Deuteronomy 12:17-27

17 Thou may not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy grain or of thy wine or of thy oil or the firstborn of thy cows or of thy sheep nor any of thy vows which thou hast promised nor thy freewill offerings or the heave offerings of thy hands.
18 But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall have chosen, thou and thy son and thy daughter and thy manslave and thy maidslave and the Levite that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all the work of thy hands.
19 Keep thyself that thou not forsake the Levite in all thy days upon thy land.
20 When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he has promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul desires to eat flesh, according to all the desire of thy soul thou shalt eat flesh.
21 When the place which the LORD thy God shall have chosen to put his name there is far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy cows and of thy sheep, which the LORD has given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates according to all thy soul desires.
22 Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them; the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
23 Only be sure not to eat the blood; for the blood is the soul (or the life), and thou art not to eat the soul with its flesh.
24 Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
25 Thou shalt not eat it that it may go well with thee and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
26 But the things which thou hast consecrated and thy vows, thou shalt take and go unto the place which the LORD shall have chosen,
27 and thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.

Deuteronomy 12:17-27 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.

The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010