Deuteronomy 12:17

17 Nothing that you offer to the Lord is to be eaten in the places where you live: neither the tithes of your grain, your wine, or your olive oil, nor the first-born of your cattle and sheep, the gifts that you promise to the Lord, your freewill offerings, or any other offerings.

Deuteronomy 12:17 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 12:17

Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or
of thy wine, or of thy oil
This cannot be understood of the tithe given to the Levites, or of that which the Levites out of theirs gave to the priests, for that was only eaten by them; but of the tithe which every three years they were to lay up within their gates, and which they were to eat with their families and others; but the other two years they were to carry it to the place the Lord chose, or turn it into money, and when they came thither purchase with it what they pleased, and eat it, they and their household, and others with them, before the Lord; see ( Deuteronomy 14:22-29 ) ,

the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flocks;
these also the firstborn males belonged to the Lord, and so to the priests, and could not be eaten by the people any where; and must be understood either of the next firstlings, which were the people's, or of the female firstlings, which they might devote to the Lord, and so not allowed to eat at home, but in the chosen place:

nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings;
which were species of peace offerings, and so to be eaten not in their own cities, but in the place appointed:

or heave offerings of thine hand;
the firstfruits; see ( Deuteronomy 26:1-11 ) these were such they were not bound to bring, but brought them freely.

Deuteronomy 12:17 In-Context

15 "But you are free to kill and eat your animals wherever you live. You may eat as many as the Lord gives you. All of you, whether ritually clean or unclean, may eat them, just as you would eat the meat of deer or antelope.
16 But you must not eat their blood; you must pour it out on the ground like water.
17 Nothing that you offer to the Lord is to be eaten in the places where you live: neither the tithes of your grain, your wine, or your olive oil, nor the first-born of your cattle and sheep, the gifts that you promise to the Lord, your freewill offerings, or any other offerings.
18 You and your children, together with your servants and the Levites who live in your towns, are to eat these offerings only in the presence of the Lord your God, in the one place of worship chosen by the Lord your God. And you are to be happy there over everything that you have done.
19 Be sure, also, not to neglect the Levites, as long as you live in your land.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.