Deuteronomy 12

1 These are the ordinaunces and lawes which ye shall obserue to doo in the londe which the Lorde God of thy fathers geueth the to possesse it, as longe as ye lyue vppon the erth.
2 Se that ye destroye all places where the nacyons which ye conquere serue their goddes, vppon hye mountaynes and on hye hilles and vnder euery grene tree.
3 Ouerthrowe their alters and breake their pylers and burne their groues with fyre and hewdowne the ymages off theyr goddes, and brynge the names of them to noughte out of that place.
4 Se ye doo not so vnto the Lorde youre God
5 but ye shall enquere the place which the Lorde youre God shall haue chosen out of all youre trybes to put his name there and there to dwell.
6 And thyther thou shalt come, and thyther ye shall brynge youre burntsacryfices and youre offerynges, youre tithes and heueofferynges off youre handes, youre vowes and frewillofferynges and thy fyrst borne off youre oxen and off youre shepe.
7 And there ye shall eate before the Lorde youre God, and ye shall reioyse in all that ye laye youre handes on: both ye and youre housholdes, because the Lord thy God hath blessed the.
8 Ye shall doo after nothinge that we doo here this daye, euery man what semeth hi good in his awne eyes.
9 For ye are not yet come to rest nor vnto the enheritaunce which the Lorde youre God geueth you.
10 But ye shal goo ouer Iordayne ad dwell in the lode which the Lorde youre God geueth you to enheret, ad he shal geue you rest fro al youre enemies rounde aboute: and ye shall dwell in safetie.
11 Therfore when the Lorde youre God hath chosen a place to make his name dwell there, thither ye shall brynge all that I commaunde you, youre burntsacryfices and youre offerynges, youre tithes and the heueofferynges of youre handes and all youre godly vowes which ye vowe vnto the Lorde.
12 And ye shall reioyse before the Lorde youre God, both ye, youre sonnes and youre doughters, youre seruauntes and youre maydes and the leuite that is within youre gates for he hath nether parte nor enheritaunce with you.
13 Take hede that thou offer not thi burntofferynges in what soeuer place thou seyst:
14 but in the place which the Lorde shall haue chosen amonge one of thy trybes, there thou shalt offer thi burntofferynges and there thou shalt doo all that I commaunde the.
15 Not witstondynge thou mayst kyll ad eate flesh in al thi cities, what soeuer thi soule lusteth after acordinge to the blessinge of the Lorde thi God which he hath geuen the both the vncleane and the cleane mayst thou eate, euen as the roo and the hert:
16 only eate not the bloude, but poure it apon the erth as water.
17 Thou mayst not eate within thi gates the tythe of thi corne, of thy wyne and of thi oyle, ether the firstborne of of thine oxen or of thy shepe, nether any of thi vowes which thou vowest, nor thi frewilofferinges or heueofferynges of thyne handes:
18 but thou must eate them before the Lorde thi God, in the place which the Lorde thi God hath chosen: both thou thi sonne and thi doughter, thi seruaunte and thy mayde ad the leuite that is within thi gates: ad thou shalt reioyse before the Lorde thi God, in al that thou puttest thine hande to.
19 And bewarre that thou forsake not the leuite as loge as thou lyuest vppon the erth.
20 Yf (when the Lorde thi God hath enlarged thi costes as he hath promysed the) thou saye: I will eate flesh, because thi soule longeth to eate flesh: then thou shalt eate flesh, what soeuer thi soule lusteth.
21 Yf the place which the Lorde thi God hath chosen to put his name there be to ferre from the, then thou mayst kylle of thi oxen and of thi shepe which the Lorde hath geuen the as I haue commaunded the and thou mayst eate in thine awne citie what soeuer thi soule lusteth.
22 Neuer the later, as the roo and the herte is eaten, euen so thou shalt eate it: the vncleane and the cleane indifferently thou shalt eate.
23 But be strong that thou eate not the bloude. For the bloude, that is the lyfe: and thou mayst not eate the life with the flesh:
24 thou maist not eate it: but must power it vppo the erth as water.
25 Se thou eate it not therfore that it maye goo well with the and with thy childern after the, when thou shalt haue done that whyche is ryghte in the syghte off the Lorde.
26 But thy holye thinges which thou hast and thy vowes, thou shalt take and go vnto the place which the Lorde hath chosen,
27 and thou shalt offer thy burntoffrynges, both flesh ad bloude apon the alter of the Lorde thy God, and the bloude of thine offrynges thou shalt poure out vppon the alter of the Lorde thy God, and shalt eate the flesh.
28 Take hede and heare all these wordes which I commaunde the that it maye goo well with the and with thy children after the for euer, whe thou doest that whiche is good and right in the sighte of the Lorde thy God.
29 When the Lorde thy God hath destroyed the nacions before the, whother thou goest to conquere them, and when thou hast conquered them, and dwelt in their landes:
30 Bewarre that thou be not taken in a snare after the, after that they be destroyed before the, and that thou axenot after their goddes saynge: how dyd these nacyons serue their goddes, that I maye doo so likewyse?
31 Nay, thou shalt not doo so vnto the Lorde thy God: for all abhominacyons which the Lorde hated dyd they vnto their goddes. For they burnt both their sonnes ad their doughters with fire vnto their goddes.
32 But what soeuer I commaunde you that take hede ye do: ad put nought thereto, nor take ought there from.

Deuteronomy 12 Commentaries

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