Deuteronomy 12:1-17
1“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that ▼▼Yahweh/Yah: Or The Lord; the personal name of God in Hebrew; "Yah" is the shortened form of the name.
Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth. 2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods b – on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. 3Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their ▼▼Asherah(s): A Canaanite fertility goddess, who was the mother of the god Baal; also the wooden poles associated with the worship of her
Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every ▼▼Lit that
place. 4 Don’t worship the Lord your God this way. 5 Instead, you must turn to the place Yahweh your God chooses from all your tribes to put His name for His dwelling and go there. 6You are to bring there your ▼▼burnt offering(s): Or holocaust, an offering completely burned to ashes; it was used in connection with worship, seeking God's favor, expiating sin, or averting judgment.
burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, ▼▼Lit and the contributions from your hands
your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7You will eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do, ▼▼Lit you put your hand to
because the Lord your God has blessed you. 8“You are not to do as we are doing here today; everyone is doing whatever seems right in his own eyes. 9 Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place h and the inheritance i the Lord your God is giving you. 10When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, j and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security, 11then Yahweh your God will choose the place to have His name dwell. k Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, ▼▼Lit tenth, the contributions from your hands
and all your choice offerings you vow to the Lord. 12You will rejoice m before the Lord your God – you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you. n 13Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in all the sacred places you see. 14You must offer your burnt offerings only in the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I command you. Slaughtering Animals to Eat
15 “But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, o according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you. Those who are ▼▼clean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.
clean or ▼▼unclean: When something is clean, it is holy or acceptable to God. When it is unclean, it is unholy (such as an unclean spirit). The term can be used in a ritual sense to apply to moral standards for living.
unclean may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer, 16 but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water. r 17Within your gates you may not eat: the tenth of your grain, new wine, or oil; the firstborn of your herd or flock; any of your vow offerings that you pledge; your freewill offerings; or your personal contributions. ▼▼Lit or the contributions from your hands
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