The One Place of Worship
1
These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land
that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you tp possess -
as long as you live in the land.
2
Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills
and under every spreading tree where the nations
you are dispossessing worship their gods.
3
Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and
burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods
and wipe out their names from those places.
4
You must not worship he LORD your God in their way.
5
But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from
among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling.
To that place you must go;
6
there bring your burnt offerings and sacreifices, your tithes and
special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings,
and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
7
There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families
shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put our hand to,
because the LORD your God has blessed you.
8
You are not to do as we do here today, everyone as he sees fit,
9
since you have not yet reached the resting place and
the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you.
10
But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the LORD your God
is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from
all your enemies around you so that youo will live in safety.
11
Then to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name -
there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings
and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts,
and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the LORD.
12
And there rejoice before the LORD your God, you, your sons and daughters,
your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns,
who have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
13
Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please.
14
Offer them only at the place the LORD will choose in one o f your tribes,
and there observe everything I command you.
15
Nevrtheless,you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns
and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were Gazelle or deer,
according to the blessing the LORD your God gives you.
Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.
16
But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
17
You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and
new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks,
or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.
18
Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God
at the place the LORD your God will choose - you, your sons and daughters,
your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your town -
and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God
in everything you put your hand to.
19
Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
20
When the LORD your God has enlarged your territory as he promised you,
and you crave meat and say, "I would like some meat,"
then you may eat as much of it as you want.
21
If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his Name is too far way
from you, you masy slaughter animals from the herds and flocks
the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you,
nd in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want.
22
Eat them as you would gazelle or deer.
Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat.
23
But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life,
and you must not eat the life with the meat.
24
You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
25
Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you,
because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
26
But gake your consecrated things and whatever you vowed to give,
and go to the place the LORD will choose.
27
Present your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God,
both the meat and the blood. The blood of your sacrifices must be poured
inside the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat.
28
Be careful to obey all these regulations I am giving you,
so that it may always go well with you and your children after you,
because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God.
29
The LORD your God will cut off before you the nations you are about to invade
and dispossess. But when you have driven them out and settled in their land,
30
and after they have been destroyed before you,
be careful not to be ensnared by inquiring about their gods, saying,
"How do these nations serve their gods? We will do the same."
31
You must not worship the LORD your God in their way
because in worshiping their gods, they do all kind of detestable things
the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters
in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
32
See that you do all I commnad you; do not add to it or take away from it.
