12 These are the laws and the rules that you must obey. Be careful to obey them when you live in the land that the Lord your God has given to you. He is the God that your ancestors worshipped. Obey these laws all the time that you live in that land.
2 You will chase out the nations who live there. Then you must destroy completely all the places where those people worship their gods. Those places are on the tops of mountains and hills, and under big green trees. 3 You must break into pieces their altars and stone pillars. Burn their Asherah poles. Knock down the images of their gods. Destroy those places so that nobody remembers the false gods.
4 Do not worship the Lord your God in the same way that those people worship their gods. 5 The Lord will choose one place from the land where all your tribes live. That is the place where people must go to worship him. That is his special home. 6 That is where you must take your burnt offerings and other sacrifices to offer to the Lord . Take your tithes and offerings to him there. Take the gifts that you have promised to give, and the gifts that you choose to give. Take the firstborn animals from your cows, sheep and goats. 7 You and your families will go there to meet with the Lord your God. You will be happy as you eat together there. You will enjoy the results of all your work, because the Lord has blessed you.
8 At this time, all of you now do what you think is right. But when you are in the land, you must worship God in a different way. 9 You have not yet reached the place where you can rest. That is in the land that the Lord your God is giving to you as your home. 10 But when you go across the Jordan River, that land will become your home. The Lord will protect you from all the enemies who are around you. You will live safely. 11 At that time, the Lord your God will choose one special place for his people to worship him. You must take there everything that I have told you. Take your burnt offerings and other sacrifices to offer to the Lord . Take your tithes and special offerings. Take the special gifts that you have promised to give to him. Take everything to the place that God will choose. 12 Go there to enjoy time with the Lord your God. Take with you your children and your servants. Also take with you the Levites who live in your towns. Remember that they have not received any land for themselves, as you have.
13 So be careful! Do not offer your burnt offerings in any place that you choose for yourself. 14 Only make offerings to the Lord in the place that he chooses. That will be in the land that belongs to one of your tribes. It is the place where you must do all the things that I am commanding you to do.
15 But you may kill your animals and eat the meat in any of the towns where you live. When the Lord your God blesses you and he gives you animals, you may eat them as often as you want. It is the same as if you are eating meat from deer. Anyone may eat it. That includes people who are clean and people who are unclean. 16 But you must not eat the blood of any animal. You must pour it on the ground like water. 17 Do not eat any of your offerings to the Lord in the places where you live. Do not eat the tithes that you have taken from your grain, your new wine or your olive oil. Do not eat at home the firstborn animals from your cows, sheep or goats. Do not eat the gifts that you have promised, the gifts that you choose to give or any other special gifts. 18 You may only eat these offerings in the place that the Lord will choose as his special home. That is true for you, your children, your servants and the Levites who live in your towns. At that place, you should meet with the Lord your God and you should enjoy the results of all your work. 19 As long as you live in the land, be careful to take care of the Levites. [ a ]
20 The Lord your God has promised to give you more and more land. When he does that, perhaps you will say, ‘I would like to eat some meat.’ Then you may eat as much meat as you like. 21 The place that God chooses as his special home may be far away from you. If it is, you may kill any of the animals that the Lord has given to you. You may eat the meat at your own town, in the way that I have told you. 22 You should eat them in the same way that you eat deer. People who are unclean may eat them, as well as people who are clean. 23 But never eat the blood. The blood of an animal gives it life. You must not eat the life together with the meat! 24 You must not eat the blood. You must pour it on the ground like water. 25 Do not eat it! Then you will be doing what the Lord says is right. You will enjoy a happy life and so will your children.
26 It is only the holy things that you must take to the place that the Lord will choose for himself. Those are the gifts and sacrifices that you are offering to him. 27 Offer the meat and the blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. For the other sacrifices, you must pour out the blood beside the altar. But you may eat the meat. 28 Be careful to obey all these commands that I am giving to you. Then you will be doing things that the Lord your God says are good and right. You and your children will enjoy a happy life.
29 When you go into the land where the other nations live, the Lord your God will remove them. You will take their land and you will live on it. 30 But after the Lord has destroyed them, be careful! Do not do the same wrong things as they do. Do not try to worship their gods. Do not say, ‘How do the people of these nations worship their gods? I would like to do the same thing!’
31 No! You must not worship the Lord your God in the same way that those people worship their gods. When they worship, they do wicked things that the Lord hates. They even burn their children with fire, to make sacrifices to their gods.
32 Be careful to do everything that I am telling you. Do not add anything to these commands. Do not remove anything from them.
12 “These are the laws and rules that you must obey in your new land. You must carefully obey them as long as you live in this land. The Lord is the God of your ancestors, and he is giving this land to you. 2 You will take that land from the nations that live there now. You must completely destroy all the places where the people of these nations worship their gods. These places are on high mountains, on hills, and under green trees. 3 You must smash their altars and break their memorial stones into pieces. You must burn their Asherah poles and cut down the statues of their gods. Wipe out everything that would remind you of those gods.
4 “You must not worship the Lord your God in the same way these people worship their gods. 5 The Lord your God will choose a special place among your tribes. That will be the home for his name. You must go to that place to worship him. 6 There you must bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your crops and animals, [ a ] your special gifts, any gifts you promised to him, any special gift you want to give, and the first animals born in your herds and flocks. 7 You and your families will eat together at that place, and the Lord your God will be there with you. You will enjoy sharing the things you worked for there. You will remember that the Lord your God blessed you and gave you these good things.
8 “You must not continue to worship the way we have been worshiping. Until now each of us has been worshiping God any way we wanted. 9 This is because we have not yet entered the peaceful land that the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But you will go across the Jordan River and live in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. There he will give you rest from all your enemies, and you will be safe. 11 Then the Lord your God will choose a place that will be the home for his name. You must bring everything I command you to that place. Bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your crops and animals, your special gifts, and any gifts that you promised to give to the Lord . 12 Come to that place with all your people—your children, all your servants, and the Levites living in your towns. (These Levites will not have a share of the land for their own.) Enjoy yourselves together there with the Lord your God. 13 Be sure you don’t offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see. 14 The Lord will choose his special place among your tribes. Offer your burnt offerings and do everything else I told you only in that place.
15 “Whenever you want to eat meat, you can enjoy that blessing from the Lord your God wherever you live. You can butcher the animal just as you do gazelles and deer, and anyone, clean or unclean, can eat it. 16 But you must not eat the blood. You must pour the blood on the ground like water.
17 “Also, the things you are offering to God must not be eaten where you live. These include the part of your grain that belongs to God, the part of your new wine and oil that belongs to God, the first animals born in your herd or flock, any gift that you promised to God, any special gifts you want to give, or any other gifts for God. 18 You must eat these offerings only in his presence at the special place that the Lord your God will choose. You must go there and eat together with your sons, your daughters, all your servants, and the Levites living in your towns. Enjoy yourselves there with the Lord your God. Enjoy what you have worked for. 19 But be sure that you always share these meals with the Levites. Do this as long as you live in your land.
20-21 “The Lord your God promised to make your country larger. When he does this, you might live too far from the place the Lord your God chooses to be the home for his name. If it is too far, and you are hungry for meat, you may eat any meat you have. You may kill any animal from the herd or flock that he has given you. Do this the way I have commanded you. You may eat this meat there where you live any time you want. 22 You may eat this meat the same as you would eat gazelle or deer meat. Anyone can do this—people who are clean and people who are unclean. 23 But be especially careful not to eat the blood, because the life is in the blood. You must not eat meat that still has its life in it. 24 Don’t eat the blood. Pour it out like water onto the ground. 25 So don’t eat blood. You must do what the Lord says is right, and good things will happen to you and to your descendants.
26 “If you decide to give something special to God, you must go to the special place that the Lord your God will choose. And if you make a special promise, you must go to that place to give that gift to God. 27 You must offer your burnt offerings in that place. Offer the meat and the blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. For your other sacrifices, you must pour the blood on the altar of the Lord your God. Then you may eat the meat. 28 Carefully obey all the commands that I give you. When you do what is good and right—what pleases the Lord your God—then everything will go well for you and for your descendants forever.
29 “You are going to take your land from other people. The Lord your God will destroy these people for you. You will force them out of that land, and then you will live there. 30 But be careful that you don’t fall into the same trap they did! Don’t go to their false gods for help. Don’t say to yourself, ‘They worshiped these gods, so I will worship them too.’ 31 Don’t do that to the Lord your God! These people do all kinds of bad things that the Lord hates. They even burn their children as sacrifices to their gods!
32 “You must be careful to do everything I command you. Don’t add anything to what I tell you, and don’t take anything away.
12 These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
3 And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
4 Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God.
5 But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
7 And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.
8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you.
10 But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
11 Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord :
12 And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.
13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:
14 But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
15 Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.
16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:
18 But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.
19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
20 When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
21 If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the Lord hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
22 Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
23 Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
25 Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord .
26 Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the Lord shall choose:
27 And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the Lord thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.
28 Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.
29 When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31 Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God: for every abomination to the Lord , which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
12 “These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully [ a ] follow in the land which the Lord , the God of your fathers, has given you to possess [ b ] ( A ) as long as you live on the [ c ] earth. 2 You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you are going to dispossess serve their gods, on the ( B ) high mountains, on the hills, and under every leafy tree. 3 And ( C ) you shall tear down their altars and smash their memorial stones to pieces, and burn their [ d ] Asherim in the fire, and cut to pieces the carved images of their gods; and you shall ( D ) eliminate their name from that place. 4 You shall not act this way toward the Lord your God. 5 ( E ) But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and you shall come there. 6 You shall bring there your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, ( F ) your tithes, the [ e ] contribution of your hand, your vowed offerings, your [ f ] voluntary offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 There you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and ( G ) rejoice in all [ g ] your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.
8 “You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, ( H ) everyone doing whatever is right in his own eyes; 9 for you have not as yet come to ( I ) the resting place and the ( J ) inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. 10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and ( K ) He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, 11 ( L ) then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring everything that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the [ h ] contribution of your hand, and all your choice vowed offerings which you will vow to the Lord . 12 And you shall ( M ) rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the ( N ) Levite who is within your gates, since ( O ) he has no portion or inheritance with you.
13 “ ( P ) Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in any cultic place that you see, 14 but only in the place which the Lord chooses in one of your tribes: there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do everything that I command you.
15 “ ( Q ) However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, [ i ] whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as ( R ) the gazelle and the deer. 16 ( S ) Only you shall not eat the blood; ( T ) you are to pour it out on the ground like water. 17 ( U ) You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, new wine, or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your vowed offerings which you vow, or your [ j ] voluntary offerings, or the [ k ] contribution of your hand. 18 But ( V ) you shall eat them before the Lord your God in ( W ) the place which the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female slaves, and the ( X ) Levite who is within your gates; and you shall ( Y ) rejoice before the Lord your God in all [ l ] your undertakings. 19 ( Z ) Be careful that you do not abandon the Levite [ m ] as long as you live in your land.
20 “When the Lord your God extends your border ( AA ) as He has [ n ] promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because [ o ] you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, [ p ] whatever you desire. 21 If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter animals from your herd and flock which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates [ q ] whatever you desire. 22 Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you may eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it. 23 Only be sure ( AB ) not to eat the blood, for the blood is the [ r ] life, and you shall not eat the [ s ] life with the flesh. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25 You shall not eat it, so that ( AC ) it may go well for you and your sons after you, since ( AD ) you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord . 26 ( AE ) Only your holy things which you may have and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the Lord chooses. 27 And ( AF ) you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh 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 ( AG ) you shall eat the flesh.
28 “Be careful and listen to all these words which I am commanding you, so that ( AH ) it may go well for you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
29 “When ( AI ) the Lord your God cuts off from you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and live in their land, 30 be careful that you are not ensnared [ t ] to follow them, after they are destroyed from your presence, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31 ( AJ ) You shall not behave this way toward the Lord your God, because every abominable act which the Lord hates, they have done for their gods; for ( AK ) they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire for their gods.
32 “ [ u ] ( AL ) Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; ( AM ) you shall not add to nor take anything away from it.
12 These are the decrees ( A ) and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord , the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land. ( B ) 2 Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, ( C ) on the hills and under every spreading tree, ( D ) where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. 3 Break down their altars, smash ( E ) their sacred stones and burn ( F ) their Asherah ( G ) poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names ( H ) from those places.
4 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. ( I ) 5 But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name ( J ) there for his dwelling. ( K ) To that place you must go; 6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes ( L ) and special gifts, what you have vowed ( M ) to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. ( N ) 7 There, in the presence ( O ) of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice ( P ) in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.
8 You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, ( Q ) 9 since you have not yet reached the resting place ( R ) and the inheritance ( S ) the Lord your God is giving you. 10 But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving ( T ) you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest ( U ) from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. 11 Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name ( V ) —there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord . ( W ) 12 And there rejoice ( X ) before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites ( Y ) from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance ( Z ) of their own. 13 Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. ( AA ) 14 Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose ( AB ) in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.
15 Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, ( AC ) according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. 16 But you must not eat the blood; ( AD ) pour ( AE ) it out on the ground like water. ( AF ) 17 You must not eat in your own towns the tithe ( AG ) of your grain and new wine and olive oil, ( AH ) or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, ( AI ) or your freewill offerings or special gifts. ( AJ ) 18 Instead, you are to eat ( AK ) them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose ( AL ) —you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice ( AM ) before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to. 19 Be careful not to neglect the Levites ( AN ) as long as you live in your land. ( AO )
20 When the Lord your God has enlarged your territory ( AP ) as he promised ( AQ ) you, and you crave meat ( AR ) and say, “I would like some meat,” then you may eat as much of it as you want. 21 If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name ( AS ) is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want. ( AT ) 22 Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. ( AU ) Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat. 23 But be sure you do not eat the blood, ( AV ) because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. ( AW ) 24 You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. ( AX ) 25 Do not eat it, so that it may go well ( AY ) with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right ( AZ ) in the eyes of the Lord .
26 But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give, ( BA ) and go to the place the Lord will choose. 27 Present your burnt offerings ( BB ) on the altar of the Lord your God, both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat ( BC ) the meat. 28 Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you, so that it may always go well ( BD ) with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God.
29 The Lord your God will cut off ( BE ) before you the nations you are about to invade and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land, ( BF ) 30 and after they have been destroyed before you, be careful not to be ensnared ( BG ) by inquiring about their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same.” ( BH ) 31 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. ( BI ) They even burn their sons ( BJ ) and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. ( BK )
32 See that you do all I command you; do not add ( BL ) to it or take away from it. [ a ]
