Deuteronomy 12

1 These are the statutes and the regulations which ye must observe to do, in the land which Yahweh the God of thy fathers hath given unto thee, to possess it, —all the days that ye are living upon the soil:

“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 must utterly destroy, all the places where the nations whom ye are dispossessing have served their gods, —Upon the high mountains And upon the hills, And under every green 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 must tear down their altars And break in pieces their pillars, And, their sacred stems, must ye consume with fire, And the carved images of their gods, must ye fell to the ground, —And destroy 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 must not do thus unto Yahweh your God;

You do not do so to your God YHWH;

5 but, unto the place which Yahweh your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, —as his habitation, shall ye ask your way, and come in 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 bring in thither your ascending-offerings and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, —and your vow-offerings and your freewill-offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock;

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 shall eat there before Yahweh your God, and rejoice in all whereunto ye are putting your hand, Ye, and your households, —wherewith Yahweh thy God hath blessed thee.

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 must not do according to all that we are doing here to-day, —every man, whatsoever is right in his own eyes.

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

9 Because ye have not entered as yet, —into the resting-place and into the inheritance which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee.

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

10 But, when ye shall pass over the Jordan, and settle down in the land which, Yahweh your God, is causing you to inherit, —and he shall give you rest from all your enemies round about, and ye shall dwell securely,

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 then shall it be, that unto the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to make a habitation for his name there, thither, shall ye bring in all that I am commanding you, —your ascending-offerings and your sacrifices your tithes and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your chosen vow-offerings which ye shall vow unto Yahweh.

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 So shall ye rejoice before Yahweh your God, Ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your servants and your handmaids, —and the Levite that is within your gates, forasmuch as he hath neither portion nor 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, lest thou cause thine ascending-sacrifice to go up in just 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 but, in the place which Yahweh shall choose in one of thy tribes, there, shalt thou cause thine ascending-sacrifice to go up, and, there, shalt thou do all that I am commanding thee.

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 Howbeit of anything thy soul desireth, mayest thou sacrifice and so eat flesh—according to the blessing of Yahweh thy God which he hath bestowed upon thee, in all thy gates, the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, —as the gazelle and as the hart,

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 Howbeit, the blood, shall ye not eat, —upon the earth, shalt thou pour it out, like water.

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

17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates, the tithe of thy corn or of thy new wine or of thine oil, or the firstlings of thy herd, or of thy flock, —nor any of thy vow-offerings which thou shalt vow, nor thy freewill, offerings, nor the heave-offering of thy hand;

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 Yahweh thy God, shalt thou eat it in the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose, thou and thy son and thy daughter, and thy servant and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, —so shalt thou rejoice before Yahweh thy God, in all whereunto thou puttest thy 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, lest thou forsake the Levite, —all thy days upon thy soil.

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

20 When Yahweh thy God shall enlarge thy boundary—as he hath spoken unto thee—and thou shalt say. I would eat flesh because thy soul desireth to eat flesh, of whatsoever thy soul desireth, mayest thou eat flesh.

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 When the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose to put his name there, shall be, too far for thee, then shalt thou sacrifice of thy herd or of thy flock which Yahweh hath given unto thee, as I have commanded thee, —and shalt eat, within thine own gates, of whatsoever thy soul desireth.

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 Even as the gazelle and the hart is eaten, so, shalt thou eat it, —the unclean and the clean, alike shall eat it.

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

23 Howbeit firmly refrain from eating the blood; for the blood, is the life, —therefore must thou not eat the life 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 Thou shalt not eat it, —upon the earth, shalt thou pour it out, like 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 children after thee when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of Yahweh.

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 Howbeit, thy holy things which thou shalt have and thy vow-offerings, shalt thou take and come in, unto the place which Yahweh shall choose;

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

27 and shalt offer thine ascending-sacrifices, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of Yahweh thy God, —and the blood of thine [other] sacrifices, shall be poured out upon the altar of Yahweh thy God, and then the flesh, shalt thou 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 Observe and hear all these things which I am commanding thee, —that it may be well with thee and with thy children after thee, —unto times age-abiding, so long as thou shalt do that which is pleasing and right in the eyes of Yahweh 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 When Yahweh thy God shall cut off from before thee, the nations Whom thou art going in to dispossess, —and thou do dispossess them, 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 lest thou be thrust after them, after they have been destroyed from before thee, —and lest thou enquire after their gods, saying—In what manner, did these nations serve their gods, that, I too, may 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 likewise unto Yahweh thy God, —for everything that is an abomination unto Yahweh which he doth hate, have they done unto their gods, for even their sons and their daughters, do they consume with fire unto 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 Whatsoever be the thing which I am commanding you, the same, shall ye observe to do, —thou shalt neither add thereunto, nor take away therefrom.

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