1 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.
2 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:
3 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.
4 Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God.
5 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:
6 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:
7 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.
8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God giveth you.
10 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;
11 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:
12 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.
13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:
14 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.
15 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.
16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
17 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:
18 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.
19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.
20 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.
21 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.
22 Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
23 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.
24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
25 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.
26 Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the Lord shall choose:
27 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.
28 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.
29 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;
30 Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31 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.
32 What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

1 These are the Statutes, and Iudgements, which ye shal obserue to do, in the land which the Lord God of thy fathers giueth thee to possesse it, all the dayes that yee liue vpon the earth.

2 Yee shall vtterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which yee shall possesse, serued their gods, vpon the high mountaines, and vpon the hils, and vnder euery greene tree.

3 And you shall ouerthrow their altars, and breake their pillars, and burne their groues with fire, and you shall hew downe the grauen images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.

4 Yee shall not doe so vnto the Lord your God.

5 But vnto the place which the Lord your God shall chuse out of all your tribes, to put his name there, euen vnto his habitation shall yee seeke, and thither thou shalt come:

6 And thither yee shall bring your burnt offrings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heaue offrings of your hand, and your vowes, and your free wil offerings, and the firstlings of your heards, and of your flocks.

7 And there ye shall eate before the Lord your God, and yee shall reioyce in all that you put your hand vnto, ye and your housholds, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.

8 Ye shall not do after all the things that we doe here this day, euery man whatsoeuer is right in his owne eyes.

9 For yee are not as yet come to the rest, and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giueth you.

10 But when yee goe ouer Iordan, and dwel in the land which the Lord your God giueth you to inherite, and when he giueth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety:

11 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 heaue offring of your hand, & all your choice vowes, which ye vow vnto the Lord.

12 And yee shall reioyce before the Lord your God, ye and your sonnes and your daughters, and your men seruants, and your maid seruants, and the Leuite that is within your gates, forasmuch as hee hath no part nor inheritance with you.

13 Take heed to thy selfe, that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in euery place that thou seest:

14 But in the place which the Lord shal choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.

15 Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eate flesh in all thy gates, whatsoeuer thy soule lusteth after, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath giuen thee: the vncleane and the cleane may eate thereof, as of the Roe bucke, and as of the Hart.

16 Onely ye shall not eat the blood: yee shall powre it vpon the earth as water.

17 Thou mayest not eate within thy gates the tithe of thy corne, or of thy wine, or of thy oyle, or the firstlings of thy heards, or of thy flocke, nor any of thy vowes which thou vowest, nor thy free will offerings, or heaue offering of thine hand:

18 But thou must eate them before the Lord thy God, in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou and thy sonne, and thy daughter, and thy man seruant, and thy maid seruant, and the Leuite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt reioyce before the Lord thy God, in all that thou puttest thine hands vnto.

19 Take heed to thy selfe, that thou forsake not the Leuite, as long as thou liuest vpon the earth.

20 When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as hee hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eate flesh (because thy soule longeth to eat flesh) thou mayest eat flesh whatsoeuer thy soule lusteth after.

21 If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put his Name there, be too farre from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flocke, which the Lord hath giuen thee, as I haue commaunded thee, and thou shalt eate in thy gates, whatsoeuer thy soule lusteth after.

22 Euen as the Roe bucke and the Hart is eaten, so thou shalt eate them: the vncleane and the cleane shall eate of them alike.

23 Onely be sure that thou eate not the blood: for the blood is the life, and thou mayest not eate the life with the flesh.

24 Thou shalt not eate it; thou shalt powre it vpon the earth as water.

25 Thou shalt not eate it, that it may goe well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt doe that which is right in the sight of the Lord.

26 Onely thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vowes, thou shalt take, and goe vnto the place which the Lord shall chuse.

27 And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, vpon the altar of the Lord thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be powred out vpon the altar of the Lord thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.

28 Obserue & heare all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for euer, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the Lord thy God.

29 When the Lord thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possesse them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land:

30 Take heede to thy selfe 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 serue their gods? euen so will I doe likewise.

31 Thou shalt not doe so vnto the Lord thy God: for euery abomination to the Lord which hee hateth, haue they done vnto their gods: for euen their sonnes and their daughters they haue burnt in the fire to their gods.

32 What thing soeuer I command you, obserue to doe it: thou shalt not adde thereto, nor diminish from it.

II == Ex 34:13 ; Deut 7:5 ; 2nd Kings 16:4 ; 17:10-11 ; Jer 3:6

 

 

 

 

III == Num 33:52 ; Judg 2:2

 

 

IV == Deut 12:31

V == Deut 12:11 ; 26:2 ; Josh 9:27 ; 1st Kings 8:29 ; 2nd Chr 7:12 ; Ps 78:68

VI == Lev 17:3-4 ; Deut 12:17 ; 14:22-23 , 15 , 19-20

 

 

 

VII == Lev 23:40 ; Deut 12:12 , 18 ; 14:26 ; 16:11 , 14-15 26:11 ; 27:7

 

VIII == Judg 17:6 ; 21:25

 

 

 

X == Deut 11:31

 

 

XI == Deut 12:5 , 14 , 18 , 21 , 26 ; 14:23 ; 15:20 ; 16:2 17:8 ; 18:6 ; 23:16 ; 26:2 ; 31:11 ; Josh 18:1 ; 1st Kings 8:29 ; Ps 78:68

 

XII == Deut 10:9 ; 12:7 ; 14:20

 

 

 

XIII == Lev 17:4

 

 

XIV == Deut 12:11

 

XV == Deut 12:21-22 ; 14:5 ; 15:22

 

 

 

XVI == Gen 9:4 ; Lev 7:26 ; 17:10 ; Deut 12:23-24 ; 15:23

 

 

 

 

XVIII == Deut 12:11-12 ; 14:23

 

 

 

 

XIX == Deut 14:27

 

XX == Gen 15:18 ; 28:14 ; Ex 34:24 ; Deut 11:24 ; 19:8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

XXII == Deut 12:15

 

XXIII == Gen 9:4 ; Lev 17:11 , 14 ; Deut 12:16

 

 

XXV == Ex 13:18 ; 15:26 ; Deut 4:40 ; 1st Kings 11:38 ; Isa 3:10

XXVI == Num 5:9-10 ; 18:19 ; 1st Sam 1:21-22 , 24

 

XXVII == Lev 1:5 ,9 ,13 , 17:11'

 

 

XXVIII == Deut 12:15

 

 

 

XXIX == Ex 23:23 ; Deut 19:1 ; JOsh 23:4

 

XXX == Deut 7:16

 

 

 

 

XXXI == Lev 18:3 21 , 26 , 30 ; 2nd Kings 17:15 ; Jer 32:35 ; Ezek 23:37

XXXII == Rev 22:18

 

 

 

1 "These are the statutes and decrees which you must be careful to observe in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to occupy, as long as you live on its soil.

2 Destroy without fail every place on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every leafy tree where the nations you are to dispossess worship their gods.

3 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, destroy by fire their sacred poles, and shatter the idols of their gods, that you may stamp out the remembrance of them in any such place.

4 "That is not how you are to worship the LORD, your God.

5 Instead, you shall resort to the place which the LORD, your God, chooses out of all your tribes and designates as his dwelling

6 and there you shall bring your holocausts and sacrifices, your tithes and personal contributions, your votive and freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and flocks.

7 There, too, before the LORD, your God, you and your families shall eat and make merry over all your undertakings, because the LORD, your God, has blessed you.

8 You shall not do as we are now doing; here, everyone does what seems right to himself,

9 since you have not yet reached your resting place, the heritage which the LORD, your God, will give you.

10 But after you have crossed the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as a heritage, when he has given you rest from all your enemies round about and you live there in security,

11 then to the place which the LORD, your God, chooses as the dwelling place for his name you shall bring all the offerings I command you: your holocausts and sacrifices, your tithes and personal contributions, and every special offering you have vowed to the LORD.

12 You shall make merry before the LORD, your God, with your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, as well as with the Levite who belongs to your community but has no share of his own in your heritage.

13 Take care not to offer up your holocausts in any place you fancy,

14 but offer them up in the place which the LORD chooses from among your tribes; there you shall make whatever offerings I enjoin upon you.

15 "However, in any of your communities you may slaughter and eat to your heart's desire as much meat as the LORD, your God, has blessed you with; and the unclean as well as the clean may eat it, as they do the gazelle or the deer.

16 Only, you shall not partake of the blood, but must pour it out on the ground like water.

17 Moreover, you shall not, in your own communities, partake of your tithe of grain or wine or oil, of the first-born of your herd or flock, of any offering you have vowed, of your freewill offerings, or of your personal contributions.

18 These you must eat before the LORD, your God, in the place he chooses, along with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who belongs to your community; and there, before the LORD, you shall make merry over all your undertakings.

19 Take care, also, that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in the land.

20 "After the LORD, your God, has enlarged your territory, as he promised you, when you wish meat for food, you may eat it at will, to your heart's desire;

21 and if the place which the LORD, your God, chooses for the abode of his name is too far, you may slaughter in the manner I have told you any of your herd or flock that the LORD has given you, and eat it to your heart's desire in your own community.

22 You may eat it as you would the gazelle or the deer: the unclean and the clean eating it alike.

23 But make sure that you do not partake of the blood; for blood is life, and you shall not consume this seat of life with the flesh.

24 Do not partake of the blood, therefore, but pour it out on the ground like water.

25 Abstain from it, that you and your children after you may prosper for doing what is right in the sight of the LORD.

26 However, any sacred gifts or votive offerings that you may have, you shall bring with you to the place which the LORD chooses,

27 and there you must offer both the flesh and the blood of your holocausts on the altar of the LORD, your God; of your other sacrifices the blood indeed must be poured out against the altar of the LORD, your God, but their flesh may be eaten.

28 Be careful to heed all these commandments I enjoin on you, that you and your descendants may always prosper for doing what is good and right in the sight of the LORD, your God.

29 "When the LORD, your God, removes the nations from your way as you advance to dispossess them, be on your guard! Otherwise, once they have been wiped out before you and you have replaced them and are settled in their land,

30 you will be lured into following them. Do not inquire regarding their gods, 'How did these nations worship their gods? I, too, would do the same.'

31 You shall not thus worship the LORD, your God, because they offered to their gods every abomination that the LORD detests, even burning their sons and daughters to their gods.

v 1-5. The people were not only to obey God’s commands, they were to totally destroy all the worship places of the heathen. They were not to worship in any of those places, but only at the place God should choose. They moved the tabernacle to any place God directed and had temporary worship at Shiloh quite some time, Josh18:1, but ultimately, the place God had chosen was Jerusalem, and that was where David was allowed to move the tabernacle and where Solomon built the temple.

 

 

 

 

v 6-12. There may have been some laxity or misunderstanding about the rules, v 8, and people were not doing quite as they ought. Here, Moses makes it very clear that when they get into the land they are to definitely bring their offerings to the place God would designate. This would be a place of rejoicing for all the family and it’s servants, and special concern for Levites, because they didn’t have inheritance in the land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 13-16. It is further clarified that while they were to offer burnt offerings only at this particular place, yet they could kill and eat flesh at any of their homes. Clean and unclean persons alike could eat there, but of course they were limited to clean meats.

 

 

 

 

v 17-19. The tithe was a different matter. It could not be eaten at home, even if a Levite lived with them, but must be shared together after it had been offered at the tabernacle. More details on this will be in following verses and chapter 14. Again  their consideration for the Levites is emphasized. Compare. Lk. 10:7, 1 Cor. 9:9 for Christian  workers being worthy of their hire.

 

 

 

 

v 20-25. Clean or unclean people could eat any clean meat or food they desired without concern when the were not close to the tabernacle. The only exception being the blood, which must be poured out in respect for life which is in the blood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

v 26-28. The things offered and vowed were a different story, they were to be brought to the tabernacle and offered before the Lord. Only there could they eat it.

 

 

 

 

 

v 29-32. This is another reminder that after they have taken over the land they are not to fall into the ungodly practices involved with the false gods. Also a reminder to do no more or no less than what was commanded. Jews later added many more laws.