1These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.2Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:3And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.4Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.5But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:6And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:7And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.8Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.9For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.10But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;11Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; 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 vow unto the LORD:12And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.13Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:14But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.15Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.16Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.17Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:18But thou must 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 thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.19Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.20When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.21If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.22Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.23Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.24Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.25Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.26Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose:27And 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 thou shalt eat the flesh.28Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.29When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.31Thou 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 they have burnt in the fire to their gods.32What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Deuteronomy 12
English Standard Version
The Lord’s Chosen Place of Worship
1“These are the statutes and rules that you shall be careful to do in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. (De 4:10; De 6:1)2You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. (Ex 34:13; De 7:5; 1Ki 14:23; 2Ki 16:4; 2Ki 17:10; Jer 3:6)3You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. (De 16:21; De 16:22; Zep 1:4; Zec 13:2)4You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. (De 12:31)5But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation[1] there. There you shall go, (De 16:2; De 26:2; Jos 18:1; 1Ki 8:29; 2Ch 7:12)6and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. (De 14:22; De 14:23; De 15:19)7And there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you. (Le 23:40; De 14:23; De 14:26; De 15:20; De 16:11; De 16:14; De 26:11; De 27:7; De 28:8)8“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, (Jud 17:6; Jud 21:25)9for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you. (1Ki 8:56; Ps 95:11; Heb 4:8)10But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, (De 11:31; De 25:19; Jos 23:1; 2Sa 7:1; 1Ki 5:4)11then to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. (De 12:5; De 12:6)12And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levite that is within your towns, since he has no portion or inheritance with you. (Nu 18:20; De 12:7)13Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, (Le 17:3; 1Ki 12:28; 1Ki 12:33)14but at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you. (De 12:5)15“However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, as much as you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and as of the deer. (De 14:5; De 15:22; De 16:17)16Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. (Le 3:17)17You may not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain or of your wine or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vow offerings that you vow, or your freewill offerings or the contribution that you present, (De 12:6)18but you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place that the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your towns. And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake. (De 12:5; De 12:7)19Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land. (De 14:27; 2Ch 31:4)20“When the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you crave meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire. (Ge 28:14; Ex 34:24; De 11:24; De 19:8)21If the place that the Lord your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, then you may kill any of your herd or your flock, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. (De 12:5; De 12:15)22Just as the gazelle or the deer is eaten, so you may eat of it. The unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. (De 14:5; De 15:22)23Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. (Ge 9:4; Le 3:17)24You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water.25You shall not eat it, that all may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. (Ex 15:26; De 4:40; De 6:18; De 13:18; 1Ki 11:38; Ec 8:12; Isa 3:10)26But the holy things that are due from you, and your vow offerings, you shall take, and you shall go to the place that the Lord will choose, (Nu 5:9; Nu 18:19; De 12:21; 1Sa 1:21)27and offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but the flesh you may eat. (Le 1:5; Le 1:9; Le 1:13; Le 17:11)28Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God. (De 12:25)
Warning Against Idolatry
29“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, (De 19:1; Jos 23:4)30take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ (De 7:16)31You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. (Le 18:3; Le 18:26; Le 18:30; De 7:25; De 12:4; De 17:1; De 18:12; De 23:18; De 25:16; De 27:15; 2Ki 17:15; 2Ki 17:31; Jer 7:31; Jer 19:5)32[2] “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it. (De 4:2)