1 “These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Loʀᴅ, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess 1Lit all the daysADeut 4:9, 10; 1 Kin 8:40as long as you live on the 2Lit groundearth. 2  “You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the A2 Kin 16:4; 17:10, 11high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3  “ANum 33:52; Deut 7:5; Judg 2:2You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their 1I.e. wooden symbols of a female deityAsherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and BEx 23:13; Ps 16:4; Zech 13:2obliterate their name from that place. 4  “You shall not act like this toward the Loʀᴅ your God. 5  “AEx 20:24; Deut 12:11, 13; 2 Chr 7:12; Ps 78:68But you shall seek the Loʀᴅ at the place which the Loʀᴅ your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. 6  “There you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, ADeut 14:22your tithes, the 1Or heave offeringcontribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7  “There also you and your households shall eat before the Loʀᴅ your God, and ALev 23:40; Deut 12:12, 18; 14:26; 28:47; Eccl 3:12, 13; 5:18-20rejoice in all 1Lit the putting forth of your handyour undertakings in which the Loʀᴅ your God has blessed you.

8 “You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; 9 for you have not as yet come to ADeut 3:20; 25:19; Ps 95:11the resting place and the BDeut 4:21inheritance which the Loʀᴅ your God is giving you. 10  “When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Loʀᴅ your God is giving you to inherit, and AJosh 11:23He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, 11 ADeut 12:5; 15:20; 16:2; 17:8; 18:6then it shall come about that the place in which the Loʀᴅ your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the 1Or heave offeringcontribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Loʀᴅ. 12  “And you shall ADeut 12:7rejoice before the Loʀᴅ your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the BDeut 12:18, 19; 26:11-13Levite who is within your gates, since CDeut 10:9; 14:29he has no portion or inheritance with you.

13 “ADeut 12:5, 11Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, 14 but in the place which the Loʀᴅ chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

15 “ADeut 12:20-23However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, 1Lit in every desire of your soulwhatever you desire, according to the blessing of the Loʀᴅ your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of BDeut 12:22; 14:5; 15:22the gazelle and the deer. 16  “AGen 9:4; Lev 7:26; 17:10-12; 1 Sam 14:33f; Acts 15:20, 29Only you shall not eat the blood; BDeut 15:23you are to pour it out on the ground like water. 17  “ADeut 12:26You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the 1Lit heave offeringcontribution of your hand. 18  “But ADeut 14:23you shall eat them before the Loʀᴅ your God in BDeut 12:5the place which the Loʀᴅ your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the CDeut 12:12Levite who is within your gates; and you shall DDeut 12:7; Eccl 3:12f; 5:18-20rejoice before the Loʀᴅ your God in all 1Lit the putting forth of your handyour undertakings. 19  “ADeut 14:27Be careful that you do not forsake the Levite 1Lit all your days upon your landas long as you live in your land.

20 “When the Loʀᴅ your God extends your border AGen 15:18; Deut 11:24; 19:8as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because 1Lit your soul desiresyou desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, 2Lit in every desire of your soulwhatever you desire. 21  “If the place which the Loʀᴅ your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the Loʀᴅ has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates 1Lit in every desire of your soulwhatever you desire. 22  “Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you will eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23  “Only be sure AGen 9:4; Lev 17:10-14; Deut 12:16not to eat the blood, for the blood is the 1Lit soullife, and you shall not eat the 1Lit soullife with the flesh. 24  “You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25  “You shall not eat it, so that ADeut 4:40; Is 3:10it may be well with you and your sons after you, for BEx 15:26; 1 Kin 11:38you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Loʀᴅ. 26  “ANum 5:9f; 18:19; Deut 12:17Only your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the Loʀᴅ chooses. 27  “And ALev 1:9, 13you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Loʀᴅ your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Loʀᴅ your God, and BLev 3:1-17you shall eat the flesh.

28 “Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that ADeut 4:40; Eccl 8:12it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Loʀᴅ your God.

29 “When AJosh 23:4the Loʀᴅ your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, 30 beware that you are not ensnared 1Lit after themto follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31  “ADeut 9:5You shall not behave thus toward the Loʀᴅ your God, for every abominable act which the Loʀᴅ hates they have done for their gods; for BLev 18:21; Deut 18:10; Ps 106:37; Jer 32:35they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 “1Lit Everything thatADeut 4:2; Josh 1:7Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; BProv 30:6; Rev 22:18you shall not add to nor take away from it.