their idols in pieces: destroy their names out of those places.

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

You shall not do so to the Lord your God:

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,

But you shall come to the place, which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, and to dwell in it:

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.

And you shall offer in that place your holocausts and victims, the tithes and firstfruits of your hands and your vows and gifts, the firstborn of your herds and your sheep.

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.

And you shall eat there in the sight of the Lord your God: and you shall rejoice in all things, whereunto you shall put your hand, you and your houses wherein the Lord your God hath 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 shall not do there the things we do here this day, every man that which seemeth good to himself.

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

For until this present time you are not come to refit, and to the possession, which the Lord your God will give 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,

You shall pass over the Jordan, and shall dwell in the land which the Lord your God will give you, that you may have rest from all enemies round about: and may dwell without any fear,

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:

In the place, which the Lord your God shall choose, that his name may be therein. Thither shall you bring all the things that I command you, holocausts, and victims, and tithes, and the firstfruits of your hands: and whatsoever is the choicest in the gifts which you shall 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.

There shall you feast before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your menservants and maid-servants, and the Levite that dwelleth in your cities. For he hath no other part and possession among you.

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

Beware lest thou offer thy holocausts in every place that thou shalt 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.

But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes shalt thou offer sacrifices. and shalt do all that I command thee.

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 if thou desirest to eat, and the eating of flesh delight thee, kill, and eat according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he hath given thee, in thy cities: whether it be unclean, that is to say, having blemish or defect: or clean, that is to say, sound and without blemish, such as may be offered, as the roe, and the hart, shalt thou eat it:

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

Only the blood thou shalt not eat, but thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as 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,

Thou mayst not eat in thy towns the tithes of thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil, the firstborn of thy herds and thy cattle, nor any thing that thou vowest, and that thou wilt offer voluntarily, and the firstfruits of thy hands:

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.

But thou shalt eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou and thy son and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and maidservant, and the Levite that dwelleth in thy cities: and thou shalt rejoice and be refreshed before the Lord thy God in all things, whereunto thou shalt put thy hand.

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

Take heed thou forsake not the Levite all the time that thou livest in the 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 thy God shall have enlarged thy borders, as he hath spoken to thee, and thou wilt eat the flesh that thy soul desireth:

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.

And if the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name should be there, be far off, thou shalt kill of thy herds and of thy flocks, as I have commanded thee, and shalt eat in thy towns, as it pleaseth thee.

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.

Even as the roe and the hart is eaten, so shalt thou eat them: both the clean and unclean shall eat of them alike.

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 beware of this, that thou eat not the blood, for the blood is for the soul: and therefore thou must not eat the soul with the flesh:

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

But thou shalt pour it upon the earth as 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:

That it may be well with thee and thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is pleasing in the sight 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 the things which thou hast sanctified and vowed to the Lord, thou shalt take, and shalt come to the place which the Lord shall 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.

And shalt offer thy oblations the flesh and the blood upon the altar of the Lord thy God: the blood of thy victims thou shalt pour on the altar: and the flesh thou thyself shalt eat.

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.

Observe and hear all the things that I command thee, that it may be well with thee and thy children after thee for ever, when thou shalt do what is good and pleasing in the sight of the Lord thy 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 thy God shall have destroyed before thy face the nations, which then shalt go in to possess, and when thou shalt possess them, and dwell 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?

Beware lest thou imitate them, after they are destroyed at thy coming in, and lest thou seek after their ceremonies, saying: As these nations have worshipped their gods, so will I also worship.

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.

Thou shalt not do in like manner to the Lord thy God. For they have done to their gods all the abominations which the Lord abhorreth, offering their sons and daughters, and burning them with fire.

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

What I command thee, that only do thou to the Lord: neither add any thing, nor diminish.