Deuteronomy 12
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1"These are the statutes and ordinances that you must carefully observe in the land that the LORD God of your ancestors has given you to possess every day that you live on the earth. 1“These are the decrees and regulations you must be careful to obey when you live in the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must obey them as long as you live.
2Be sure you destroy there all the places where the nations that you're going to dispossess serve their gods—upon the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. 2“When you drive out the nations that live there, you must destroy all the places where they worship their gods—high on the mountains, up on the hills, and under every green tree.
3Tear down their altars, cut down their sacred poles, and burn them. Cut down the carved images of their gods to erase their memory from that place."3Break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Burn their Asherah poles and cut down their carved idols. Completely erase the names of their gods!
4"You must not act like this with respect to the LORD your God. 4“Do not worship the LORD your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods.
5Instead, you must seek to enter only the place that the LORD your God will choose among your tribes. There he will establish his name and live. 5Rather, you must seek the LORD your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored.
6Bring your burnt offerings there, along with your sacrifices, your tithes, your hand-carried gifts, your offerings in fulfillment of promises, your freely given offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 6There you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, your offerings to fulfill a vow, your voluntary offerings, and your offerings of the firstborn animals of your herds and flocks.
7Then you and your household will eat in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with all the works of your hand with which he blessed you.7There you and your families will feast in the presence of the LORD your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the LORD your God has blessed you.
8"You must not act as we have been doing here today, where everyone acts as they see fit, 8“Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please,
9for you haven't arrived yet to your allotted place that the LORD your God is about to give you. 9because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession.
10But after you have crossed the Jordan River and settled in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and after you have received relief from the enemies around you and are living securely, 10But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the LORD your God is giving you. When he gives you rest from all your enemies and you’re living safely in the land,
11then bring to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling place—where he will establish his name—everything that I'm commanding you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your hand-carried gifts, and all your best offerings in fulfillment of promises that you pledged to the LORD.11you must bring everything I command you—your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, and your offerings to fulfill a vow—to the designated place of worship, the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored.
12"Rejoice in the presence of the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the descendant of Levi who is in your city—for there is no territorial allotment for him as you have. 12“You must celebrate there in the presence of the LORD your God with your sons and daughters and all your servants. And remember to include the Levites who live in your towns, for they will receive no allotment of land among you.
13Be careful not to offer burnt offerings at any location you happen to see13Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings just anywhere you like.
14instead of at the place the LORD will choose in one of the tribal areas. There you may offer burnt offerings, and there you may do everything that I'm commanding you."14You may do so only at the place the LORD will choose within one of your tribal territories. There you must offer your burnt offerings and do everything I command you.
15"You may slaughter and eat as much meat as you desire, according to the blessing of the LORD your God, when he provides for you in all your cities. Both ritually unqualified and qualified people may eat it as they would gazelle and deer. 15“But you may butcher your animals and eat their meat in any town whenever you want. You may freely eat the animals with which the LORD your God blesses you. All of you, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you now eat gazelle and deer.
16Only, you must not consume the blood; instead, pour it out on the ground as you would water.16But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water.
17"You won't be allowed to eat your tithe of grain, new wine, oil, the firstborn of your herd and flock, your voluntary offerings that you pledged, your free-will offerings, and the works of your hands in your own cities. 17“But you may not eat your offerings in your hometown—neither the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, nor the firstborn of your flocks and herds, nor any offering to fulfill a vow, nor your voluntary offerings, nor your sacred offerings.
18You'll eat only in the presence of the LORD your God at the place that he will choose—you, your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the descendant of Levi who is in your cities. Rejoice in the presence of the LORD your God in everything you undertake.18You must eat these in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose. Eat them there with your children, your servants, and the Levites who live in your towns, celebrating in the presence of the LORD your God in all you do.
19Be careful not to forget the descendant of Levi while you live in the land. 19And be very careful never to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
20When the LORD your God enlarges your territory—just as he told you—and you say 'I want to eat meat' since you desire to eat it, you may do so as much as you please. 20“When the LORD your God expands your territory as he has promised, and you have the urge to eat meat, you may freely eat meat whenever you want.
21"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. 21It 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.
22You may eat them, just as you would gazelle and deer. Ritually unqualified and qualified people may eat them. 22Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you do now with gazelle and deer.
23Only be sure to refrain from eating blood, because blood is the source of life and you must not consume blood with the meat. 23But never consume the blood, for the blood is the life, and you must not consume the lifeblood with the meat.
24You must not consume it; instead, pour it on the ground as you would water. 24Instead, pour out the blood on the ground like water.
25You must not eat it, so that life will go well for you and for your children after you. Then you'll do what is right in the eyes of the LORD.25Do not consume the blood, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what pleases the LORD.
26"You may carry and bring only your consecrated gifts and offerings in fulfillment of promises to the place that the LORD will choose. 26“Take your sacred gifts and your offerings given to fulfill a vow to the place the LORD chooses.
27You must offer your burnt offerings, both the meat and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God. You must offer the blood by pouring it on the altar of the LORD your God while you consume the meat. 27You must offer the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your other sacrifices must be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat.
28Be sure to observe all these words that I'm commanding you, in order that life may go well for you and your children after you forever, for this is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God."28Be careful to obey all my commands, so that all will go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the LORD your God.
29"When the LORD your God eliminates the nations that you are about to dispossess so you can live in their land, 29“When the LORD your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land,
30after they have been destroyed in your sight, be careful not to be ensnared as they were. Otherwise, you will seek their gods and ask yourselves, 'How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.' 30do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’
31You must not do the same to the LORD your God, because they practiced in the presence of their gods every sort of abomination that the LORD hates. Moreover, they sacrificed their sons and daughters to their gods. 31You must not worship the LORD your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.
32 Now as to everything I'm commanding you, you must be careful to observe it. Don't add to or subtract from it."32 “So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 11
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