Deuteronomy 12
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
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.
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 hew down the idols of their gods, and thus blot out their name from their places. 4 You shall not worship 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, 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.
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, 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. 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).
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.
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. 16 The blood, however, you must not eat; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 17 Nor may you eat within your towns the tithe of your grain, your wine, or your oil, the firstlings of your herds or 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. 19 Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.
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. 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. 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. 24 Do not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25 Do not eat it, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, because you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. 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. 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 today,[c] so that it may go well with you and with your children after you for ever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
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 ensnared into imitating them, after they have been destroyed before you: do not inquire concerning their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations worship 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. 32 [d] You must diligently observe everything that I command you; do not add to it or take anything from it.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 12:3 Heb Asherim
- Deuteronomy 12:27 Or on
- Deuteronomy 12:28 Gk Sam Syr: MT lacks today
- Deuteronomy 12:32 Ch 13.1 in Heb
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
Evangelical Heritage Version
12 These are the statutes and the ordinances that you are to be conscientious about keeping in the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given to you to possess all the days that you live in the land:
2 Completely destroy all the places where the nations that you are driving out serve their gods, whether on the high mountains or on the hills or under every beautiful green tree. 3 Tear down their altars! Smash their sacred memorial stones! Burn their Asherah poles[a] with fire, and cut down the carved images of their gods! In this way you will destroy their names from those places.
4 Do not serve the Lord your God in the way that they worship, 5 but seek out and go to the site that the Lord your God will choose from within all your tribes to place his name and his dwelling place. 6 There you are to bring your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the elevated offerings from your hands, your offerings to fulfill a vow, your voluntary offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock. 7 Eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, and rejoice in everything you do, you and your household, because the Lord your God has blessed you.
8 Do not in any way do what we are doing here today, that is, each person doing whatever is right in his own eyes, 9 because you have not yet come to your place of rest, the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving to you.
10 But you will cross over the Jordan and settle in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies all around you, so that you will live in safety. 11 Then go to the place that the Lord your God chooses as the place to establish his name. There you are to bring everything that I am commanding you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes, the offerings from your hands, and all the best voluntary offerings that you vow to the Lord.
12 You will rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, and your male servants and your female servants, and the Levites who live within the gates of your cities, because they do not have an allotted inheritance among you.
13 Be careful that you do not offer up your burnt offering in just any place that you see fit, 14 but only in the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes. That is where you are to offer up your burnt offerings and where you are to do everything that I am commanding you.
15 But in any town you may butcher and eat meat to your heart’s content, as the Lord your God has blessed you. The unclean and the clean person alike may eat it as they would a gazelle or a deer, 16 but you must never eat the blood. Pour it on the ground like water.
17 You are not to eat the tithe from your grain, your new wine, or your fresh oil in your towns. The same applies to the firstborn of your herd and your flock, or anything you vow, or your voluntary offerings, or your special elevated offerings. 18 Eat those things before the Lord your God in the place that the Lord your God will choose—you and your sons and your daughters, your male servants and your female servants, and the Levites within your cities. Rejoice before the Lord your God in everything that you are doing.
19 Be careful that you do not neglect the Levites as long as you live on your land.
20 When the Lord your God expands your territory as he promised you, and you say, “I would like to eat meat,” because you are hungry for meat, then you may eat it to your heart’s content. 21 If the place that the Lord your God will choose to establish his name is too far away for you, then you may slaughter[b] animals from your herd and flock which the Lord has given you, just as I commanded you, and you may eat within your cities as you desire. 22 Yes, just as gazelle and deer are eaten, you may eat it. The unclean and the clean person alike may eat it. 23 Only be very sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life together with the flesh. 24 Do not eat it. Pour it out on the ground like water. 25 Do not eat it, so that it may go well for you and for your children after you when you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
26 But as for the holy things that you have and your voluntary offerings, gather them up and take them to the place that the Lord will choose. 27 Offer your burnt offerings, both the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of the sacrifice is to be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, but the meat you may eat.
28 Be careful that you obey all these words that I am commanding you so that it may go well for you and for your children after you in the distant future when you do what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.
29 When the Lord your God cuts off the nations where you are going and drives them out before you, and when you take possession of their land and settle in it, 30 be careful that you are not snared after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods and ask, “How did these people serve their gods? I also want to do the same thing.”
31 Do not serve the Lord your God in the way that they worship, because they do for their gods every detestable thing that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in fire for their gods.
32 Be careful to do everything that I am commanding you. Do not add to it, and do not subtract from it.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 12:3 Asherah poles were representations of the goddess Asherah. They may have been living trees or poles carved from tree trunks.
- Deuteronomy 12:21 The word translated slaughter often refers to sacrifices, but sacrifices were to be offered only at the Dwelling, which was the only legitimate sanctuary.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.