Deuteronomy 12 - The Scriptures 1998

¹ “These are the laws and right-rulings which you guard to do in the land which יהוה  Elohim of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the soil.

² “Completely destroy all the places where the nations which you are dispossessing served their mighty ones, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.

³ “And you shall break down their altars, and smash their pillars, and burn their Ashĕ

⁴ “Do not do so to יהוה  your Elohim,

⁵ but seek the place which יהוה  your Elohim chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His Name there, for His Dwelling Place, and there you shall enter.

⁶ “And there you shall take your burnt offerings, and your offerings, and your tithes, and the contributions of your hand, and your vowed offerings, and your voluntary offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock.

⁷ “And there you shall eat before יהוה  your Elohim, and shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which יהוה  your Elohim has blessed you.

⁸ “Do not do as we are doing here today – each one doing whatever is right in his own eyes.

⁹ “Because you have not yet entered the rest and the inheritance which יהוה  your Elohim is giving you.

¹⁰ “But you shall pass over the Yardĕ

¹¹ “And it shall be, that unto the place which יהוה  your Elohim chooses to make His Name dwell there, there you are to bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, and your offerings, and your tithes, and the contributions of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to יהוה.

¹² “And you shall rejoice before יהוה  your Elohim, you and your sons and your daughters, and your male servants and your female servants, and the Lĕ

¹³ “Guard yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see,

¹⁴ except in the place which יהוה  chooses, in one of your tribes, there you are to offer your burnt offerings, and there you are to do all that I command you.

¹⁵ “Only, whatever your being desires you shall slaughter and eat, according to the blessing of יהוה  your Elohim which He has given you, within all your gates. The unclean and the clean do eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike.

¹⁶ “Only, the blood you do not eat, pour it on the earth like water.

¹⁷ “You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, or of your new wine, or of your oil, or of the firstlings of your herd or your flock, or of any of your offerings which you vow, or of your voluntary offerings, or of the contribution of your hand.

¹⁸ “But eat them before יהוה  your Elohim, in the place which יהוה  your Elohim chooses, you and your son and your daughter, and your male servant and your female servant, and the Lĕ

¹⁹ “Guard yourself that you do not forsake the Lĕ

²⁰ “When יהוה  your Elohim enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because you long to eat meat, you eat as much meat as your being desires.

²¹ “When the place where יהוה  your Elohim chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you shall slaughter from your herd and from your flock which יהוה  has given you, as I have commanded you, and you shall eat within your gates as much as your being desires.

²² “Only, as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you are to eat of it. The unclean and the clean alike eat of it.

²³ “Only, be firm not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, do not eat the life with the meat.

²⁴ “Do not eat it, you pour it on the earth like water.

²⁵ “Do not eat it, that it might be well with you and your children after you, when you do what is right in the eyes of יהוה.

²⁶ “Only, the set-apart gifts which you have, and your vowed offerings, you are to take up and go to the place which יהוה  chooses.

²⁷ “And you shall make your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of יהוה  your Elohim. And the blood of your offerings is poured out on the altar of יהוה  your Elohim, and you eat the meat.

²⁸ “Guard, and obey all these words which I command you, that it might be well with you and your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of יהוה  your Elohim.

²⁹ “When יהוה  your Elohim does cut off from before you the nations which you go to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,

³⁰ guard yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire about their mighty ones, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their mighty ones? And let me do so too.’

³¹ “Do not do so to יהוה  your Elohim, for every abomination which יהוה  hates they have done to their mighty ones, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their mighty ones.

³² “All the words I am commanding you, guard to do it – do not add to it nor take away from it.