Deuteronomy 12

1 “(I will now tell you again/These, [again], are) the rules and regulations that you must faithfully obey in the land that Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors [worshiped], is giving to you to occupy. You must obey these laws all the time that you are alive.

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

2 You must destroy all the places where the people-groups that you will expel worship their gods, on the tops of mountains and hills and under big green trees.

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

3 You must tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Completely burn the statues of their goddess Asherah in fires, and chop down their wooden idols, in order that no one will ever worship them [MTY] in those places again.

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

4 “Do not worship Yahweh like [the people in Canaan worship their gods].

You shall not do so to the Lord your God.

5 Instead, you must go to the place that Yahweh will choose. It will be in the area where one of your tribes will live. That is where you must go to worship Yahweh.

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

6 That is the place where you must bring your sacrifices that will be completely burned on the altar, and your other sacrifices, (your tithes/ten percent of all of your crops), other offerings that you decide to give, and the firstborn animals from your cattle and sheep.

And you shall carry there your whole burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your first fruits, and your vowed-offerings, and your free will offerings, and your offerings of thanksgiving, the firstborn of your herds, and of your flocks.

7 There, in the presence of Yahweh our God, who has [greatly] blessed you, you and your families will eat the good things that you have worked to produce, and you will be happy.

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

8 “[When you are in that land], you must not do some of the things that we have been doing. Until now, you have all been worshiping [Yahweh] the way you wanted to,

You shall not do altogether as we do here today, every man that which is pleasing in his own sight.

9 because you have not yet arrived in the land which Yahweh is giving to you, where you will be able to live peacefully.

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

10 But when you cross the Jordan [River], you will start to live in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you. He will protect you from all your enemies that will surround you, and you will live peacefully/safely.

And you 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 you shall dwell safely.

11 “Yahweh will choose one place where he wants you to worship him. That is the place to which you must bring all the offerings that I command you to bring: The sacrifices that must be completely burned [on the altar], your other sacrifices, other offerings that you yourselves decide to give, (your tithes/ten percent of all your crops), and all the special offerings that you will solemnly promise to give to Yahweh.

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

12 Rejoice there in the presence of Yahweh, along with your children, your male and female servants, and the descendants of Levi who live in your towns. Do not forget that the descendants of Levi will not have their own land, like you will have.

And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants and your maidservants, and the Levite that is at your gates; because he has no portion or inheritance with you.

13 Be sure that you do not offer sacrifices anywhere you want to.

Take heed to yourself that you offer not your whole burnt offerings in any place which you shall see;

14 You must offer them only in the place that Yahweh will choose for you, in an area that belongs to one of your tribes. That is the only place where he wants you to offer sacrifices that will be completely burned [on the altar], and to do the other things that I am commanding you to do [when you worship him].

save in the place which the Lord your God shall choose, in one of your tribes, there shall you offer your whole burnt offerings, and there shall you do all things whatever I charge you this day.

15 “However, you will be permitted to kill and eat the meat of your animals in the places where you live. As often as you want to, you may eat the meat of the animals that Yahweh our God will bless you by giving them to you. Those who have done things that cause them to become unacceptable to God and those who have not done things like that may all eat that meat, just like you would eat the meat of a deer or an antelope.

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

16 But you must not eat the blood [of any animals]; you must let the blood drain onto the ground [before you cook the meat].

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

17 In the places where you live, you must not eat the things that you are offering [to Yahweh]: You must not eat the (tithes/ten percent) of your grain or of your wine, or of your [olive] oil, or the firstborn of your cattle and sheep, or the offerings that you yourselves decide to give to Yahweh, or any other offerings.

You shall not be able to eat in your cities the tithe of your corn, and of your wine, and of your oil, the firstborn of your herd and of your flock, and all [your] vows as many as you shall have vowed, and your thank-offerings, and the first fruits of your hands.

18 Instead, you and your children and your male and female servants and the descendants of Levi who live in your towns must go to the place that he has chosen and eat those things there in the presence of Yahweh. And you should rejoice in the presence of Yahweh about everything that you do.

But before the Lord your God you shall eat it, in the place which the Lord your God shall choose for himself, you, and your son, and your daughter, your man-servant, and your maidservant, and the stranger that is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, on whatever you shall lay your hand.

19 Be sure that you take care of the descendants of Levi all during the time that you live in your land.

Take heed to yourself that you do not desert the Levite all the time that you live upon the earth.

20 “When Yahweh our God gives you much more land [than you will have when you first occupy it], which is what he has promised to do, and you say ‘I would like some meat to eat’ because you are craving/wanting some meat, you will be permitted to eat meat whenever you want to.

And if the Lord your God shall enlarge your borders, as he said to you, and you shall say, I will eat flesh; if your soul should desire to eat flesh, you shall eat flesh according to all the desire of your soul.

21 If the place that Yahweh our God chooses to be the place for you to worship him is far [from where you live], you are permitted to kill some of your cattle or sheep that Yahweh has given to you, and you may eat that meat at the places where you live, just like I have told you to do.

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

22 Those who have done things that cause them to become unacceptable to God, and those who have not done things like that, are all permitted to all eat that meat, just like you would eat the meat of a deer or an antelope.

As the doe and the stag are eaten, so shall you eat it; the unclean in you and the clean shall eat it in like manner.

23 But be sure that you do not eat the blood [of any animal], because it is the blood that sustains life in living beings, and so you must not eat the life along with the meat.

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

24 Do not eat the blood; instead, let it drain onto the ground.

You shall not eat [it]; you shall pour it out on the ground as water.

25 If you obey this command and do what Yahweh says is right [for you to do], things will go well for you and for your descendants.

You shall not eat it, that it may be well with you and with your sons after you, if you shall do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord your God.

26 “But the sacred offerings that Yahweh has told you to give and the other offerings that you yourselves decide to give, you must take to the place that Yahweh will choose.

But you shall take your holy things, if you have any, and your vowed-offerings, and come to the place which the Lord your God shall choose to have his name named upon it.

27 You must offer there the sacrifices that will be completely burned [on Yahweh’s altar]. You must also offer there the sacrifices from which you may eat some of meat after you [kill the animals and] drain out the blood and some of it is thrown on the [sides of the] altar.

And you shall sacrifice your whole burnt offerings, you shall offer the flesh upon the altar of the Lord your God; but the blood of your sacrifices you shall pour out at the foot of the altar of the Lord your God, but the flesh you shall eat.

28 Faithfully obey all these things that I have commanded you. If you do that, things will go well forever for you and your descendants, because you will be doing what Yahweh our God says is right [for you to do] and what pleases him.

Beware and listen, and you shall do all the commands which I charge you, that it may be well with you and with your sons for ever, if you shall do that which is pleasing and good before the Lord your God.

29 “When you enter the land that you will occupy, as you advance, Yahweh our God will get rid of the people-groups that live there.

And if the Lord your God shall utterly destroy the nations, to whom you go in there to inherit their land, from before you, and you shall inherit it, and dwell in their land;

30 After he does that, be sure that you do not [worship the gods] that they have been worshiping, because if you do that, you will be caught in the same trap [that they were caught in] [MET]. Do not ask anyone about those gods, saying, ‘Tell me how they worshiped their gods, in order that I can [worship them] also.’

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

31 Do not try to worship Yahweh our God like they have worshiped their gods, because when they worship them, they do disgusting things, things that Yahweh hates. [The worst thing that they do is] that they sacrifice their own children and burn them [on their altars].

You shall not do so to your 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.

32 “Be sure to do everything that I have commanded you to do. Do not add anything to these commands, and do not take anything away from them.”

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