Deuteronomy 12:13

13 Be careful that you don't sacrifice your burnt offerings just anywhere you please.

Deuteronomy 12:13 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 12:13

Take heed to thyself, that thou offer not thy burnt offerings,
&c.] And so any other, this is put for all the rest:

in every place that thou seest;
which might take with their fancy, seem pleasant, and so a proper and suitable place to sacrifice in, as on high places, and under green trees; but they were not to indulge their own fancies and imaginations, or follow the customs of others, but keep to the rules prescribed them by the Lord, and to the place fixed by him for his worship.

Deuteronomy 12:13 In-Context

11 Then the Lord your God will choose a place where he is to be worshiped. To that place you must bring everything I tell you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your offerings of a tenth of what you gain, your special gifts, and all your best things you promised to the Lord.
12 There rejoice before the Lord your God. Everyone should rejoice: you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no land of their own.
13 Be careful that you don't sacrifice your burnt offerings just anywhere you please.
14 Offer them only in the place the Lord will choose. He will choose a place in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I am commanding you.
15 But you may kill your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were a deer or a gazelle; this is the blessing the Lord your God is giving you. Anyone, clean or unclean, may eat this meat,
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.