Deuteronomy 12:12

12 ibi epulabimini coram Domino Deo vestro vos filii ac filiae vestrae famuli et famulae atque Levites qui in vestris urbibus commorantur neque enim habet aliam partem et possessionem inter vos

Deuteronomy 12:12 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 12:12

And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God
In the place chosen and fixed, where a temple would be built for him, and he would take up his residence; eating with joy and gladness that part of the offerings which belonged to them, keeping as it were a feast before the Lord, in token of gratitude for what they had received from him:

ye and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your
maidservants;
which explains what is meant by their household, ( Deuteronomy 12:7 ) wives are not mentioned, because it could not be thought they would eat and rejoice, or keep such a feast, without them, and therefore needless to name them:

and the Levite that is within your gates;
such also were to partake of this entertainment, who were useful in instructing their families in the knowledge of divine things, and serviceable to them on many accounts in the worship of God:

forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you;
in the division of the land, and so having nothing to manure and cultivate, was destitute of the fruits of the earth, and could make no improvement and increase of his substance, as they could.

Deuteronomy 12:12 In-Context

10 transibitis Iordanem et habitabitis in terram quam Dominus Deus vester daturus est vobis ut requiescatis a cunctis hostibus per circuitum et absque ullo timore habitetis
11 in loco quem elegerit Dominus Deus vester ut sit nomen eius in eo illuc omnia quae praecipio conferetis holocausta et hostias ac decimas et primitias manuum vestrarum et quicquid praecipuum est in muneribus quae vovistis Domino
12 ibi epulabimini coram Domino Deo vestro vos filii ac filiae vestrae famuli et famulae atque Levites qui in vestris urbibus commorantur neque enim habet aliam partem et possessionem inter vos
13 cave ne offeras holocausta tua in omni loco quem videris
14 sed in eo quem elegerit Dominus in una tribuum tuarum offeres hostias et facies quaecumque praecipio tibi
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.