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Deuteronomy 10-14
New King James Version

The Second Pair of Tablets(A)

10 “At that time the Lord said to me, [a]‘Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an (B)ark of wood. 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and (C)you shall put them in the ark.’

3 “So I made an ark of acacia wood, hewed two tablets of stone like the first, and went up the mountain, having the two tablets in my hand. 4 And He wrote on the tablets according to the first writing, the Ten [b]Commandments, (D)which the Lord had spoken to you in the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I turned and (E)came down from the mountain, and (F)put the tablets in the ark which I had made; (G)and there they are, just as the Lord commanded me.”

6 (Now the children of Israel journeyed from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah, where Aaron (H)died, and where he was buried; and Eleazar his son ministered as priest in his [c]stead. 7 (I)From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land of [d]rivers of water. 8 At that time (J)the Lord [e]separated the tribe of Levi (K)to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, (L)to stand before the Lord to minister to Him and (M)to bless in His name, to this day. 9 (N)Therefore Levi has no portion nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance, just as the Lord your God promised him.)

10 “As at the first time, (O)I stayed in the mountain forty days and forty nights; (P)the Lord also heard me at that time, and the Lord chose not to destroy you. 11 (Q)Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, begin your journey before the people, that they may go in and possess the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.’

The Essence of the Law

12 “And now, Israel, (R)what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to (S)love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today (T)for your [f]good? 14 Indeed heaven and the highest heavens belong to the (U)Lord your God, also the earth with all that is in it. 15 The Lord delighted only in your fathers, to love them; and He chose their [g]descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day. 16 Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your (V)heart, and be (W)stiff-necked[h] no longer. 17 For the Lord your God is (X)God of gods and (Y)Lord of lords, the great God, (Z)mighty and awesome, who (AA)shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. 18 (AB)He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. 19 Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. 20 (AC)You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast, and take oaths in His name. 21 He is your praise, and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome things which your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt with seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven in multitude.

Love and Obedience Rewarded

11 “Therefore you shall love the Lord your God, and keep His charge, His statutes, His judgments, and His commandments always. 2 Know today that I do not speak with your children, who have not known and who have not seen the [i]chastening of the Lord your God, His greatness and His mighty hand and His outstretched arm— 3 His signs and His acts which He did in the midst of Egypt, to Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to all his land; 4 what He did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and their chariots: (AD)how He made the waters of the Red Sea overflow them as they pursued you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day; 5 what He did for you in the wilderness until you came to this place; 6 and (AE)what He did to Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben: how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, their households, their tents, and all the substance that was [j]in their possession, in the midst of all Israel— 7 but your eyes have (AF)seen every great [k]act of the Lord which He did.

8 “Therefore you shall keep every commandment which I command you today, that you may (AG)be strong, and go in and possess the land which you cross over to possess, 9 and (AH)that you may prolong your days in the land (AI)which the Lord [l]swore to give your fathers, to them and their descendants, (AJ)‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ 10 For the land which you go to possess is not like the land of Egypt from which you have come, where you sowed your seed and watered it by foot, as a vegetable garden; 11 (AK)but the land which you cross over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water from the rain of heaven, 12 a land for which the Lord your God cares; (AL)the eyes of the Lord your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year.

13 ‘And it shall be that if you earnestly [m]obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 then (AM)I[n] will give you the rain for your land in its season, (AN)the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. 15 (AO)And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may (AP)eat and be [o]filled.’ 16 Take heed to yourselves, (AQ)lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and (AR)serve other gods and worship them, 17 lest (AS)the Lord’s anger be aroused against you, and He (AT)shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and (AU)you perish quickly from the good land which the Lord is giving you.

18 “Therefore (AV)you shall [p]lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your (AW)soul, and (AX)bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 (AY)You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 (AZ)And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that (BA)your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like (BB)the days of the heavens above the earth.

22 “For if (BC)you carefully keep all these commandments which I command you to do—to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, and (BD)to hold fast to Him— 23 then the Lord will (BE)drive out all these nations from before you, and you will (BF)dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves. 24 (BG)Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: (BH)from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the River Euphrates, even to the [q]Western Sea, shall be your territory. 25 No man shall be able to (BI)stand [r]against you; the Lord your God will put the (BJ)dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you.

26 (BK)“Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 (BL)the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; 28 and the (BM)curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known. 29 Now it shall be, when the Lord your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the (BN)blessing on Mount Gerizim and the (BO)curse on Mount Ebal. 30 Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, (BP)beside the terebinth trees of Moreh? 31 For you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it. 32 And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today.

A Prescribed Place of Worship

12 “These (BQ)are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the Lord God of your fathers is giving you to possess, (BR)all[s] the days that you live on the earth. 2 (BS)You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, (BT)on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 And (BU)you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their [t]wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. 4 You shall not (BV)worship the Lord your God with such things.

5 “But you shall seek the (BW)place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His (BX)dwelling[u] place; and there you shall go. 6 (BY)There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the (BZ)firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 And (CA)there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and (CB)you shall rejoice in [v]all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

8 “You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—(CC)every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes— 9 for as yet you have not come to the (CD)rest[w] and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you (CE)rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, 11 then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the Lord. 12 And (CF)you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the (CG)Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you. 13 Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; 14 but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

15 “However, (CH)you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; (CI)the unclean and the clean may eat of it, (CJ)of the gazelle and the deer alike. 16 (CK)Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 17 You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the [x]heave offering of your hand. 18 But you must eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in [y]all to which you put your hands. 19 [z]Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

20 “When the Lord your God (CL)enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires. 21 If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from (CM)you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the Lord has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires. 22 Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat them; the unclean and the clean alike may eat them. 23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, (CN)for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it on the earth like water. 25 You shall not eat it, (CO)that it may go well with you and your children after you, (CP)when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. 26 Only the (CQ)holy things which you have, and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the Lord chooses. 27 And (CR)you shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall eat the meat. 28 Observe and obey all these words which I command you, (CS)that it may go well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Beware of False Gods

29 “When (CT)the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you displace them and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ 31 (CU)You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every [aa]abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for (CV)they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; (CW)you shall not add to it nor take away from it.

Punishment of Apostates

13 “If there arises among you a prophet or a (CX)dreamer of dreams, (CY)and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and (CZ)the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God (DA)is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall (DB)walk[ab] after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and (DC)hold fast to Him. 5 But (DD)that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. (DE)So you shall [ac]put away the evil from your midst.

6 (DF)“If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, (DG)the wife [ad]of your bosom, or your friend (DH)who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, 7 of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, 8 you shall (DI)not [ae]consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; 9 but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to (DJ)death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10 And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11 So all Israel shall hear and (DK)fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you.

12 (DL)“If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you to dwell in, saying, 13 [af]‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” ’—which you have not known— 14 then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an [ag]abomination was committed among you, 15 you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock—with the edge of the sword. 16 And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and [ah]completely (DM)burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the Lord your God. It shall be (DN)a [ai]heap forever; it shall not be built again. 17 (DO)So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may (DP)turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and [aj]multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, 18 because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, (DQ)to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

Improper Mourning

14 “You are (DR)the children of the Lord your God; (DS)you shall not cut yourselves nor [ak]shave the front of your head for the dead. 2 (DT)For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Clean and Unclean Meat(DU)

3 (DV)“You shall not eat any [al]detestable thing. 4 (DW)These are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the [am]mountain goat, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 And you may eat every animal with cloven hooves, having the hoof split into two parts, and that chews the cud, among the animals. 7 Nevertheless, of those that chew the cud or have cloven hooves, you shall not eat, such as these: the camel, the hare, and the rock hyrax; for they chew the cud but do not have cloven hooves; they are unclean for you. 8 Also the swine is unclean for you, because it has cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud; you shall not eat their flesh (DX)or touch their dead carcasses.

9 (DY)“These you may eat of all that are in the waters: you may eat all that have fins and scales. 10 And whatever does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.

11 “All clean birds you may eat. 12 (DZ)But these you shall not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 13 the red kite, the falcon, and the kite after their kinds; 14 every raven after its kind; 15 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after their kinds; 16 the little owl, the screech owl, the white owl, 17 the jackdaw, the carrion vulture, the fisher owl, 18 the stork, the heron after its kind, and the hoopoe and the bat.

19 “Also (EA)every [an]creeping thing that flies is unclean for you; (EB)they shall not be eaten.

20 “You may eat all clean birds.

21 (EC)“You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to the alien who is within your gates, that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner; (ED)for you are a holy people to the Lord your God.

“(EE)You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.

Tithing Principles

22 (EF)“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 (EG)And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of (EH)the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or (EI)if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall (EJ)rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not [ao]forsake the (EK)Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.

28 (EL)“At the end of every third year you shall bring out the (EM)tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 10:1 Cut out
  2. Deuteronomy 10:4 Lit. Words
  3. Deuteronomy 10:6 place
  4. Deuteronomy 10:7 brooks
  5. Deuteronomy 10:8 set apart
  6. Deuteronomy 10:13 benefit or welfare
  7. Deuteronomy 10:15 Lit. seed
  8. Deuteronomy 10:16 rebellious
  9. Deuteronomy 11:2 discipline
  10. Deuteronomy 11:6 at their feet
  11. Deuteronomy 11:7 work
  12. Deuteronomy 11:9 promised
  13. Deuteronomy 11:13 Lit. listen to
  14. Deuteronomy 11:14 So with MT, Tg.; Sam., LXX, Vg. He
  15. Deuteronomy 11:15 satisfied
  16. Deuteronomy 11:18 Lit. put
  17. Deuteronomy 11:24 Mediterranean
  18. Deuteronomy 11:25 before
  19. Deuteronomy 12:1 As long as
  20. Deuteronomy 12:3 Heb. Asherim
  21. Deuteronomy 12:5 home
  22. Deuteronomy 12:7 all that you undertake
  23. Deuteronomy 12:9 Or place of rest
  24. Deuteronomy 12:17 contribution
  25. Deuteronomy 12:18 all your undertakings
  26. Deuteronomy 12:19 Be careful
  27. Deuteronomy 12:31 detestable action
  28. Deuteronomy 13:4 follow the Lord
  29. Deuteronomy 13:5 exterminate
  30. Deuteronomy 13:6 Whom you cherish
  31. Deuteronomy 13:8 yield
  32. Deuteronomy 13:13 Lit. Sons of Belial
  33. Deuteronomy 13:14 detestable action
  34. Deuteronomy 13:16 Or as a whole-offering
  35. Deuteronomy 13:16 Lit. mound or ruin
  36. Deuteronomy 13:17 increase
  37. Deuteronomy 14:1 make any baldness between your eyes
  38. Deuteronomy 14:3 abominable
  39. Deuteronomy 14:5 Or addax
  40. Deuteronomy 14:19 swarming
  41. Deuteronomy 14:27 neglect
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Deuteronomy 10-14
New International Version

Tablets Like the First Ones

10 At that time the Lord said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets(A) like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden ark.[a] 2 I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Then you are to put them in the ark.”(B)

3 So I made the ark out of acacia wood(C) and chiseled(D) out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands. 4 The Lord wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments(E) he had proclaimed(F) to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.(G) And the Lord gave them to me. 5 Then I came back down the mountain(H) and put the tablets in the ark(I) I had made,(J) as the Lord commanded me, and they are there now.(K)

6 (The Israelites traveled from the wells of Bene Jaakan to Moserah.(L) There Aaron died(M) and was buried, and Eleazar(N) his son succeeded him as priest.(O) 7 From there they traveled to Gudgodah and on to Jotbathah, a land with streams of water.(P) 8 At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi(Q) to carry the ark of the covenant(R) of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister(S) and to pronounce blessings(T) in his name, as they still do today.(U) 9 That is why the Levites have no share or inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,(V) as the Lord your God told them.)

10 Now I had stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, as I did the first time, and the Lord listened to me at this time also. It was not his will to destroy you.(W) 11 “Go,” the Lord said to me, “and lead the people on their way, so that they may enter and possess the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.”

Fear the Lord

12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you(X) but to fear(Y) the Lord your God, to walk(Z) in obedience to him, to love him,(AA) to serve the Lord(AB) your God with all your heart(AC) and with all your soul,(AD) 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands(AE) and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?(AF)

14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens,(AG) even the highest heavens,(AH) the earth and everything in it.(AI) 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved(AJ) them, and he chose you,(AK) their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.(AL) 16 Circumcise(AM) your hearts,(AN) therefore, and do not be stiff-necked(AO) any longer. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods(AP) and Lord of lords,(AQ) the great God, mighty and awesome,(AR) who shows no partiality(AS) and accepts no bribes.(AT) 18 He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow,(AU) and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.(AV) 19 And you are to love(AW) those who are foreigners,(AX) for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.(AY) 20 Fear the Lord your God and serve him.(AZ) Hold fast(BA) to him and take your oaths in his name.(BB) 21 He is the one you praise;(BC) he is your God, who performed for you those great(BD) and awesome wonders(BE) you saw with your own eyes. 22 Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all,(BF) and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.(BG)

Love and Obey the Lord

11 Love(BH) the Lord your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.(BI) 2 Remember today that your children(BJ) were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God:(BK) his majesty,(BL) his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;(BM) 3 the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country;(BN) 4 what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots,(BO) how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea[b](BP) as they were pursuing you, and how the Lord brought lasting ruin on them. 5 It was not your children who saw what he did for you in the wilderness until you arrived at this place, 6 and what he did(BQ) to Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab the Reubenite, when the earth opened(BR) its mouth right in the middle of all Israel and swallowed them up with their households, their tents and every living thing that belonged to them. 7 But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.(BS)

8 Observe therefore all the commands(BT) I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,(BU) 9 and so that you may live long(BV) in the land the Lord swore(BW) to your ancestors to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.(BX) 10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt,(BY) from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys(BZ) that drinks rain from heaven.(CA) 12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes(CB) of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

13 So if you faithfully obey(CC) the commands I am giving you today—to love(CD) the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul(CE)— 14 then I will send rain(CF) on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains,(CG) so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass(CH) in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied.(CI)

16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.(CJ) 17 Then the Lord’s anger(CK) will burn against you, and he will shut up(CL) the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce,(CM) and you will soon perish(CN) from the good land the Lord is giving you. 18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.(CO) 19 Teach them to your children,(CP) talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.(CQ) 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates,(CR) 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many(CS) in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.(CT)

22 If you carefully observe(CU) all these commands I am giving you to follow—to love(CV) the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him and to hold fast(CW) to him— 23 then the Lord will drive out(CX) all these nations(CY) before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.(CZ) 24 Every place where you set your foot will be yours:(DA) Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River(DB) to the Mediterranean Sea. 25 No one will be able to stand against you. The Lord your God, as he promised you, will put the terror(DC) and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.(DD)

26 See, I am setting before you today a blessing(DE) and a curse(DF)— 27 the blessing(DG) if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey(DH) the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods,(DI) which you have not known. 29 When the Lord your God has brought you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim on Mount Gerizim(DJ) the blessings, and on Mount Ebal(DK) the curses.(DL) 30 As you know, these mountains are across the Jordan, westward, toward the setting sun, near the great trees of Moreh,(DM) in the territory of those Canaanites living in the Arabah in the vicinity of Gilgal.(DN) 31 You are about to cross the Jordan to enter and take possession(DO) of the land the Lord your God is giving(DP) you. When you have taken it over and are living there, 32 be sure that you obey all the decrees and laws I am setting before you today.

The One Place of Worship

12 These are the decrees(DQ) and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land.(DR) 2 Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains,(DS) on the hills and under every spreading tree,(DT) where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. 3 Break down their altars, smash(DU) their sacred stones and burn(DV) their Asherah(DW) poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names(DX) from those places.

4 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way.(DY) 5 But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name(DZ) there for his dwelling.(EA) To that place you must go; 6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes(EB) and special gifts, what you have vowed(EC) to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.(ED) 7 There, in the presence(EE) of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice(EF) in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.

8 You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit,(EG) 9 since you have not yet reached the resting place(EH) and the inheritance(EI) the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving(EJ) you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest(EK) from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. 11 Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name(EL)—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord.(EM) 12 And there rejoice(EN) before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites(EO) from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance(EP) of their own. 13 Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please.(EQ) 14 Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose(ER) in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.

15 Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer,(ES) according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. 16 But you must not eat the blood;(ET) pour(EU) it out on the ground like water.(EV) 17 You must not eat in your own towns the tithe(EW) of your grain and new wine and olive oil,(EX) or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give,(EY) or your freewill offerings or special gifts.(EZ) 18 Instead, you are to eat(FA) them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose(FB)—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice(FC) before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to. 19 Be careful not to neglect the Levites(FD) as long as you live in your land.(FE)

20 When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory(FF) as he promised(FG) you, and you crave meat(FH) and say, “I would like some meat,” then you may eat as much of it as you want. 21 If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name(FI) is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want.(FJ) 22 Eat them as you would gazelle or deer.(FK) Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat. 23 But be sure you do not eat the blood,(FL) because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.(FM) 24 You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.(FN) 25 Do not eat it, so that it may go well(FO) with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right(FP) in the eyes of the Lord.

26 But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give,(FQ) and go to the place the Lord will choose. 27 Present your burnt offerings(FR) on the altar of the Lord your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat(FS) the meat. 28 Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well(FT) with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

29 The Lord your God will cut off(FU) before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land,(FV) 30 and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared(FW) by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.”(FX) 31 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates.(FY) They even burn their sons(FZ) and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.(GA)

32 See that you do all I command you; do not add(GB) to it or take away from it.[c]

Worshiping Other Gods

13 [d]If a prophet,(GC) or one who foretells by dreams,(GD) appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 2 and if the sign(GE) or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods”(GF) (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet(GG) or dreamer.(GH) The Lord your God is testing(GI) you to find out whether you love(GJ) him with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 It is the Lord your God you must follow,(GK) and him you must revere.(GL) Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast(GM) to him. 5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death(GN) for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn(GO) you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil(GP) from among you.

6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices(GQ) you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods”(GR) (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 8 do not yield(GS) to them or listen to them. Show them no pity.(GT) Do not spare them or shield them. 9 You must certainly put them to death.(GU) Your hand(GV) must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 10 Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away(GW) from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid,(GX) and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 13 that troublemakers(GY) have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), 14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly.(GZ) And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you,(HA) 15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely,[e](HB) both its people and its livestock.(HC) 16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town(HD) and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God.(HE) That town is to remain a ruin(HF) forever, never to be rebuilt, 17 and none of the condemned things[f] are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger,(HG) will show you mercy,(HH) and will have compassion(HI) on you. He will increase your numbers,(HJ) as he promised(HK) on oath to your ancestors— 18 because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right(HL) in his eyes.

Clean and Unclean Food(HM)

14 You are the children(HN) of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, 2 for you are a people holy(HO) to the Lord your God.(HP) Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.(HQ)

3 Do not eat any detestable thing.(HR) 4 These are the animals you may eat:(HS) the ox, the sheep, the goat,(HT) 5 the deer,(HU) the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat,(HV) the ibex, the antelope and the mountain sheep.[g] 6 You may eat any animal that has a divided hoof and that chews the cud. 7 However, of those that chew the cud or that have a divided hoof you may not eat the camel, the rabbit or the hyrax. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof; they are ceremonially unclean for you. 8 The pig is also unclean; although it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. You are not to eat their meat or touch their carcasses.(HW)

9 Of all the creatures living in the water, you may eat any that has fins and scales. 10 But anything that does not have fins and scales you may not eat; for you it is unclean.

11 You may eat any clean bird. 12 But these you may not eat: the eagle, the vulture, the black vulture, 13 the red kite, the black kite, any kind(HX) of falcon,(HY) 14 any kind of raven,(HZ) 15 the horned owl, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 16 the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, 17 the desert owl,(IA) the osprey, the cormorant, 18 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe and the bat.

19 All flying insects are unclean to you; do not eat them. 20 But any winged creature that is clean you may eat.(IB)

21 Do not eat anything you find already dead.(IC) You may give it to the foreigner residing in any of your towns, and they may eat it, or you may sell it to any other foreigner. But you are a people holy to the Lord your God.(ID)

Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.(IE)

Tithes

22 Be sure to set aside a tenth(IF) of all that your fields produce each year. 23 Eat(IG) the tithe of your grain, new wine(IH) and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name,(II) so that you may learn(IJ) to revere(IK) the Lord your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange(IL) your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink,(IM) or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice.(IN) 27 And do not neglect the Levites(IO) living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.(IP)

28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes(IQ) of that year’s produce and store it in your towns,(IR) 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment(IS) or inheritance(IT) of their own) and the foreigners,(IU) the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied,(IV) and so that the Lord your God may bless(IW) you in all the work of your hands.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 10:1 That is, a chest
  2. Deuteronomy 11:4 Or the Sea of Reeds
  3. Deuteronomy 12:32 In Hebrew texts this verse (12:32) is numbered 13:1.
  4. Deuteronomy 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-18 is numbered 13:2-19.
  5. Deuteronomy 13:15 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  6. Deuteronomy 13:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  7. Deuteronomy 14:5 The precise identification of some of the birds and animals in this chapter is uncertain.
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