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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)

Footnotes

  1. 12.3 Or Asherahs
  2. 12.27 Or on
  3. 12.32 13.1 in Heb
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Deuteronomy 12
New English Translation

The Central Sanctuary

12 These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to obey as long as you live in the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors,[a] has given you to possess.[b] 2 You must by all means destroy[c] all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods—on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree.[d] 3 You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars,[e] burn up their sacred Asherah poles,[f] and cut down the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory from that place. 4 You must not worship the Lord your God the way they worship. 5 But you must seek only the place he[g] chooses from all your tribes to establish his name as his place of residence,[h] and you must go there. 6 And there you must take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared,[i] your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7 Both you and your families[j] must feast there before the Lord your God and rejoice in all the output of your labor with which he[k] has blessed you. 8 You must not do as we are doing here today, with everyone[l] doing what seems best to him, 9 for you have not yet come to the final stop[m] and inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 10 When you do go across the Jordan River[n] and settle in the land he[o] is granting you as an inheritance and you find relief from all the enemies who surround you, you will live in safety.[p] 11 Then you must come to the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to reside, bringing[q] everything I am commanding you—your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared,[r] and all your choice votive offerings that you devote to him.[s] 12 You shall rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages[t] (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you).[u] 13 Make sure you do not offer burnt offerings in any place you wish, 14 for you may do so[v] only in the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribal areas—there you may do everything I am commanding you.[w]

Regulations for Eating Sacrificial and Non-Sacrificial Foods

15 On the other hand, you may slaughter and eat meat as you please when the Lord your God blesses you[x] in all your villages.[y] Both the ritually pure and impure may eat it, whether it is a gazelle or an ibex. 16 However, you must not eat blood—pour it out on the ground like water. 17 You will not be allowed to eat in your villages your tithe of grain, new wine, olive oil, the firstborn of your herd and flock, any votive offerings you have vowed, or your freewill and personal offerings. 18 Only in the presence of the Lord your God may you eat these, in the place he[z] chooses. This applies to you, your son, your daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levites[aa] in your villages. In that place you will rejoice before the Lord your God in all the output of your labor.[ab] 19 Be careful not to overlook the Levites as long as you live in the land.

The Sanctity of Blood

20 When the Lord your God extends your borders as he said he would do and you say, “I want to eat meat just as I please,”[ac] you may do so as you wish.[ad] 21 If the place he[ae] chooses to locate his name is too far for you, you may slaughter any of your herd and flock he[af] has given you just as I have stipulated; you may eat them in your villages[ag] just as you wish. 22 As you eat the gazelle or ibex, so you may eat these; the ritually impure and pure alike may eat them. 23 However, by no means eat the blood, for the blood is life itself[ah]—you must not eat the life with the meat. 24 You must not eat it! You must pour it out on the ground like water. 25 You must not eat it so that it may go well with you and your children after you; you will be doing what is right in the Lord’s sight.[ai] 26 But the holy things and votive offerings that belong to you, you must pick up and take to the place the Lord will choose.[aj] 27 You must offer your burnt offerings, both meat and blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; the blood of your other sacrifices[ak] you must pour out on his[al] altar while you eat the meat. 28 Pay careful attention to all these things I am commanding you so that it may always go well with you and your children after you when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

The Abomination of Pagan Gods

29 When the Lord your God eliminates the nations from the place where you are headed and you dispossess them, you will settle down in their land.[am] 30 After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same.” 31 You must not worship the Lord your God the way they do![an] For everything that is abhorrent[ao] to him,[ap] everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods!

Idolatry and False Prophets

32 (13:1)[aq] You[ar] must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it![as]

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 12:1 tn Heb “fathers.”
  2. Deuteronomy 12:1 tn Heb “you must be careful to obey in the land the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days which you live in the land.” This adverbial statement modifies “to obey,” not “to possess,” so the order in the translation has been rearranged to make this clear.
  3. Deuteronomy 12:2 tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”
  4. Deuteronomy 12:2 sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.
  5. Deuteronomy 12:3 sn Sacred pillars. These are the stelae (stone pillars; the Hebrew term is מַצֵּבֹת, matsevot) associated with Baal worship, perhaps to mark a spot hallowed by an alleged visitation of the gods. See also Deut 7:5.
  6. Deuteronomy 12:3 sn Sacred Asherah poles. The Hebrew term (plural) is אֲשֵׁרִים (ʾasherim). See note on the word “(leafy) tree” in v. 2, and also Deut 7:5.
  7. Deuteronomy 12:5 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  8. Deuteronomy 12:5 tc Some scholars, on the basis of v. 11, emend the MT reading שִׁכְנוֹ (shikhno, “his residence”) to the infinitive construct לְשַׁכֵּן (leshakken, “to make [his name] to dwell”), perhaps with the third person masculine singular sf לְשַׁכְּנוֹ (leshakkeno, “to cause it to dwell”). Though the presupposed noun שֵׁכֶן (shekhen) is nowhere else attested, the parallel here with שַׁמָּה (shammah, “there”) favors retaining the MT as it stands.
  9. Deuteronomy 12:6 tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”
  10. Deuteronomy 12:7 tn Heb “and your houses,” referring to entire households. The pronouns “you” and “your” are plural in the Hebrew text.
  11. Deuteronomy 12:7 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.
  12. Deuteronomy 12:8 tn Heb “a man.”
  13. Deuteronomy 12:9 tn Heb “rest.”
  14. Deuteronomy 12:10 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
  15. Deuteronomy 12:10 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.
  16. Deuteronomy 12:10 tn In the Hebrew text vv. 10-11 are one long, complex sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides this into two sentences.
  17. Deuteronomy 12:11 tn Heb “and it will be (to) the place where the Lord your God chooses to cause his name to dwell you will bring.”
  18. Deuteronomy 12:11 tn Heb “heave offerings of your hand.”
  19. Deuteronomy 12:11 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 12:5.
  20. Deuteronomy 12:12 tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”
  21. Deuteronomy 12:12 sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.
  22. Deuteronomy 12:14 tn Heb “offer burnt offerings.” The expression “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  23. Deuteronomy 12:14 sn This injunction to worship in a single and central sanctuary—one limited and appropriate to the thrice-annual festival celebrations (see Exod 23:14-17; 34:22-24; Lev 23:4-36; Deut 16:16-17)—marks a departure from previous times when worship was carried out at local shrines (cf. Gen 8:20; 12:7; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 35:1, 3, 7; Exod 17:15). Apart from the corporate worship of the whole theocratic community, however, worship at local altars would still be permitted as in the past (Deut 16:21; Judg 6:24-27; 13:19-20; 1 Sam 7:17; 10:5, 13; 2 Sam 24:18-25; 1 Kgs 18:30).
  24. Deuteronomy 12:15 tn Heb “only in all the desire of your soul you may sacrifice and eat flesh according to the blessing of the Lord your God which he has given to you.”
  25. Deuteronomy 12:15 tn Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB; likewise in vv. 17, 18).
  26. Deuteronomy 12:18 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.
  27. Deuteronomy 12:18 tn See note at Deut 12:12.
  28. Deuteronomy 12:18 tn Heb “in all the sending forth of your hands.”
  29. Deuteronomy 12:20 tn Heb “for my soul desires to eat meat.”
  30. Deuteronomy 12:20 tn Heb “according to all the desire of your soul you may eat meat.”
  31. Deuteronomy 12:21 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.
  32. Deuteronomy 12:21 tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 12:5.
  33. Deuteronomy 12:21 tn Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in your own community.”
  34. Deuteronomy 12:23 sn The blood is life itself. This is a figure of speech (metonymy) in which the cause or means (the blood) stands for the result or effect (life). That is, life depends upon the existence and circulation of blood, a truth known empirically but not scientifically tested and proved until the 17th century a.d. (cf. Lev 17:11).
  35. Deuteronomy 12:25 tc Heb “in the eyes of the Lord.” The LXX adds “your God” to create the common formula, “the Lord your God.” The MT is preferred precisely because it does not include the stereotyped formula; thus it more likely preserves the original text.
  36. Deuteronomy 12:26 tc Again, to complete a commonly attested wording the LXX adds after “choose” the phrase “to place his name there.” This shows insensitivity to deliberate departures from literary stereotypes. The MT reading is to be preferred.
  37. Deuteronomy 12:27 sn These other sacrifices would be so-called peace or fellowship offerings whose ritual required a different use of the blood from that of burnt (sin and trespass) offerings (cf. Lev 3; 7:11-14, 19-21).
  38. Deuteronomy 12:27 tn Heb “on the altar of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
  39. Deuteronomy 12:29 tn Heb “dwell in their land” (so NASB). In the Hebrew text vv. 29-30 are one long sentence. For stylistic reasons the translation divides it into two.
  40. Deuteronomy 12:31 tn Heb “you must not do thus to/for the Lord your God.”
  41. Deuteronomy 12:31 tn See note on this term at Deut 7:25.
  42. Deuteronomy 12:31 tn Heb “every abomination of the Lord.” See note on the word “his” in v. 27.
  43. Deuteronomy 12:32 sn Beginning with 12:32, the verse numbers through 13:18 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 12:32 ET = 13:1 HT, 13:1 ET = 13:2 HT, 13:2 ET = 13:3 HT, etc., through 13:18 ET = 13:19 HT. With 14:1 the verse numbers in the ET and HT are again the same.
  44. Deuteronomy 12:32 tn This verse highlights a phenomenon found throughout Deuteronomy, but most especially in chap. 12, namely, the alternation of grammatical singular and plural forms of the pronoun (known as Numeruswechsel in German scholarship). Critical scholarship in general resolves the “problem” by suggesting varying literary traditions—one favorable to the singular pronoun and the other to the plural—which appear in the (obviously rough) redacted text at hand. Even the ancient versions were troubled by the lack of harmony of grammatical number and in this verse, for example, offered a number of alternate readings. The MT reads “Everything I am commanding you (plural) you (plural) must be careful to do; you (singular) must not add to it nor should you (singular) subtract form it.” Smr, LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate suggest singular for the first two pronouns but a few Smr mss propose plural for the last two. What both ancient and modern scholars tend to overlook, however, is the covenantal theological tone of the Book of Deuteronomy, one that views Israel as a collective body (singular) made up of many individuals (plural). See M. Weinfeld, Deuteronomy 1-11 (AB), 15-16; J. A. Thompson, Deuteronomy (TOTC), 21-23.
  45. Deuteronomy 12:32 sn Do not add to it or subtract from it. This prohibition makes at least two profound theological points: (1) This work by Moses is of divine origination (i.e., it is inspired) and therefore can tolerate no human alteration; and (2) the work is complete as it stands (i.e., it is canonical).
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