12:1 These are the statutes and commandments that you must be careful to obey in the land that the LORD, God of your ancestors, has given you to possess for as long¹ as you live in the land. 12:2 You must by all means destroy all the places there where the nations which you are about to dispossess worship their gods—upon the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree.² 12:3 You must tear down their altars, and smash their pillars³ to pieces, burn up their asherim,⁴ hack up the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory⁵ from that place. 12:4 You shall not do thus to the LORD your God. 12:5 But you shall seek only the place that he⁶ has chosen to establish his name, his place of residence,⁷ and you shall go there. 12:6 And there you must take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave-offering you have prepared,⁸ your votive offerings,⁹ your freewill-offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 12:7 You must partake there before the LORD your God and rejoice in all the output of your labor,¹⁰ both you and your children, with which he¹¹ has blessed you. 12:8 You must not do like we are doing here today, everyone doing what seems best to him,¹² 12:9 for you have not yet come to the final stop¹³ and inheritance the LORD your God is giving you. 12:10 When you do go across the Jordan and settle in the land that he¹⁴ is granting you as an inheritance,¹⁵ and you find respite from all your surrounding enemies and live in safety, 12:11 then you shall bring to the place the LORD your God will select as the place of residence for his name everything I am commanding you—your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the heave-offering you have prepared,¹⁶ and all your choice votive-offerings which you devote to him.¹⁷ 12:12 You shall rejoice in the presence of the LORD your God, you, your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levite in your villages¹⁸ since he has no allotment or inheritance with you.¹⁹ 12:13 Watch yourself carefully lest you offer burnt offerings in any place you wish,²⁰ 12:14 for you may do so²¹ only in the place the LORD chooses in one of your tribal areas²²—there you may do everything I am commanding you.²³

12:15 On the other hand, you may slaughter and eat meat as you please according to the blessing of the LORD your God that he has given you in all your villages;²⁴ both ritually pure and impure you may eat, whether a gazelle or an ibex. 12:16 However, you must not eat blood; pour it out on the ground like water. 12:17 You will not be allowed to eat in your villages²⁵ your tithe of grain, grape juice, oil, first-born of the herd and flock, any votive-offerings you have vowed, or your freewill and heave-offerings. 12:18 Only in the presence of the LORD your God may you eat these, in the place he²⁶ has chosen, both you, your son, your daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levite in your villages;²⁷ there you will rejoice before the LORD your God in all your activity.²⁸ 12:19 Be careful not to overlook²⁹ the Levite as long as you live in the land.

12:20 When the LORD your God extends your borders as he said he would do and you say, I want to eat meat just as I please, you may do so as you wish.³⁰ 12:21 If the place he³¹ has chosen to locate his name is too far for you, you may slaughter any of your herd and flock he³² has given you just as I have stipulated; you may eat in your villages³³ just as you wish. 12:22 Like you eat the gazelle or ibex, so you may eat these, ritually impure and pure alike you may eat. 12:23 However, by no means eat the blood, for the blood is life itself;³⁴ you must not eat life with its meat. 12:24 You must not eat it! You must pour it out on the ground like water. 12:25 You must not eat it so that it may go well with you and your children after you; you will be doing what is right in the LORD’s eyes.³⁵ 12:26 Only the holy things and votive-offerings that belong to you, you must pick up and take to the place the LORD will choose.³⁶ 12:27 You must offer your burnt-offerings, meat and blood, upon the altar of the LORD your God; the blood of your other sacrifices³⁷ you must pour out upon his³⁸ altar while you eat the meat. 12:28 Pay utmost attention to these things that I am commanding you in order that it may go well with you and your descendants forever, that is, if you do what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

12:29 After the LORD your God has cut off the nations from the place where you are going to dispossess them and you do so and settle down in their land, 12:30 Be careful not to be ensnared like they are,³⁹ after they have been destroyed from your presence, and pursue their gods and say, how do these nations serve their gods? I myself will do the same. 12:31 You must not do this against the LORD your God for everything abominable to him,⁴⁰ what he hates, they have done for their gods; they even burn up⁴¹ their sons and daughters to their gods.

12:32 You¹ must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it.²