Deuteronomy 12:12-22

12 And you shall rejoice {before} Yahweh your God, you and your sons and your daughters and your slaves and your slave women and the Levite who [is] in your {towns}, because there is not for him a plot of ground and an inheritance with you.
13 "Take care for yourself so that you do not offer your burnt offerings at [just] any place that you happen to see,
14 {but only} at the place that Yahweh will choose among one of your tribes; there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all [the things] that I [am] commanding you.
15 "But {whenever you desire} you may slaughter, and you may eat meat according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you in all [of] your {towns}; the unclean and the clean may eat it [just] as [they would] the gazelle and as the deer.
16 Only the blood you must not eat, [but] on the ground you must pour it like water.
17 You are not allowed to eat in your {towns} the tithe of your grain and your wine and your olive oil and the firstborn of your herd and your flock and all [of] your votive gifts that you vowed and your freewill offering and {your donations}.
18 But only {before} Yahweh your God you shall eat it, at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite who [is] in your {towns}, and you must rejoice {before} your God {in all your undertakings}.
19 {Take care} so that you do not neglect the Levite all [of] your days on your land.
20 "When Yahweh your God enlarges your territory [just] as he has {promised} to you, and you say 'I want to eat [some] meat,' {because you want it}, {whenever you desire} you may eat meat.
21 If the place that Yahweh your God will choose to put his name there is [too] far from you, and you slaughter any of your herd and any of your flock that Yahweh has given to you [just] as I have commanded you, then you may eat whenever you desire in your {towns}.
22 Surely [just] as the gazelle and the deer is eaten, so [both] the unclean and the clean together may eat it.

Deuteronomy 12:12-22 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 12

In this chapter orders are given to destroy all altars, pillars, groves, and images, made for the worship of idols in the land of Canaan, De 12:1-3 and to bring all sacrifices and holy things unto the place which the Lord should choose for his habitation, and not do as they then did, not being come to their rest, De 12:4-14, flesh for their common food might be killed and eaten in their own houses, provided they did not eat the blood, but poured it out upon the earth, De 12:15-25, tithes, vows, and freewill offerings, were to be eaten in the holy place, De 12:17-19 and burnt offerings to be offered on the altar of the Lord and the blood of them to be poured out upon the altar, De 12:26-28, all which they were carefully to observe, De 12:29, and they are cautioned against idolatry, and inquiring after the manner of it, as practised by the old inhabitants of the land, and introducing their customs into the service of God, De 12:30-32.

Footnotes 18

  • [a]. Literally "the face of"
  • [b]. Literally "gates"
  • [c]. Literally "but [only] if"
  • [d]. Literally "in all the wanting of your soul/inner self"
  • [e]. Literally "gates"
  • [f]. Literally "gates"
  • [g]. Literally "the contribution of your hand"
  • [h]. Literally "before the face of"
  • [i]. Hebrew "choose it"
  • [j]. Literally "gate"
  • [k]. Literally "before the face of"
  • [l]. Literally "in all [of] the sending of your hand"
  • [m]. Literally "Watch for yourself"
  • [n]. Literally "spoken"
  • [o]. Literally "because your soul/inner self desires it"
  • [p]. Literally "at/in all the wanting of your soul/inner self"
  • [q]. Or "where"
  • [r]. Literally "gates"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.