Deuteronomy 12
English Standard Version
The Lord's Chosen Place of Worship
12 (A)“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, (B)all the days that you live on the earth. 2 (C)You shall surely destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess served their gods, (D)on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces (E)their pillars and burn their (F)Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and (G)destroy their name out of that place. 4 (H)You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. 5 But you shall seek (I)the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation[a] there. There you shall go, 6 and there you shall bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, (J)your tithes and the contribution that you present, your vow offerings, your freewill offerings, and the (K)firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 And (L)there you shall eat before the Lord your God, and (M)you shall rejoice, you and your households, in all that you undertake, in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
8 “You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, (N)everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes, 9 for you have not as yet come to (O)the rest and to the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But when (P)you go over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, (Q)and when he gives you rest from all your enemies around, so that you live in safety, 11 then to (R)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, (S)your tithes and the contribution that you present, and all your finest vow offerings that you vow to the Lord. 12 And (T)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 (U)he has no portion or inheritance with you. 13 (V)Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, 14 but at (W)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.
15 “However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, as much as you desire, (X)according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. (Y)The unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and as of the deer. 16 (Z)Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 17 You may not eat within your towns (AA)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, 18 but (AB)you shall eat them before the Lord your God in (AC)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 (AD)you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all that you undertake. 19 (AE)Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.
20 “When the Lord your God (AF)enlarges your territory, (AG)as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you crave meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire. 21 If (AH)the place that the Lord your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, (AI)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. 22 Just (AJ)as the gazelle or the deer is eaten, so you may eat of it. (AK)The unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23 (AL)Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, (AM)for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the earth like water. 25 You shall not eat it, (AN)that all may go well with you and with your children after you, (AO)when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. 26 But the (AP)holy things that are due from you, and (AQ)your vow offerings, you shall take, and you shall go to (AR)the place that the Lord will choose, 27 and (AS)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. 28 Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, (AT)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.
Warning Against Idolatry
29 “When (AU)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, 30 take care (AV)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.’ 31 (AW)You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every (AX)abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for (AY)they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 [b] “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. (AZ)You shall not add to it or take from it.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 12:5 Or name as its habitation
- Deuteronomy 12:32 Ch 13:1 in Hebrew
Deuteronomy 12
New Living Translation
The Lord’s Chosen Place for Worship
12 “These are the decrees and regulations you must be careful to obey when you live in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must obey them as long as you live.
2 “When you drive out the nations that live there, you must destroy all the places where they worship their gods—high on the mountains, up on the hills, and under every green tree. 3 Break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Burn their Asherah poles and cut down their carved idols. Completely erase the names of their gods!
4 “Do not worship the Lord your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. 5 Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored. 6 There you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, your offerings to fulfill a vow, your voluntary offerings, and your offerings of the firstborn animals of your herds and flocks. 7 There you and your families will feast in the presence of the Lord your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the Lord your God has blessed you.
8 “Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please, 9 because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. 10 But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you. When he gives you rest from all your enemies and you’re living safely in the land, 11 you must bring everything I command you—your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, and your offerings to fulfill a vow—to the designated place of worship, the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored.
12 “You must celebrate there in the presence of the Lord your God with your sons and daughters and all your servants. And remember to include the Levites who live in your towns, for they will receive no allotment of land among you. 13 Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings just anywhere you like. 14 You may do so only at the place the Lord will choose within one of your tribal territories. There you must offer your burnt offerings and do everything I command you.
15 “But you may butcher your animals and eat their meat in any town whenever you want. You may freely eat the animals with which the Lord your God blesses you. All of you, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you now eat gazelle and deer. 16 But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water.
17 “But you may not eat your offerings in your hometown—neither the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, nor the firstborn of your flocks and herds, nor any offering to fulfill a vow, nor your voluntary offerings, nor your sacred offerings. 18 You must eat these in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose. Eat them there with your children, your servants, and the Levites who live in your towns, celebrating in the presence of the Lord your God in all you do. 19 And be very careful never to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
20 “When the Lord your God expands your territory as he has promised, and you have the urge to eat meat, you may freely eat meat whenever you want. 21 It might happen that the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—is a long way from your home. If so, you may butcher any of the cattle, sheep, or goats the Lord has given you, and you may freely eat the meat in your hometown, as I have commanded you. 22 Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you do now with gazelle and deer. 23 But never consume the blood, for the blood is the life, and you must not consume the lifeblood with the meat. 24 Instead, pour out the blood on the ground like water. 25 Do not consume the blood, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what pleases the Lord.
26 “Take your sacred gifts and your offerings given to fulfill a vow to the place the Lord chooses. 27 You must offer the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your other sacrifices must be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat. 28 Be careful to obey all my commands, so that all will go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the Lord your God.
29 “When the Lord your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, 30 do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ 31 You must not worship the Lord your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.
32 [a]“So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.
Footnotes
- 12:32 Verse 12:32 is numbered 13:1 in Hebrew text.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
