Deuteronomy 12

1 “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.

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 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;

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 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.

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 do not do so to your God YHWH;

Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God;

5 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,

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 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;

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 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.

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 do not do according to all that we are doing here today—each [doing] anything that is 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 until now you have not come to the rest and to the inheritance which your God YHWH is giving to 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 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,

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 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.

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 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.

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

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

14 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.

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 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.

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

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

17 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;

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 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;

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

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

20 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.

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 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;

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 only, as the roe and the deer is eaten, so do you eat it; the unclean and the clean alike 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, for the blood [is] the life, and you do not eat the life with the flesh;

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

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

25 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.

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

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 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.

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 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.

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 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—

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 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?

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 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.

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