Deuteronomy 12

1 'These [are] the statutes and the judgments which ye observe to do in the land which Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath given to thee to possess it, all the days that ye are living on the ground:

“These are the precepts and judgments which you must do in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, will give to you, so that you may possess it during all the days that you shall walk upon the soil.

2 ye do utterly destroy all the places where the nations which ye are dispossessing served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the heights, and under every green tree;

Overturn all the places where the nations, which you will possess, worshipped their gods on lofty mountains, and on hills, and under every leafy tree.

3 and ye have broken down their altars, and shivered their standing pillars, and their shrines ye burn with fire, and graven images of their gods ye cut down, and have destroyed their name out of that place.

Scatter their altars and break their statues. Burn their sacred groves with fire and crush their idols. Abolish their names from those places.

4 'Ye do not do so to Jehovah your God;

But you shall not do the same to the Lord your God.

5 but unto the place which Jehovah your God doth choose out of all your tribes to put His name there, to His tabernacle ye seek, and thou hast entered thither,

Instead, you shall approach the place which the Lord your God will choose among all your tribes, so that he may set his name there, and may dwell in that place.

6 and hast brought in thither your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock;

And you shall offer, in that place, your holocausts and victims, the tithes and first-fruits of your hands, and your vows and gifts, the firstborn of the cattle and of the sheep.

7 and ye have eaten there before Jehovah your God, and have rejoiced in every putting forth of your hand, ye and your households, with which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.

And you shall eat it there, in the sight of the Lord your God. And you shall rejoice in all the things to which you shall set your hand: you and your household, which the Lord your God has blessed for you.

8 'Ye do not do according to all that we are doing here to-day, each anything that is right in his own eyes,

You shall not do there the things that we are doing here today: each one doing what seems good to himself.

9 for ye have not come in hitherto unto the rest, and unto the inheritance, which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee;

For even until the present time, you did not arrive at the rest and the possession, which the Lord your God will give to you.

10 and ye have passed over the Jordan, and have dwelt in the land which Jehovah your God is causing you to inherit, and He hath given rest to you from all your enemies round about, and ye have dwelt confidently:

You shall cross over the Jordan, and you shall live in the land which the Lord your God will give to you, so that you may have rest from all the surrounding enemies, and so that you may live without any fear,

11 'And it hath been, the place on which Jehovah your God doth fix to cause His name to tabernacle there, thither ye bring in all that which I am commanding you, your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all the choice of your vows which ye vow to Jehovah;

in the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may be in it. To that place, you shall bring all the things that I instruct you: holocausts, and victims, and tithes, and the first-fruits of your hands, and whatever is best among the gifts that you shall vow to the Lord.

12 and ye have rejoiced before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your handmaids, and the Levite who [is] within your gates, for he hath no part and inheritance with you.

In that place, you shall feast before the Lord your God: you, and your sons and daughters, your men and women servants, as well as the Levite who dwells in your cities. For he has no other portion or possession among you.

13 'Take heed to thee, lest thou cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend in any place which thou seest,

Take care that you do not offer your holocausts in any place that you see.

14 except in the place which Jehovah doth choose in one of thy tribes, there thou dost cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend, and there thou dost do all that which I am commanding thee.

Instead, you shall offer sacrifices in the place which the Lord will choose within one of your tribes, and you shall do whatsoever I instruct you.

15 'Only, with all the desire of thy soul thou dost sacrifice, and hast eaten flesh according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which He hath given to thee, in all thy gates; the unclean and the clean do eat it, as of the roe, and as of the hart.

So, if you wish to eat, and if the eating of flesh pleases you, then kill and eat according to the blessing of the Lord your God, which he has given to you, in your cities: you may eat it whether it is unclean, that is, having blemish or defect, or whether it is clean, that is, whole and without blemish, of the kind which is permitted to be offered, such as the roe deer and the stag.

16 'Only, the blood ye do not eat — on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

Only the blood you shall not eat. Instead, you shall pour it upon the ground like water.

17 thou art not able to eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, and of thy new wine, and thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock, and any of thy vows which thou vowest, and thy free-will offerings, and heave-offering of thy hand;

You may not eat in your towns the tithes of your crops, and your wine and oil, the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, nor anything which you will vow, or which you will offer spontaneously, nor the first-fruits of your hands.

18 but before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth fix on, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who [is] within thy gates, and thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God in every putting forth of thy hand;

But you shall eat these before the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord your God will choose: you, and your son, and your daughter, and your man servant and woman servant, and the Levite who dwells in your cities. And you shall rejoice and be refreshed in the sight of the Lord your God by all the things to which you will extend your hand.

19 take heed to thee lest thou forsake the Levite all thy days on thy ground.

Be careful, lest you abandon the Levite, at any time while you are living in the land.

20 'When Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath spoken to thee, and thou hast said, Let me eat flesh — for thy soul desireth to eat flesh — of all the desire of thy soul thou dost eat flesh.

When the Lord your God will have enlarged your borders, just as he has spoken to you, and when you would eat the flesh that your soul desires,

21 'When the place is far from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, then thou hast sacrificed of thy herd and of thy flock which Jehovah hath given to thee, as I have commanded thee, and hast eaten within thy gates, of all the desire of thy soul;

but if the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may be there, is far away, you may kill, from your herds and your flocks which you will have, in the manner I have instructed to you, and you may eat in your towns, as it pleases you.

22 only, as the roe and the hart is eaten, so dost thou eat it; the unclean and the clean doth alike eat it.

Just as the roe deer and the stag may be eaten, so also may you eat these: you may eat both the clean and the unclean alike.

23 'Only, be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood [is] the life, and thou dost not eat the life with the flesh;

Only beware of this: you may not eat the blood. For their blood is for the soul. And because of this, you must not eat the soul with the flesh.

24 thou dost not eat it, on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

Instead, you shall pour it upon the ground like water,

25 thou dost not eat it, in order that it may be well with thee, and with thy sons after thee, when thou dost that which [is] right in the eyes of Jehovah.

so that it may be well with you, and with your sons after you, when you will do what is pleasing in the sight of the Lord.

26 'Only, thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou dost take up, and hast gone in unto the place which Jehovah doth choose,

But the things that you have sanctified and vowed to the Lord, you shall take up and bring to the place which the Lord will choose.

27 and thou hast made thy burnt-offerings — the flesh and the blood — on the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices is poured out by the altar of Jehovah thy God, and the flesh thou dost eat.

And you shall offer your oblations of flesh and of blood upon the altar of the Lord your God. You shall poor out the blood of your victims upon the altar. And you yourself shall eat the flesh.

28 Observe, and thou hast obeyed all these words which I am commanding thee, in order that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee — to the age, when thou dost that which [is] good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.

Observe and heed all the things that I instruct to you, so that it may be well with you, and with your sons after you, continually, when you will do what is good and pleasing in the sight of the Lord your God.

29 'When Jehovah thy God doth cut off the nations — whither thou art going in to possess them — from thy presence, and thou hast possessed them, and hast dwelt in their land —

When the Lord your God will have abolished before your face the nations, which you shall enter so as to possess them, and when you will possess them and live in their land,

30 take heed to thee, lest thou be snared after them, after their being destroyed out of thy presence, and lest thou enquire about their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods, and I do so — even I?

be careful that you do not imitate them, after they have been overturned at your arrival, and that you do not seek their ceremonies, saying: ‘Just as these nations have worshipped their gods, so also will I worship.’

31 'Thou dost not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every abomination of Jehovah which He is hating they have done to their gods, for even their sons and their daughters they burn with fire to their gods.

You shall not act in like manner toward the Lord your God. For they have done to their gods all the abominations that the Lord spurns, offering their sons and daughters, and burning them with fire.

32 The whole thing which I am commanding you — it ye observe to do; thou dost not add unto it, nor diminish from it.

What I command to you, this only shall you do, for the Lord. You may neither add nor subtract anything.”