Deuteronomy 12:15-19

The Voice

¹⁵ However, if you just want to have meat for a meal, if the Eternal your God has blessed you and you can afford it, you can do that in your own towns. Slaughter the animals and eat them there. It’s not a sacred meal, so people don’t need to be ritually pure to eat it, and it can be a gazelle or a deer. ¹⁶ But don’t consume any of the blood; pour it out on the ground like water as you would for any slaughter or sacrifice. ¹⁷ And remember you still can’t eat any of the special offerings in your own towns: tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil; firstborn animals from your herds and flocks, any payments to fulfill vows, or freewill gifts and uplifted offerings. ¹⁸ Eat these special offerings in His presence in the place He chooses. Bring your sons, your daughters, and your male and female slaves, and remember to invite the Levites who live in your town. Celebrate together, in His presence, everything you’ve been able to accomplish. ¹⁹ (Don’t ever neglect the Levites! Make sharing with them a part of your lifestyle the whole time you’re living in that land.)