Deuteronomy 12:21
New International Version
If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his Name 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.

New Living Translation
It might happen that the designated place of worship—the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored—is a long way from your home. If so, you may butcher any of the cattle, sheep, or goats the LORD has given you, and you may freely eat the meat in your hometown, as I have commanded you.

English Standard Version
If the place that the LORD your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, 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.

Berean Standard Bible
If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from 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.

New American Standard Bible
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 whatever you desire.

NASB 1995
“If the place which the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire.

NASB 1977
“If the place which the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire.

Legacy Standard Bible
If the place where Yahweh your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you, then you may sacrifice of your herd and flock which Yahweh has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire.

Amplified Bible
If the place which the LORD your God chooses to put His Name (Presence) is too far away from you, then you may slaughter [animals] from your herd or flock which the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your [city] gates whatever you wish.

Christian Standard Bible
If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock he has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your city gates whenever you want.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If the place where Yahweh your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.

American Standard Version
If the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to put his name there, be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which Jehovah hath given thee, as I have commanded thee; and thou mayest eat within thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And if the place that LORD JEHOVAH your God will choose, that He would put his Name there, is far from you, slay some of your oxen and some of your sheep that LORD JEHOVAH your God has given to you, as He commanded you, and eat in your towns in all the lusts of your soul.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And if the place be far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself, that his name be called upon it, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which God shall have given thee, even as I commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy cities according to the desire of thy soul.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And if the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name should be there, be far off, thou shalt kill of thy herds and of thy docks, as I have commanded thee, and shalt eat in thy towns, as it pleaseth thee.

English Revised Version
If the place which the LORD thy God shall choose 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 within thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
If the place the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far away from you, you may slaughter an animal from the herds or flocks that the LORD has given you. Eat as much as you want in your city. I have commanded you to do this.

Good News Translation
If the one place of worship is too far away, then, whenever you wish, you may kill any of the cattle or sheep that the LORD has given you, and you may eat the meat at home, as I have told you.

International Standard Version
"If the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish his name is distant from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and your flock what the LORD has provided for you, as he instructed you. You may consume them in your cities as much as you please.

JPS Tanakh 1917
If the place which the LORD thy God shall choose 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 within thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul.

Literal Standard Version
When the place is far from you [in] which your God YHWH chooses to put His Name there, then you have sacrificed from your herd and from your flock which YHWH has given to you, as I have commanded you, and have eaten within your gates, of all the desire of your soul;

Majority Standard Bible
If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.

New American Bible
and if the place where the LORD, your God, chooses to put his name is too far, you may slaughter in the manner I have commanded you any of your herd or flock that the LORD has given you, and eat it freely in your own community.

NET Bible
If the place he chooses to locate his name is too far for you, you may slaughter any of your herd and flock he has given you just as I have stipulated; you may eat them in your villages just as you wish.

New Revised Standard Version
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.

New Heart English Bible
If the place which the LORD your God shall choose to put his name there is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which God has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates, after all the desire of your soul.

Webster's Bible Translation
If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there, shall 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 whatever thy soul desireth.

World English Bible
If the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to put his name is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which Yahweh has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates, after all the desire of your soul.

Young's Literal Translation
'When the place is far from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, then thou hast sacrificed of thy herd and of thy flock which Jehovah hath given to thee, as I have commanded thee, and hast eaten within thy gates, of all the desire of thy soul;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
One Place for Worship
20When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want. 21If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want. 22Indeed, you may eat it as you would eat a gazelle or deer; both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 12:20
When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, "I want to eat meat," you may eat it whenever you want.

Deuteronomy 12:22
Indeed, you may eat it as you would eat a gazelle or deer; both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.

Deuteronomy 14:24
But if the distance is too great for you to carry that with which the LORD your God has blessed you, because the place where the LORD your God will choose to put His Name is too far away,


Treasury of Scripture

If the place which the LORD your God has chosen to put his name there be too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you, and you shall eat in your gates whatever your soul lusts after.

to put

Deuteronomy 12:5,11
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: …

Deuteronomy 14:23,24
And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always…

Deuteronomy 16:6,11
But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt…

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Choose Chooses Chosen Commanded Desire Desireth Eat Herd Kill Lusteth Soul Whatever Whatsoever Within
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Choose Chooses Chosen Commanded Desire Desireth Eat Herd Kill Lusteth Soul Whatever Whatsoever Within
Deuteronomy 12
1. Monuments of idolatry to be destroyed
4. The place of God's service to be kept
15. Blood is forbidden
17. Holy things must be eaten in the holy place
19. The Levite is not to be forsaken
20. Blood is again forbidden
26. and holy things must be eaten in the holy place
29. Idolatry is not to be enquired after














Verses 21-23. - If the place.., be too far from thee; this supplies the reason for the alteration of the law in Leviticus 17:3. Only be sure; literally, only be strong; i.e. be firm and resolute, steadfastly resisting the temptation to eat it. The blood is the life (cf. Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 11:1; Leviticus 17:11). The word used is nephesh (נֶפֶשׁ). By this word the Hebrews designated the animal life-principle in men and in beasts; and as without this the body was a mere inert mass, the word came to be used for "life" generally. Of this life the blood was believed to be the seat, and was regarded as the symbol, so that to shed blood was tantamount to the taking away of life. As the blood, moreover, was the life, in it was supposed to lie the propitiatory power - the power, when shed, of atoning for sin, as the giving of life for life. The prohibition of eating it doubtless had respect to this. It was not merely to prevent ferocity in men towards the lower animals (as Rosenmüller suggests) that the eating of blood was interdicted, but specially because there was in this a sort of profanation, a putting to a common use of what appertained to a sacred rite.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

the place
הַמָּק֗וֹם (ham·mā·qō·wm)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4725: A standing, a spot, a condition

where
אֲשֶׁ֨ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

the LORD
יְהוָ֣ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

your God
אֱלֹהֶיךָ֮ (’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

chooses
יִבְחַ֜ר (yiḇ·ḥar)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 977: To try, select

to put
לָשׂ֣וּם (lā·śūm)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 7760: Put -- to put, place, set

His Name
שְׁמ֣וֹ (šə·mōw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8034: A name

is too far
יִרְחַ֨ק (yir·ḥaq)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7368: To be or become far or distant

from you,
מִמְּךָ֜ (mim·mə·ḵā)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's 4480: A part of, from, out of

you may slaughter
וְזָבַחְתָּ֞ (wə·zā·ḇaḥ·tā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 2076: To slaughter for sacrifice

any of the herd
מִבְּקָרְךָ֣ (mib·bə·qā·rə·ḵā)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 1241: Beef cattle, ox, a herd

or flock
וּמִצֹּֽאנְךָ֗ (ū·miṣ·ṣō·nə·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6629: Small cattle, sheep and goats, flock

He
יְהוָה֙ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

has given you,
נָתַ֤ן (nā·ṯan)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

as
אֲשֶׁ֨ר (’ă·šer)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

I have commanded you,
צִוִּיתִ֑ךָ (ṣiw·wî·ṯi·ḵā)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - first person common singular | second person masculine singular
Strong's 6680: To lay charge (upon), give charge (to), command, order

and you may eat
וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֙ (wə·’ā·ḵal·tā)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Conjunctive perfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

it within your gates
בִּשְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ (biš·‘ā·re·ḵā)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8179: An opening, door, gate

whenever
בְּכֹ֖ל (bə·ḵōl)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

you
נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃ (nap̄·še·ḵā)
Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 5315: A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotion

want.
אַוַּ֥ת (’aw·waṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 185: Longing


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 12:21 If the place which Yahweh your God (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 12:20
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