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Verse 1

These are the statutes and ordinances that you must carefully observe in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess, for as long as you live on the earth.

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.

Verse 2

Completely destroy all the places where the nations you are dispossessing worshiped their gods—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.

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:

Verse 3

Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah poles with fire, cut down their carved idols, and obliterate the names of their gods from those places.

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.

Verse 4

Do not worship the Lord your God in the same way that they worship their gods.

Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.

Verse 5

Instead, seek the place that the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put His name and make His presence dwell, and go there.

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:

Verse 6

Bring there your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your special gifts, what you have vowed to give, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.

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:

Verse 7

There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has blessed you with.

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.

Verse 8

You must not act as we are doing here today, where everyone does whatever seems right in their own eyes.

Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.

Verse 9

For you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance that the Lord your God is giving you.

For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.

Verse 10

But when you cross the Jordan and settle in the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in safety,

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;

Verse 11

Then to the place the Lord your God chooses for His name to dwell, you shall bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes, your special gifts, and all the choice offerings you have vowed to the Lord.

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:

Verse 12

You shall rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.

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.

Verse 13

Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see.

Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:

Verse 14

But offer them only at the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribal territories. There you are to offer your burnt offerings and perform everything I command you.

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.

Verse 15

However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates as much as you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that He has given you. Both the unclean and the clean may eat it, as they would gazelle or deer.

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.

Verse 16

But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.

Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.

Verse 17

You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, new wine, or oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or any of your vowed offerings, freewill offerings, or special contributions.

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:

Verse 18

Instead, you are to eat these in the presence of the Lord your God, at the place the Lord your God will choose—you, your son and daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levite within your gates. Rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you undertake.

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.

Verse 19

Be careful not to neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.

Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.

Verse 20

When the Lord your God enlarges your territory as He has promised, and you say, 'I want to eat meat,' because you desire to eat it, you may eat it whenever you desire.

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.

Verse 21

If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, you may slaughter from your herds and flocks that the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and eat within your gates as much as you desire.

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.

Verse 22

Just as the gazelle or deer is eaten, so you may eat this; both the unclean and the clean alike may eat it.

Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.

Verse 23

But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.

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.

Verse 24

You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.

Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.

Verse 25

Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

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.

Verse 26

Only take your holy offerings and your vows to the place the Lord will choose.

Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose:

Verse 27

Offer your burnt offerings, both meat and blood, on the altar of the Lord your God. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured out beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat.

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.

Verse 28

Be careful to obey all these words I command you, so that it may always go well 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.

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.

Verse 29

When the Lord your God cuts off the nations before you, the nations you are entering to dispossess, and you drive them out and live in their land,

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;

Verse 30

be careful that you are not ensnared by following them after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, 'How did these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.'

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.

Verse 31

You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because they practice for their gods every abomination that the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.

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.

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Chapter 12
Next: deuteronomy 13→