Deuteronomy 12
Authorized (King James) Version
12 These 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. 2 Ye 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: 3 and 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. 4 Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God.
5 But 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: 6 and 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: 7 and 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. 8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes. 9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you. 10 But 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; 11 then 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: 12 and 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. 13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest: 14 but 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. 15 Notwithstanding 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. 16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
17 Thou 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: 18 but 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. 19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
20 When 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. 21 If 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. 22 Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. 23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh. 24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water. 25 Thou 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. 26 Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the Lord shall choose: 27 and 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. 28 Observe 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.
29 When 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; 30 take 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. 31 Thou 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. 32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
Deuteronomy 12
New King James Version
A Prescribed Place of Worship
12 “These (A)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, (B)all[a] the days that you live on the earth. 2 (C)You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, (D)on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 And (E)you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their [b]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 (F)worship the Lord your God with such things.
5 “But you shall seek the (G)place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His (H)dwelling[c] place; and there you shall go. 6 (I)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 (J)firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 And (K)there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and (L)you shall rejoice in [d]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—(M)every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes— 9 for as yet you have not come to the (N)rest[e] 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 (O)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 (P)you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the (Q)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, (R)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; (S)the unclean and the clean may eat of it, (T)of the gazelle and the deer alike. 16 (U)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 [f]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 [g]all to which you put your hands. 19 [h]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 (V)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 (W)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, (X)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, (Y)that it may go well with you and your children after you, (Z)when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. 26 Only the (AA)holy things which you have, and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the Lord chooses. 27 And (AB)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, (AC)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 (AD)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 (AE)You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way; for every [i]abomination to the Lord which He hates they have done to their gods; for (AF)they burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 “Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; (AG)you shall not add to it nor take away from it.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 12:1 As long as
- Deuteronomy 12:3 Heb. Asherim
- Deuteronomy 12:5 home
- Deuteronomy 12:7 all that you undertake
- Deuteronomy 12:9 Or place of rest
- Deuteronomy 12:17 contribution
- Deuteronomy 12:18 all your undertakings
- Deuteronomy 12:19 Be careful
- Deuteronomy 12:31 detestable action
Deuteronomy 12
Modern English Version
The One Place of Worship
12 These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. 2 You must utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you will possess served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every green tree. 3 And you shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their Asherah poles[a] with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods, and eliminate their names out of that place.
4 You shall not act this way toward the Lord your God. 5 But you must seek only the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to establish His name, and there you must go. 6 There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the offerings of your hand, your vows, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and of your flocks. 7 There you must eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, where the Lord your God has blessed you.
8 You are not to do all the things that we are doing here today, where every man does whatever is right in his own eyes. 9 For you have not yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God has given you. 10 But when you cross the Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God has given you to inherit, and when He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, 11 then there will be a place which the Lord your God will choose to cause His name to dwell. There you must bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, the offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to the Lord. 12 You will rejoice before the Lord your God, you, your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion or inheritance with you. 13 Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see. 14 Rather, in the place which the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you must offer your burnt offerings, and there you must do all that I command you.
15 Notwithstanding, you may kill 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. The unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and of the deer, 16 only you must not eat the blood. You shall pour it on the ground like water. 17 You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, your wine, your oil, the firstborn of your herds or of your flock, any of your vows which you vow, your freewill offerings, or the offering of your hand. 18 Rather you must eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God will choose—you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, and the Levite that is within your gates—and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake to do. 19 Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live on the earth.
20 When the Lord your God shall enlarge your border as He has promised you, and you say, “I will eat meat,” because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat as much meat as your heart desires. 21 If the place which the Lord your God has chosen to put His name is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you must eat in your gates whatever your heart desires. 22 Even as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you shall eat them. The unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike. 23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood. For the blood is the life, and you may not eat the life with the meat. 24 You must not eat it. You must pour it on the ground like water. 25 You must not eat it, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.
26 You shall take only your holy things which you have, along with your vows, and go to the place which the Lord shall choose. 27 You must offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God, and the blood of your sacrifices will be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall eat the meat. 28 Observe and hear all these words which I command you, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
29 When the Lord your God shall cut off the nations from before you, where you go to possess them, and you dispossess them, and dwell in their land, 30 take heed to yourself so that you are not ensnared by following them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, “How did these nations serve their gods? Even so I will do likewise.” 31 You shall not do so to the Lord your God, for every abomination to the Lord, which He hates, they have done to their gods. They have even burned their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 Whatever I command you, be careful to do it. You shall not add to it or take away from it.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 12:3 Wooden symbols of a female deity.
Deuteronomio 12
Reina Valera Contemporánea
El santuario único
12 »Éstos son los estatutos y decretos que ustedes tendrán cuidado de poner por obra todos los días que ustedes vivan en la tierra que el Señor, el Dios de sus padres, les ha dado en posesión. 2 Destruirán por completo todos los montes altos y colinas, y todo árbol frondoso, donde sirvieron a sus dioses las naciones que ustedes van a heredar. 3 Derribarán sus altares, harán pedazos sus estatuas, echarán al fuego sus imágenes de Asera, destruirán las esculturas de sus dioses, y borrarán de aquel lugar(A) su nombre. 4 Pero con el Señor su Dios no actuarán así, 5 sino que buscarán el lugar que el Señor su Dios escoja de entre todas sus tribus para poner allí la residencia de su nombre, y allá acudirán 6 para llevar sus holocaustos y sacrificios, diezmos, ofrendas elevadas, sus votos y ofrendas voluntarias, y las primicias de sus vacas y de sus ovejas; 7 allí también comerán ustedes y sus familias delante del Señor su Dios, y se regocijarán en todo lo que hagan y en lo que el Señor su Dios les haya bendecido. 8 No harán nada de lo que ahora hacemos aquí, donde cada uno hace lo que mejor le parece, 9 porque hasta el momento no han entrado al reposo y a la tierra que el Señor su Dios les da. 10 Pero cruzarán el Jordán, y habitarán en la tierra que el Señor su Dios les da como herencia, y él los hará reposar de todos los enemigos que los rodean, y vivirán tranquilos.
11 »En el lugar que el Señor su Dios escoja para poner allí su nombre, llevarán todas las cosas que yo les mando: holocaustos, sacrificios, diezmos, ofrendas elevadas, y lo mejor de los votos que hayan prometido presentar al Señor. 12 Y se regocijarán delante del Señor su Dios ustedes y sus hijos, hijas, siervos y siervas, y los levitas que habiten en sus poblaciones, ya que ellos no tienen ninguna propiedad entre ustedes. 13 Tengan cuidado de no ofrecer sus holocaustos en cualquier lugar que vean, 14 sino que deben ofrecerlos en el lugar de una de las tribus que el Señor escoja, y allí cumplirás con todo lo que yo te mando que hagas.
15 »Sin embargo, podrás matar y comer carne en todas tus poblaciones, según lo desees y según la bendición que el Señor tu Dios te haya dado. De ello podrá comer quien esté puro y quien esté impuro, como si se tratara de carne de gacela o de ciervo. 16 Pero la sangre no la comerán,(B) sino que la derramarán sobre la tierra como si fuera agua. 17 Tampoco comerás en tus poblaciones el diezmo de tu grano, de tu vino o de tu aceite, ni las primicias de tus vacas, ni de tus ovejas, ni los votos que hagas, ni las ofrendas voluntarias, ni las ofrendas elevadas, 18 sino que las comerás delante del Señor tu Dios, en el lugar que el Señor tu Dios haya escogido; las comerás tú, y tu hijo y tu hija, y tu siervo y tu sierva, y el levita que habite en tus poblaciones, y te regocijarás delante del Señor tu Dios por todo lo que hayas hecho con tus manos. 19 Pero ten cuidado de no desamparar al levita todos tus días sobre la tierra.
20 »Cuando el Señor tu Dios ensanche tu territorio, como él te lo ha dicho, y tú digas: “Voy a comer carne”, porque deseas comerla, podrás hacerlo conforme a tu deseo. 21 Si está lejos de ti el lugar que el Señor tu Dios haya escogido para establecer allí su nombre, podrás matar alguna de las vacas o de las ovejas que el Señor te haya dado, tal y como te lo he ordenado, y comer toda la carne que quieras, dentro de tu ciudad. 22 Podrás comerla como si se tratara de carne de gacela o de ciervo, y también podrán comerla los que estén puros y los que estén impuros. 23 Pero debes ser firme en cuanto a no comer sangre, porque la sangre es la vida, así que no comerás la vida juntamente con su carne. 24 No la comerás, sino que la derramarás en tierra, como si fuera agua.(C) 25 No la comerás, para que te vaya bien a ti, y a tus hijos después de ti, si es que haces lo recto a los ojos del Señor. 26 Pero tomarás lo que hayas consagrado, junto con tus votos, y las llevarás al lugar que el Señor haya escogido, 27 y allí, sobre el altar del Señor tu Dios, ofrecerás tus holocaustos, y la carne y la sangre; allí la sangre de tus sacrificios será derramada sobre el altar del Señor tu Dios, y entonces podrás comer la carne. 28 Ten cuidado y escucha todas estas palabras que yo te mando, para que al hacer lo bueno y lo recto a los ojos del Señor tu Dios te vaya bien siempre, a ti y a tus hijos después de ti.
Advertencias contra la idolatría
29 »Cuando el Señor tu Dios haya destruido a tu paso las naciones de las que tú vas a tomar posesión, y las hayas tomado, y te hayas establecido en su tierra, 30 una vez que hayan sido destruidas delante de ti, ten cuidado de no tropezar al ir en pos de ellas. No preguntes acerca de sus dioses, ni digas: “Así como aquellas naciones servían a sus dioses, también yo les serviré.” 31 No trates así al Señor tu Dios, porque ellos hicieron con sus dioses todo lo que es repugnante, y que el Señor aborrece. ¡Incluso lanzaban al fuego a sus hijos y a sus hijas, como ofrenda a sus dioses!
32 »Ten cuidado de hacer todo lo que yo te mando que hagas. No le añadas nada, ni le quites.(D)
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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