The Proper Place to Worship
12 Here are the laws and rules you must faithfully obey in the land that Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors is giving you as your own. You must obey them as long as you live in the land.
2 Completely destroy all the worship sites on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every large tree. The people you’re forcing out worship their gods in these places. 3 Tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, burn their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, cut down their idols, and wipe out the names of their gods from those places.
4 Never worship Yahweh your Elohim in the way they worship their gods. 5 Yahweh your Elohim will choose a place out of all your tribes to live and put his name. Go there and worship him. 6 Bring him your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your income, your contributions, the offerings you vow to bring, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats. 7 There, in the presence of Yahweh your Elohim, you and your families will eat and enjoy everything you’ve worked for, because Yahweh your Elohim has blessed you.
8 Never worship in the way that it’s being done here today, where everyone does whatever he considers right. 9 Up until now you haven’t come to your place of rest, the property Yahweh your Elohim is giving you. 10 But you will cross the Jordan River and settle in the land Yahweh your Elohim is giving you as your own property. He will give you peace from all your enemies around you so that you will live securely. 11 Then Yahweh your Elohim will choose a place where his name will live. You must bring everything I command you to that place. Bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your income, your contributions, and all the best offerings you vow to bring to Yahweh. 12 Enjoy yourselves in the presence of Yahweh your Elohim along with your sons, daughters, male and female slaves, and the Levites. (The Levites live in your cities because they have no land of their own as you have.) 13 Be careful that you don’t sacrifice your burnt offerings wherever you want. 14 Instead, sacrifice them only at the place that Yahweh will choose in one of your tribes. There you must do everything I command you.
15 In whatever city you live, you may slaughter and eat as much meat as you want from what Yahweh your Elohim has blessed you with. Clean and unclean[a] people may eat it as if they were eating a gazelle or a deer. 16 But never eat the blood. Pour it on the ground like water. 17 You may not eat the Lord’s offerings in your cities. Those offerings are: one-tenth of your grain, new wine, and olive oil; the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, or goats; the offerings you vow to bring; your freewill offerings; and your contributions. 18 Instead, you, your sons and daughters, male and female slaves, and the Levites who live in your cities must eat these in the presence of Yahweh your Elohim at the place Yahweh your Elohim will choose. There in the presence of Yahweh your Elohim enjoy everything you’ve worked for. 19 Don’t forget to take care of the Levites as long as you live in your land.
20 Yahweh your Elohim will expand your country’s borders as he promised. You will say, “I’m hungry for meat.” Then eat as much meat as you want. 21 If the place Yahweh your Elohim chooses to put his name is too far away from you, you may slaughter an animal from the herds or flocks that Yahweh has given you. Eat as much as you want in your city. I have commanded you to do this. 22 Eat it as you would eat a gazelle or a deer: Clean and unclean people may eat it together. 23 However, be sure you never eat blood, because blood contains life. Never eat the life with the meat. 24 Never eat blood. Pour it on the ground like water. 25 If you don’t eat blood, things will go well for you and your descendants. You will be doing what Yahweh considers right.
26 Take the holy things and the offerings you have vowed to bring, and go to the place Yahweh will choose. 27 Sacrifice the meat and the blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of Yahweh your Elohim. The blood of your sacrifices is to be poured out beside the altar of Yahweh your Elohim, but you may eat the meat. 28 Be sure you obey all these instructions I’m giving you. Then things will always go well for you and your descendants because you will be doing what Yahweh your Elohim considers good and right.
29 Yahweh your Elohim will destroy the nations where you’re going and force them out of your way. You will take possession of their land and live there. 30 After they’ve been destroyed, be careful you aren’t tempted to follow their customs. Don’t even ask about their gods and say, “How did these people worship their gods? We want to do what they did.” 31 Never worship Yahweh your Elohim in the way they worship their gods, because everything they do for their gods is disgusting to Yahweh. He hates it! They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods.[b]
32 Be sure to do everything I command you. Never add anything to it or take anything away from it.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 12:15 “Clean” refers to anything that is presentable to God. “Unclean” refers to anything that is not presentable to God.
- Deuteronomy 12:31 Deuteronomy 12:32 in English Bibles is Deuteronomy 13:1 in the Hebrew Bible.