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Deuteronomy 12
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1These are the statutes and the ordinances which ye shall observe to do in the land which Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath given thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
1These are the laws and rules you must carefully obey in the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you to own, as long as you live on the earth.
2Ye shall surely destroy all the places wherein the nations that ye shall dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
2You must completely destroy all the places where the nations you are driving out worshiped their gods—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
3and ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and ye shall destroy their name out of that place.
3Tear down their altars, smash their sacred stone pillars, burn their Asherah poles in the fire, and cut down the carved images of their gods; wipe out their names from those places.
4Ye shall not do so unto Jehovah your God.
4You must not worship the LORD your God in the way those people worshiped their gods.
5But unto the place which Jehovah 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;
5Instead, you must seek the LORD your God only at the place he will choose from among all your tribes to put his name and to make his home, and you must go there.
6and thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock:
6Bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the special gifts you have hand-delivered, your promised offerings, your voluntary offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks to that place.
7and there ye shall eat before Jehovah your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.
7There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families will eat and celebrate all the successes you have worked for, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
8Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes;
8You must not continue doing what we are doing here today, where everyone just does whatever seems right in their own eyes.
9for ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
9This is because you have not yet reached the place of rest and the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you.
10But when ye go over the Jordan, and dwell in the land which Jehovah your God causeth you to inherit, and he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
10But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; he will give you rest from all the enemies around you so that you can live in safety.
11then it shall come to pass that to the place which Jehovah 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 Jehovah.
11Then you must bring everything I command you to the place the LORD your God chooses as a home for his name: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your special gifts, and all the finest offerings you have promised to the LORD.
12And ye shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is within your gates, forasmuch as he hath no portion nor inheritance with you.
12Celebrate there before the LORD your God with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites who live in your towns, since the Levites have no land or inheritance of their own.
13Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest;
13Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see.
14but in the place which Jehovah shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
14Offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and do everything I command you there.
15Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh within all thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart.
15However, you may slaughter and eat meat in any of your towns whenever you want, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Both ceremonially clean and unclean people may eat it, just as if it were a gazelle or a deer.
16Only ye shall not eat the blood; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.
16But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
17Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy grain, or of thy new wine, or of thine oil, or the firstlings of thy herd or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill-offerings, nor the heave-offering of thy hand;
17You are not allowed to eat the following in your own towns: the tithe of your grain, new wine, or olive oil; the firstborn of your herds or flocks; any promised offerings; voluntary offerings; or your special hand-delivered gifts.
18but thou shalt eat them before Jehovah thy God in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
18You must eat these in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God chooses. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites living in your towns. Celebrate before the LORD your God in everything you do.
19Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest in thy land.
19Be careful never to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
20When Jehovah thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul desireth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, after all the desire of thy soul.
20When the LORD your God expands your territory as he promised, and you crave meat and say, 'I want to eat some meat,' you may eat as much as you want.
21If 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.
21If the place the LORD your God chooses to put his name is too far away, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the LORD has given you, as I have commanded, and eat them in your own towns whenever you desire.
22Even as the gazelle and as the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat thereof: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof alike.
22Eat them the same way you would eat a gazelle or a deer; both the ceremonially clean and unclean people may eat them together.
23Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou shalt not eat the life with the flesh.
23But be sure that you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life; you must not eat the life with the meat.
24Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.
24Do not eat it; pour it out on the ground like water.
25Thou 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 eyes of Jehovah.
25Do not eat it, so that things will go well for you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the LORD’s sight.
26Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which Jehovah shall choose;
26But you must take your holy things and your promised offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose.
27and thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of Jehovah thy God; and thou shalt eat the flesh.
27Present your burnt offerings—both the meat and the 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.
28Observe 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 eyes of Jehovah thy God.
28Be careful to obey all these instructions I am giving you, so that it will always go well for you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.
29When Jehovah thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest in to dispossess them, and thou dispossessest them, and dwellest in their land;
29The LORD your God will destroy the nations ahead of you as you go in to take their land. When you have driven them out and settled there,
30take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared to follow them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
30be careful not to be trapped into following their practices after they have been destroyed. Do not ask about their gods, saying, 'How did these nations worship their gods? I want to do the same thing.'
31Thou shalt not do so unto Jehovah thy God: for every abomination to Jehovah, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters do they burn in the fire to their gods.
31You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because they do every kind of disgusting thing the LORD hates for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.