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 Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Pagan Shrines to Be Destroyed
12 “These are the statutes and ordinances that you must diligently observe in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to occupy all the days that you live on the earth.(A)
2 “You must demolish completely all the places where the nations whom you are about to dispossess served their gods, on the mountain heights, on the hills, and under every leafy tree. 3 Break down their altars, smash their pillars, burn their sacred poles[a] with fire, and cut down the idols of their gods, and thus blot out their name from their places.(B) 4 You shall not serve the Lord your God in such ways. 5 But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes as his habitation to put his name there. You shall go there,(C) 6 bringing there your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and your donations, your votive gifts, your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks. 7 And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your households together, rejoicing in all the undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.(D)
8 “You shall not act as we are acting here today, all of us according to our own desires, 9 for you have not yet come into the rest and the possession that the Lord your God is giving you. 10 When you cross over the Jordan and live in the land that the Lord your God is allotting to you, and when he gives you rest from your enemies all around so that you live in safety,(E) 11 then you shall bring everything that I command you to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and your donations, and all your choice votive gifts that you vow to the Lord.(F) 12 And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you together with your sons and your daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levites who reside in your towns (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you).(G)
A Prescribed Place of Worship
13 “Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place you happen to see. 14 But only 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 everything I command you.(H)
15 “Yet whenever you desire you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, according to the blessing that the Lord your God has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as they would of gazelle or deer.(I) 16 The blood, however, you must not eat; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.(J) 17 Nor may you eat within your towns the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, the firstlings of your herds and your flocks, any of your votive gifts that you vow, your freewill offerings, or your donations; 18 these you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God at the place that the Lord your God will choose, you together with your son and your daughter, your male and female slaves, and the Levites resident in your towns, rejoicing in the presence of the Lord your God in all your undertakings.(K) 19 Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.(L)
20 “When the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I am going to eat some meat,’ because you wish to eat meat, you may eat meat whenever you have the desire.(M) 21 If the place where the Lord your God will choose to put his name is too far from you, and you slaughter as I have commanded you any of your herd or flock that the Lord has given you, then you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. 22 Indeed, just as gazelle or deer is eaten, so you may eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it.(N) 23 Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat.(O) 24 Do not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25 Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.(P) 26 But the sacred donations that are due from you and your votive gifts you shall bring to the place that the Lord will choose.(Q) 27 You shall present your burnt offerings, both the meat and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; the blood of your other sacrifices shall be poured out beside[b] the altar of the Lord your God, but the meat you may eat.
28 “Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.(R)
Warning against Idolatry
29 “When the Lord your God has cut off before you the nations whom you are about to enter to dispossess them, when you have dispossessed them and live in their land, 30 take care that you are not snared into imitating them, after they have been destroyed before you; do not inquire concerning their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also want to do the same.’ 31 You must not do the same for the Lord your God, because every abhorrent thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods. They would even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.(S) 32 [c]You must diligently observe everything that I command you; do not add to it or take anything from it.(T)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.