Deuteronomy 12

¹ These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall observe to obey in the land that Yahweh Elohim of your fathers gives to you to tenant it all the days that you are alive on the ground. ² You shall destroy, yea destroy all the places where the nations (in whose stead you are tenanting) have served their elohim on the high mountains, on the hills and under every flourishing tree. ³ Tear down their altars and break their monuments; their Asherah poles you shall burn with fire, and the carvings of their elohim you shall hack down; thus you will destroy their name from that place. ⁴ Not so shall you do to Yahweh your Elohim. ⁵ But rather for the place that Yahweh your Elohim shall choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there, you shall inquire for His tabernacle, and there will you come. ⁶ You will bring there your ascent offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the heave offerings of your hand, your vows offerings and your voluntary offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and your flock. ⁷ You will eat there before Yahweh your Elohim, and you will rejoice in every undertaking of your hand, you and your households with which Yahweh your Elohim has blessed you. ⁸ You shall not do according to all that we are doing here today, each man everything that is upright in his own eye. ⁹ because until now you have not come to the resting place and to the allotment that Yahweh your Elohim is giving to you. ¹⁰ When you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land that Yahweh your Elohim is giving to you as an allotment, and He gives rest to you from all your enemies from round about, so that you may dwell in trust, ¹¹ then it will come to be: the place where Yahweh your Elohim shall choose to tabernacle His name, there shall you bring all that I am instructing you, your ascent offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand and all your choice vow offerings which you shall vow to Yahweh. ¹² You will rejoice before Yahweh your Elohim, you, your sons and your daughters, your servants, your maidservants and the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no portion or allotment among you. ¹³ Guard yourself lest you bring up your ascent offerings in any other place which you see. ¹⁴ But rather in the place that Yahweh shall choose in one of your tribes, there shall you bring up your ascent offerings, and there shall you do all that I am instructing you. ¹⁵ But with all the yearning of your soul you may sacrifice and eat flesh, according to the blessing of Yahweh your Elohim which He gives to you in all your gates. The unclean and the clean among you may eat it, as they would of the gazelle and as of the stag. ¹⁶ But the blood you shall not eat. On the earth shall you pour it out like water. ¹⁷ You cannot eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, of your grape juice and of your clarified oil, neither the firstlings of your herd and your flock nor any of your vow offerings which you shall vow, neither your voluntary offerings nor the heave offerings of your hand. ¹⁸ But rather you shall eat it before Yahweh your Elohim in the place that Yahweh your Elohim shall choose, you, your son and your daughter, your servant and your maidservant and the Levite who is within your gates. Then you will rejoice before Yahweh your Elohim in every undertaking of your hand. ¹⁹ Guard yourself lest you should forsake the Levite any of your days on your ground. ²⁰ When Yahweh your Elohim widens your territory, just as He spoke to you, and you say: Let me eat flesh, for your soul yearns to eat flesh, you may eat flesh with all the yearning of your soul. ²¹ In case the place where Yahweh your Elohim shall choose to place His name is far from you, then you may sacrifice of your herd and of your flock which Yahweh gave to you, just as I instructed you; and you may eat it within your gates with all the yearning of your soul. ²² Indeed, just as the gazelle and the stag may be eaten so shall you eat it. The unclean and the clean among you may eat it together. ²³ But be steadfast by no means to eat the blood, for the blood, it is the soul, and you shall not eat the soul with the flesh. ²⁴ You shall not eat it; on the earth shall you pour it out like water. ²⁵ You shall not eat it that it may be well with you and with your sons after you, for you shall do what is good and upright in the eyes of Yahweh. ²⁶ But as for your holy gifts which you shall come to have, and your vow offerings, you shall carry them and come to the place that Yahweh shall choose. ²⁷ You will make your ascent offerings of the flesh and the blood on the altar of Yahweh your Elohim, and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of Yahweh your Elohim, yet you may eat the flesh. ²⁸ Observe and hear all these words which I am instructing you today, that it may be well with you and with your sons after you until the eon, for you shall do what is good and upright in the eyes of Yahweh your Elohim. ²⁹ When Yahweh your Elohim cuts off before your face the nations where you are entering to tenant in their place, then you will tenant in their place and dwell in their country. ³⁰ Guard yourself lest you should be trapped to go after them after they are exterminated before your face, and lest you inquire about their elohim, saying: How do these nations serve their elohim that I, I too, may do thus? ³¹ You shall not act thus toward Yahweh your Elohim, for every abhorrence which Yahweh hates they perform for their elohim, for even their sons and their daughters they burn with fire for their elohim. ³² Every word which I am enjoining on you today, you shall observe to obey it. You shall neither add to it, nor shall you subtract from it.