Deuteronomy Chapter 12

1 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love Jehovah your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

2 that I will give the rain of your land in its season, the former rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy grain, and thy new wine, and thine oil.

3 And I will give grass in thy fields for thy cattle, and thou shalt eat and be full.

4 Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;

5 and the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he shut up the heavens, so that there shall be no rain, and the land shall not yield its fruit; and ye perish quickly from off the good land which Jehovah giveth you.

6 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul; and ye shall bind them for a sign upon your hand, and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes.

7 And ye shall teach them your children, talking of them, when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt write them upon the door-posts of thy house, and upon thy gates;

9 that your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which Jehovah sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of the heavens above the earth.

10 For if ye shall diligently keep all this commandment which I command you, to do it, to love Jehovah your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;

11 then will Jehovah drive out all these nations from before you, and ye shall dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves.

12 Every place whereon the sole of your foot shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness, and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the hinder sea shall be your border.

13 There shall no man be able to stand before you: Jehovah your God shall lay the fear of you and the dread of you upon all the land that ye shall tread upon, as he hath spoken unto you.

14 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse:

15 the blessing, if ye shall hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, which I command you this day;

16 and the curse, if ye shall not hearken unto the commandments of Jehovah your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

17 And it shall come to pass, when Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt set the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal.

18 Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the oaks of Moreh?

19 For ye are to pass over the Jordan to go in to possess the land which Jehovah your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein.

20 And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and the ordinances which I set before you this day.

21 These are the statutes and the ordinances which ye shall observe to do in the land which Jehovah, the God of thy fathers, hath given thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.

22 Ye shall surely destroy all the places wherein the nations that ye shall dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:

23 and ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and burn their Asherim with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods; and ye shall destroy their name out of that place.

24 Ye shall not do so unto Jehovah your God.

25 But unto the place which Jehovah your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come;

26 and thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill-offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock:

27 and there ye shall eat before Jehovah your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.

28 Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes;

29 for ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.

30 But when ye go over the Jordan, and dwell in the land which Jehovah your God causeth you to inherit, and he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;

31 then it shall come to pass that to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, thither shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto Jehovah.

32 And ye shall rejoice before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is within your gates, forasmuch as he hath no portion nor inheritance with you.

darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext

1 These are the statutes and ordinances, which ye shall take heed to do in the land, which Jehovah theGod of thy fathers is giving thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.

2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall dispossess have served theirgods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree;

3 and ye shall break down their altars, and shatter their statues, and burn their Asherahs with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of theirgods, and ye shall destroy the names of them out of that place.

4 Ye shall not do so unto Jehovah yourGod;

5 but unto the place which Jehovah yourGod will choose out of all your tribes to set his name there, his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come;

6 and thither ye shall bring your burnt-offerings and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your voluntary-offerings, and the firstlings of your kine and of your sheep;

7 and ye shall eat there before Jehovah yourGod, and ye shall rejoice, ye and your households, in all the business of your hand, wherein Jehovah thyGod hath blessed thee.

8 Ye shall not do after all that we do here this day, each one whatever is right in his own eyes.

9 For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which Jehovah thyGod giveth thee.

10 But when ye have gone over the Jordan, and dwell in the land which Jehovah yourGod causeth you to inherit, and when he hath given you rest from all your enemies round about, and ye dwell in safety,

11 then there shall be a place which Jehovah yourGod will choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you: your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye shall vow to Jehovah.

12 And ye shall rejoice before Jehovah yourGod, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your bondmen, and your handmaids, and the Levite that is within your gates; for he hath no portion nor inheritance with you.

13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt-offerings in every place that thou seest;

14 but in the place which Jehovah will choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.

15 Nevertheless, according to all the desire of thy soul thou mayest slay and eat flesh in all thy gates, according to the blessing of Jehovah thyGod which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the gazelle, and the hart.

16 Only, ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.

17 Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy new wine, or of thine oil, or the firstlings of thy kine or of thy sheep, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy voluntary-offerings, nor the heave-offering of thy hand;

18 but before Jehovah thyGod shalt thou eat them in the place which Jehovah thyGod will choose, thou and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy bondman, and thy handmaid, and the Levite that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thyGod in all the business of thy hand.

19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite all the days thou shalt be in thy land.

20 When Jehovah thyGod shall enlarge thy border, as he promised thee, and thou say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh, thou mayest eat flesh, according to all the desire of thy soul.

21 If the place which Jehovah thyGod will choose to set his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt slay of thy kine and of thy sheep which Jehovah hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates according to all the desire of thy soul.

22 Even as the gazelle and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean alike may eat of them.

23 Only, be sure that thou eat not the blood; for the blood is the life, and thou mayest not eat the life with the 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 what is right in the eyes of Jehovah.

26 But thy hallowed things which thou hast, and what thou hast vowed, thou shalt take, and come to the place which Jehovah will choose;

27 and thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of Jehovah thyGod; and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of Jehovah thyGod, and the flesh shalt thou eat.

28 Take heed to hear all these words which I command thee, that it may be well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest what is good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thyGod.

29 When Jehovah thyGod cutteth off from before thee the nations whither thou goest, to take possession of them, and thou hast dispossessed them, and dwellest in their land,

30 take heed to thyself that thou be not ensnared [to follow] after them, after that they are destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after theirgods, saying, How did these nations serve theirgods? even so will I do likewise.

31 Thou shalt not do so to Jehovah thyGod; for every [thing that is] abomination to Jehovah, which he hateth, have they done unto theirgods; for even their sons and their daughters have they burned in the fire to theirgods.

32 Everything that I command you, ye shall take heed to do it; thou shalt not add thereto, nor take from it.

lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM

1 And these [are] the ordinances and the judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you for an inheritance, all the days which ye live upon the land.

2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places in which they served their gods, whose [land] ye inherit, on the high mountains and on the hills, and under the thick tree.

3 And ye shall destroy their altars, and break in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their groves, and ye shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods, and ye shall abolish their name out of that place.

4 Ye shall not do so to the Lord your God.

5 But in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose in one of your cities to name his name there, and to be called upon, ye shall even seek [him] out and go thither.

6 And ye shall carry thither your whole-burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your first-fruits, and your vowed-offerings, and your freewill-offerings, and your offerings of thanksgiving, the first-born of your herds, and of your flocks.

7 And ye shall eat there before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all the things on which ye shall lay your hand, ye and your houses, as the Lord your God has blessed you.

8 Ye shall not do altogether as we do here to-day, every man that which is pleasing in his own sight.

9 For hitherto ye have not arrived at the rest and the inheritance, which the Lord our God gives you.

10 And ye shall go over Jordan, and shall dwell in the land, which the Lord our God takes as an inheritance for you; and he shall give you rest from all your enemies round about, and ye shall dwell safely.

11 And there shall be a place which the Lord thy God shall choose for his name to be called there, thither shall ye bring all things that I order you to-day; your whole-burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the first-fruits of your hands, and every choice gift of yours, whatsoever ye shall vow to the Lord your God.

12 And ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God, ye and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants and your maid-servants, and the Levite that is at your gates; because he has no portion or inheritance with you.

13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy whole-burnt-offerings in any place which thou shalt see;

14 save in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, in one of thy tribes, there shall ye offer your whole-burnt-offerings, and there shalt thou do all things whatsoever I charge thee this day.

15 But thou shalt kill according to all thy desire, and shalt eat flesh according to the blessing of the Lord thy God, which he has given thee in every city; the unclean that is within thee and the clean shall eat it on equal terms, as the doe or the stag.

16 Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it out on the ground as water.

17 Thou shalt not be able to eat in thy cities the tithe of thy corn, and of thy wine, and of thine oil, the first-born of thine herd and of thy flock, and all [your] vows as many as ye shall have vowed, and your thank-offerings, and the first-fruits of thine hands.

18 But before the Lord thy God thou shalt eat it, in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the stranger that is within thy gates; and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, on whatsoever thou shalt lay thine hand.

19 Take heed to thyself that thou do not desert the Levite all the time that thou livest upon the earth.

20 And if the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy borders, as he said to thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh; if thy soul should desire to eat flesh, thou shalt eat flesh according to all the desire of thy soul.

21 And if the place be far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose for himself, that his name be called upon it, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock which God shall have given thee, even as I commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy cities according to the desire of thy soul.

22 As the doe and the stag are eaten, so shalt thou eat it; the unclean in thee and the clean shall eat it in like manner.

23 Take diligent heed that thou eat no blood, for blood [is] the life of it; the life shall not be eaten with the flesh.

24 Ye shall not eat [it]; ye shall pour it out on the ground as water.

25 Thou shalt not eat it, that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee, if thou shalt do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord thy God.

26 But thou shalt take thy holy things, if thou hast any, and thy vowed-offerings, and come to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to have his name named upon it.

27 And thou shalt sacrifice thy whole-burnt-offerings, thou shalt offer the flesh upon the altar of the Lord thy God; but the blood of thy sacrifices thou shalt pour out at the foot of the altar of the Lord thy God, but the flesh thou shalt eat.

28 Beware and hearken, and thou shalt do all the commands which I charge thee, that it may be well with thee and with thy sons for ever, if thou shalt do that which is pleasing and good before the Lord thy God.

29 And if the Lord thy God shall utterly destroy the nations, to whom thou goest in thither to inherit their land, from before thee, and thou shalt inherit it, and dwell in their land;

30 take heed to thyself that thou seek not to follow them after they are destroyed before thee, saying, How do these nations act towards their gods? I will do likewise.

31 Thou shalt not do so to thy God; for they have sacrificed to their gods the abominations of the Lord which he hates, for they burn their sons and their daughters in fire to their gods.

vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)

1 Hæc sunt præcepta atque iudicia, quæ facere debetis in Terra, quam Dominus Deus patrum tuorum daturus est tibi, ut possideas eam cunctis diebus, quibus super humum gradieris.

2 Subvertite omnia loca, in quibus coluerunt gentes, quas possessuri estis, deos suos super montes excelsos, et colles, et subter omne lignum frondosum.

3 Dissipate aras eorum, et confringite statuas, lucos igne comburite, et idola comminuite: disperdite nomina eorum de locis illis.

4 Non facietis ita Domino Deo vestro:

5 sed ad locum, quem elegerit Dominus Deus vester de cunctis tribubus vestris, ut ponat nomen suum ibi, et habitet in eo, venietis:

6 et offeretis in loco illo holocausta et victimas vestras, decimas et primitias manuum vestrarum, et vota atque donaria, primogenita boum et ovium.

7 Et comedetis ibi in conspectu Domini Dei vestri: ac lætabimini in cunctis, ad quæ miseritis manum vos et domus vestræ, in quibus benedixerit vobis Dominus Deus vester.

8 Non facietis ibi quæ nos hic facimus hodie, singuli quod sibi rectum videtur.

9 Neque enim usque in præsens tempus venistis ad requiem, et possessionem, quam Dominus Deus vester daturus est vobis.

10 Transibitis Iordanem, et habitabitis in Terra, 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, quæ præcipio, conferetis, holocausta, et hostias, ac decimas, et primitias manuum vestrarum: et quidquid præcipuum est in muneribus, quæ vovebitis Domino.

12 Ibi epulabimini coram Domino Deo vestro, vos et filii ac filiæ vestræ, famuli et famulæ atque Levites, qui in urbibus vestris commoratur. 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 quæcumque præcipio tibi.

15 Sin autem comedere volueris, et te esus carnium delectaverit, occide, comede iuxta benedictionem Domini Dei tui, quam dedit tibi in urbibus tuis: sive immundum fuerit, hoc est, maculatum et debile: sive mundum, hoc est, integrum et sine macula, quod offerri licet, sicut capream et cervum, comedes,

16 absque esu dumtaxat sanguinis, quem super terram quasi aquam effundes.

17 Non poteris comedere in oppidis tuis decimam frumenti, et vini, et olei tui, primogenita armentorum et pecorum, et omnia quæ voveris, et sponte offerre volueris, et primitias manuum tuarum:

18 sed coram Domino Deo tuo comedes ea in loco, quem elegerit Dominus Deus tuus, tu et filius tuus et filia tua, et servus et famula, atque Levites, qui manet in urbibus tuis: et lætaberis et reficieris coram Domino Deo tuo in cunctis, ad quæ extenderis manum tuam.

19 Cave ne derelinquas Levitem in omni tempore quo versaris in terra.

20 Quando dilataverit Dominus Deus tuus terminos tuos, sicut locutus est tibi, et volueris vesci carnibus, quas desiderat anima tua:

21 locus autem, quem elegerit Dominus Deus tuus ut sit nomen eius ibi, si procul fuerit, occides de armentis et pecoribus, quæ habueris, sicut præcepi tibi, et comedes in oppidis tuis, ut tibi placet.

22 Sicut comeditur caprea et cervus, ita vesceris eis: et mundus et immundus in commune vescentur.

23 Hoc solum cave, ne sanguinem comedas. sanguis enim eorum pro anima est: et idcirco non debes animam comedere cum carnibus:

24 sed super terram fundes quasi aquam,

25 ut bene sit tibi et filiis tuis post te, cum feceris quod placet in conspectu Domini.

26 Quæ autem sanctificaveris, et voveris Domino, tolles, et venies ad locum, quem elegerit Dominus:

27 et offeres oblationes tuas carnem et sanguinem super altare Domini Dei tui: sanguinem hostiarum fundes in altari: carnibus autem ipse vesceris.

28 Observa et audi omnia quæ ego præcipio tibi, ut bene sit tibi et filiis tuis post te in sempiternum, cum feceris quod bonum est et placitum in conspectu Domini Dei tui.

29 Quando disperdiderit Dominus Deus tuus ante faciem tuam gentes, ad quas ingredieris possidendas, et possederis eas, atque habitaveris in terra earum:

30 cave ne imiteris eas, postquam te fuerint introeunte subversæ, et requiras ceremonias earum, dicens: Sicut coluerunt gentes istæ deos suos, ita et ego colam.

31 Non facies similiter Domino Deo tuo. Omnes enim abominationes, quas aversatur Dominus, fecerunt diis suis, offerentes filios et filias, et comburentes igni.

32 Quod præcipio tibi, hoc tantum facito Domino: nec addas quidquam, nec minuas.

web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV

1 These are the statutes and the ordinances which you shall observe to do in the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days that you live on the earth.

2 You shall surely destroy all the places in which the nations that you shall dispossess served their gods: on the high mountains, and on the hills, and under every green tree.

3 You shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, and burn their Asherah poles with fire. You shall cut down the engraved images of their gods. You shall destroy their name out of that place.

4 You shall not do so to the LORD your God.

5 But to the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes, to put his name there, you shall seek his habitation, and you shall come there.

6 You shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, your vows, your free will offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock there.

7 There you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all that you put your hand to, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.

8 You shall not do all the things that we do here today, every man whatever is right in his own eyes;

9 for you haven’t yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the LORD your God gives you.

10 But when you go over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God causes you to inherit, and he gives you rest from all your enemies around you, so that you dwell in safety,

11 then it shall happen that to the place which the LORD your God shall choose, to cause his name to dwell there, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the wave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which you vow to the LORD.

12 You shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, and your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you.

13 Be careful that you don’t offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see;

14 but in the place which the LORD chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

15 Yet you may kill and eat meat within all your gates, after all the desire of your soul, according to the LORD your God’s blessing which he has given you. The unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer.

16 Only you shall not eat the blood. You shall pour it out on the earth like water.

17 You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain, or of your new wine, or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, nor any of your vows which you vow, nor your free will offerings, nor the wave offering of your hand;

18 but you shall eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God shall choose: you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates. You shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all that you put your hand to.

19 Be careful that you don’t forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

20 When the LORD your God enlarges your border, as he has promised you, and you say, “I want to eat meat,” because your soul desires to eat meat, you may eat meat, after all the desire of your soul.

21 If the place which the LORD your God shall choose to put his name is too far from you, then you shall kill of your herd and of your flock, which the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates, after all the desire of your soul.

22 Even as the gazelle and as the deer is eaten, so you shall eat of it. The unclean and the clean may eat of it alike.

23 Only be sure that you don’t eat the blood; for the blood is the life. You shall not eat the life with the meat.

24 You shall not eat it. You shall pour it out on the earth like water.

25 You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, when you do that which is right in the LORD’s eyes.

26 Only your holy things which you have, and your vows, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD shall choose.

27 You shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the LORD your God’s altar. The blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the LORD your God’s altar, and you shall eat the meat.

28 Observe and hear all these words which I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do that which is good and right in the LORD your God’s eyes.

29 When the LORD your God cuts off the nations from before you where you go in to dispossess them, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,

30 be careful that you are not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and that you not inquire after their gods, saying, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”

31 You shall not do so to the LORD your God; for every abomination to the LORD, which he hates, they have done to their gods; for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods.

32 Whatever thing I command you, that you shall observe to do. You shall not add to it, nor take away from it.

ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8

1 `These <FI>are<Fi> the statutes and the judgments which ye observe to do in the land which Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath given to thee to possess it, all the days that ye are living on the ground:

2 ye do utterly destroy all the places where the nations which ye are dispossessing served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the heights, and under every green tree;

3 and ye have broken down their altars, and shivered their standing pillars, and their shrines ye burn with fire, and graven images of their gods ye cut down, and have destroyed their name out of that place.

4 `Ye do not do so to Jehovah your God;

5 but unto the place which Jehovah your God doth choose out of all your tribes to put His name there, to His tabernacle ye seek, and thou hast entered thither,

6 and hast brought in thither your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock;

7 and ye have eaten there before Jehovah your God, and have rejoiced in every putting forth of your hand, ye and your households, with which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.

8 `Ye do not do according to all that we are doing here to-day, each anything that is right in his own eyes,

9 for ye have not come in hitherto unto the rest, and unto the inheritance, which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee;

10 and ye have passed over the Jordan, and have dwelt in the land which Jehovah your God is causing you to inherit, and He hath given rest to you from all your enemies round about, and ye have dwelt confidently:

11 `And it hath been, the place on which Jehovah your God doth fix to cause His name to tabernacle there, thither ye bring in all that which I am commanding you, your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all the choice of your vows which ye vow to Jehovah;

12 and ye have rejoiced before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your handmaids, and the Levite who <FI>is<Fi> within your gates, for he hath no part and inheritance with you.

13 `Take heed to thee, lest thou cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend in any place which thou seest,

14 except in the place which Jehovah doth choose in one of thy tribes, there thou dost cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend, and there thou dost do all that which I am commanding thee.

15 `Only, with all the desire of thy soul thou dost sacrifice, and hast eaten flesh according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which He hath given to thee, in all thy gates; the unclean and the clean do eat it, as of the roe, and as of the hart.

16 `Only, the blood ye do not eat--on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

17 thou art not able to eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, and of thy new wine, and thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock, and any of thy vows which thou vowest, and thy free-will offerings, and heave-offering of thy hand;

18 but before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth fix on, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who <FI>is<Fi> within thy gates, and thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God in every putting forth of thy hand;

19 take heed to thee lest thou forsake the Levite all thy days on thy ground.

20 `When Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath spoken to thee, and thou hast said, Let me eat flesh--for thy soul desireth to eat flesh--of all the desire of thy soul thou dost eat flesh.

21 `When the place is far from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, then thou hast sacrificed of thy herd and of thy flock which Jehovah hath given to thee, as I have commanded thee, and hast eaten within thy gates, of all the desire of thy soul;

22 only, as the roe and the hart is eaten, so dost thou eat it; the unclean and the clean doth alike eat it.

23 `Only, be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood <FI>is<Fi> the life, and thou dost not eat the life with the flesh;

24 thou dost not eat it, on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

25 thou dost not eat it, in order that it may be well with thee, and with thy sons after thee, when thou dost that which <FI>is<Fi> right in the eyes of Jehovah.

26 `Only, thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou dost take up, and hast gone in unto the place which Jehovah doth choose,

27 and thou hast made thy burnt-offerings--the flesh and the blood--on the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices is poured out by the altar of Jehovah thy God, and the flesh thou dost eat.

28 Observe, and thou hast obeyed all these words which I am commanding thee, in order that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee--to the age, when thou dost that which <FI>is<Fi> good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.

29 `When Jehovah thy God doth cut off the nations--whither thou art going in to possess them--from thy presence, and thou hast possessed them, and hast dwelt in their land--

30 take heed to thee, lest thou be snared after them, after their being destroyed out of thy presence, and lest thou enquire about their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods, and I do so--even I?

31 `Thou dost not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every abomination of Jehovah which He is hating they have done to their gods, for even their sons and their daughters they burn with fire to their gods.

32 The whole thing which I am commanding you--it ye observe to do; thou dost not add unto it, nor diminish from it.

Explanations by Age Level

Explain Like I'm 5

A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!

Explain Like I'm 10

Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.

Explain Like I'm 15

Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).