Open English Translation DEU Chapter 12

12 In the land that your god Yahweh has given you to own, these are the rules and regulations that you must keep obeying as long as you’re alive. 2 When you drive those peoples out, you all must completely destroy all the places on the mountains and hills, and under the large trees where they served their gods. 3 You all must tear down their altars, shatter their stone pillars, and set fire to their Asherah poles. You must chop down their carved idols so they won’t be remembered in that place any more.[ref]

4 Don’t worship your god Yahweh the same way they worship their gods, 5 because you all must go to the single place that Yahweh’s going to choose out of all your tribes, that he’ll attach his name to, so if you want find his residence, you’ll have to go there. 6 That will also be where you’ll all have to take your animal sacrifices and offerings, as well as the tenth of your produce and animals, special contributions, sacrifices for promises, free-will sacrifices, and the firstborn animals from your herds and flocks. 7 You’ll all be able to take your families there in front of your god Yahweh to cheerfully eat what you’ve produced as a result of his blessing.

8 We won’t be able to continue like we are at present, with each person worshipping however they feel is right 9 because until now, you haven’t reached the inheritance and the peaceful life that your god Yahweh is giving to you. 10 After you all cross the Yarden and live in the land that your god Yahweh is giving you as an inheritance, it’s then that he’ll give you peace from all your surrounding enemies, and so you’ll all live safely. 11 Then your god Yahweh will choose one place to attach his name to, and that’s where you’ll all bring everything that I tell you to: your animal sacrifices and offerings, as well as the tenth of your produce and animals, special contributions, and sacrifices for promises made to Yahweh. 12 You’ll all celebrate there in front of Yahweh: you and your children and your servants, along with any Levites who live in your towns (because they don’t personally inherit any land of their own). 13 Make sure that you don’t offer burnt sacrifices at any place that you just decide is good—14 only at the place that Yahweh will choose from one of your tribes. That’s where you’ll offer your sacrifices, and do everything else that I tell you.

15 However, you may kill and eat your animals wherever you live as much as you want. Those animals are blessings from your god Yahweh. You can eat that meat whether or not you’re ceremonially ‘clean’, just like you’d eat a wild gazelle or deer. 16 However, don’t eat the blood—it must be poured out on the ground like water.[ref] 17 In your towns, don’t eat the tenth of your produce or the firstborns from your herd or flock, or at the celebration of a vow, or any free-will offering or contribution that you’ve made. 18 You can only eat those in Yahweh’s presence in the place that he’ll choose. The same applies to your children, your servants, and any Levites who live in your towns. The celebration for what you’ve produced must be done in front of your god Yahweh. 19 Make sure that you don’t neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.

20 In the future, when your god Yahweh widens your territory like he’s said he would, if you want to eat meat there, then go ahead and do it. 21 If the place that he chooses to attach his name to is too far away, then it’s permissible to sacrifice like I’ve instructed you from your herd or flock, and you can eat it where you live whenever you want. 22 You can eat it whether or not you’re ceremonially ‘clean’, just like you’d eat a wild gazelle or deer. 23 However, don’t eat the blood of any animal, because the blood is the life and you mustn’t eat the life with the meat.[ref] 24 Don’t eat the blood—it must be poured out on the ground like water. 25 Don’t eat it so that things will go well for you and your children after you, when you do what Yahweh says is right. 26 However, you still must take your sacred things and offerings for vows to the place that Yahweh will choose. 27 The meat and blood from burnt offerings must only be placed on your god Yahweh’s future altar, and the blood of your other sacrifices must be poured on the altar, but you can eat the meat. 28 Make sure to follow all these instructions that I’m giving you so that everything will go well for you and for your descendants into the future, when you do what your god Yahweh has said is good and right.

29 When you enter the land that you will occupy, your god Yahweh will destroy the people groups that live there as you advance. 30 Watch out after they’ve been destroyed, that you don’t get trapped by curiosity about how they served their gods, and then you end up doing the same. 31 Don’t do that to your god Yahweh, because he hates the disgusting things they’ve done for their gods—even burning their own sons and daughters on altars for their gods.

32 Make sure that you obey all those instructions—don’t add anything to them, or remove anything from them.[ref]