Deuteronomy 12:32 - Prayer Tents

Destroying Altars to False Gods

12"These are the statutes and ordinances that you must carefully observe in the land that the Lord God of your ancestors has given you to possess every day that you live on the earth.H2706H4941H8104H6213H776H3068H430H1H5414H3423H3117H2416H127

2Be sure you destroy there all the places where the nations that you're going to dispossess serve their gods - upon the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree.H6H6H4725H1471H834H3423H5647H430H7311H2022H1389H7488H6086

3Tear down their altars, cut down their sacred poles, and burn them. Cut down the carved images of their gods to erase their memory from that place."H5422H4196H7665H4676H8313H842H784H1438H6456H430H6H8034H4725

Sacrifice at the Central Sanctuary

4"You must not act like this with respect to the Lord your God.H6213H3068H430

5Instead, you must seek to enter only the place that the Lord your God will choose among your tribes. There he will establish his name and live.H4725H3068H430H977H7626H7760H8034H7933H1875H935

6Bring your burnt offerings there, along with your sacrifices, your tithes, your hand-carried gifts, your votive offerings, your freely given offerings, and the first born of your herds and flocks.H935H5930H2077H4643H8641H3027H5088H5071H1062H1241H6629

7Then you and your household will eat in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice with all the works of your hand with which he blessed you.H398H6440H3068H430H8055H4916H3027H1004H3068H430H1288

8"You must not act as we have been doing here today, where every one acts as they see fit,H6213H6213H3117H376H3477H5869

9for you haven't arrived yet to your allotted place that the Lord your God is about to give you.H935H4496H5159H3068H430H5414

10But after you have crossed the Jordan River and settled in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and after you have received relief from the enemies around you and are living securely,H5674H3383H3427H776H3068H430H5157H5117H341H5439H3427H983

11then bring to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling place - where he will establish his name - everything that I'm commanding you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your hand-carried gifts, all your best votive offerings that you pledged to the Lord.H4725H3068H430H977H8034H7931H935H6680H5930H2077H4643H8641H3027H4005H5088H5087H3068

12"Rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God - you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is in your city - for there is no territorial allotment for him as you have.H8055H6440H3068H430H1121H1323H5650H519H3881H8179H3588H2506H5159

13Be careful not to offer burnt offerings at any location you happen to seeH8104H5927H5930H4725H7200

14instead of at the place the Lord will choose in one of the tribal areas. There you may offer burnt offerings, and there you may do everything that I'm commanding you."12H4725H3068H977H259H7626H5927H5930H6213H6680

Instructions Pertaining to Food

15"You may slaughter and eat as much meat as you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God, when he provides for you in all your cities. Both ritually unqualified and qualified people may eat it as they would gazelle and deer.H2076H398H1320H8179H5315H185H1293H3068H430H5414H2931H2889H398H6643H354

16Only, you must not consume the blood; instead, pour it out on the ground as you would water.H398H1818H8210H776H4325

17"You won't be allowed to eat your tithe of grain, new wine, oil, the first born of your herd and flock, your votive offerings that you pledged, your free-will offerings, and the works of your hands in your own cities.H3201H398H8179H4643H1715H8492H3323H1062H1241H6629H5088H5087H5071H8641H3027

18You'll eat only in the presence of the Lord your God at the place that he will choose - you, your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is in your cities. Rejoice in the presence of the Lord your God in everything you undertake.H398H6440H3068H430H4725H3068H430H977H1121H1323H5650H519H3881H8179H8055H6440H3068H430H4916H3027

19Be careful not to forget the Levite while you live in the land.H8104H5800H3881H3117H127

20When the Lord your God enlarges your territory - just as he told you - and you say 'I want to eat meat' since you desire to eat it, you may do so as much as you please.18H3068H430H7337H1366H1696H559H398H1320H5315H183H398H1320H398H1320H5315H185

21"If the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish his name is distant from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and your flock what the Lord has provided for you, as he instructed you. You may consume them in your cities as much as you please.H4725H3068H430H977H7760H8034H7368H2076H1241H6629H3068H5414H6680H398H8179H5315H185

22You may eat them, just as you would gazelle and deer. Ritually unqualified and qualified people may eat them.H6643H354H398H398H2931H2889H398H3162

23Only be sure to refrain from eating blood, because blood is the source of life and you must not consume blood with the meat.H2388H398H1818H1818H5315H398H5315H1320

24You must not consume it; instead, pour it on the ground as you would water.H398H8210H776H4325

25You must not eat it, so that life will go well for you and for your children after you. Then you'll do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.H398H3190H1121H310H6213H3477H5869H3068

26"You may carry and bring only your consecrated gifts and votive offerings to the place that the Lord will choose.H6944H5088H5375H935H4725H3068H977

27You must offer your burnt offerings, both the meat and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God. You must offer the blood by pouring it on the altar of the Lord your God while you consume the meat.H6213H5930H1320H1818H4196H3068H430H1818H2077H8210H4196H3068H430H398H1320

28Be sure to observe all these words that I'm commanding you, in order that life may go well for you and your children after you forever, for this is good and right in the eyes of the Lord your God."H8104H8085H1697H6680H3190H1121H310H5704H5769H6213H2896H3477H5869H3068H430

Don’t Become Ensnared

29"When the Lord your God eliminates the nations that you are about to dispossess so you can live in their land,H3068H430H3772H1471H6440H935H3423H3423H3427H776

30after they have been destroyed in your sight, be careful not to be ensnared as they were. Otherwise, you will seek their gods and ask yourselves, 'How do these nations serve their gods?I will do likewise.'H8104H5367H310H310H8045H6440H1875H430H559H1471H5647H430H6213H1571

31You must not do the same to the Lord your God, because they practiced in the presence of their gods every sort of abomination that the Lord hates. Moreover, they sacrificed their sons and daughters to their gods.H6213H3068H430H8441H3068H8130H6213H430H1121H1323H8313H784H430

32Now as to everything I'm commanding you, you must be careful to observe it. Don't add to or subtract from it."H1697H6680H8104H6213H3254H1639