One Place for Worship 1 UEB These are the statutes and the decrees that you will keep in the land that Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth. BSB BSB: These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to follow all the days you live in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess.
2 UEB You will surely destroy all the places where the nations that you will dispossess worshiped their gods, on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. BSB BSB: Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
3 UEB You must break down their altars, dash in pieces their stone pillars, and burn their Asherah poles. You must cut down the carved figures of their gods and destroy their name out of that place. BSB BSB: Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.
4 UEB You will not worship Yahweh your God like that. BSB BSB: You shall not worship the LORD your God in this way.
5 UEB But to the place that Yahweh your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name, that will be the place where he lives, and it is there that you will go. BSB BSB: Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
6 UEB It is there that you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, and the offerings presented by your hand, your offerings for vows, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. BSB BSB: To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
7 UEB It is there that you will eat before Yahweh your God and rejoice about everything that you have put your hand to, you and your households, where Yahweh your God has blessed you. BSB BSB: There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you.
8 UEB You will not do all the things that we are doing here today; now everyone is doing whatever is right in his own eyes; BSB BSB: You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes.
9 UEB for you have not yet come to the rest, to the inheritance that Yahweh your God is giving you. BSB BSB: For you have not yet come to the resting place and the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you.
10 UEB But when you go over the Jordan and live in the land that Yahweh your God is causing you to inherit, and he will give you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you live in safety. BSB BSB: When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you dwell securely,
11 UEB Then to the place where Yahweh your God will choose to cause his name to live there—there you will bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, and the offerings presented by your hand, and all your choice offerings for vows that you will vow to Yahweh. BSB BSB: then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD.
12 UEB You will rejoice before Yahweh your God—you, your sons, your daughters, your male servants, your female servants, and the Levites who are within your gate, because he has no portion or inheritance among you. BSB BSB: And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God—you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.
13 UEB Pay attention to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings at every place that you see; BSB BSB: Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see;
14 UEB but it is at the place that Yahweh will choose among one of your tribes that you will offer your burnt offerings, and there you will do everything that I command you. BSB BSB: you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you.
15 UEB However, you may kill and eat animals within all your gates, as you wish, receiving the blessing of Yahweh your God for all that he has given you; the unclean and the clean persons both may eat of it, animals such as the gazelle and the deer. BSB BSB: But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Both the ceremonially clean and unclean may eat it as they would a gazelle or deer,
16 UEB But you will not eat the blood; you will pour it out on the earth like water. BSB BSB: but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
17 UEB You may not eat within your gates from the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock; and you may not eat any of the meat you sacrifice along with any of your vows that you make, nor that of your freewill offerings, nor that of the offering you present with your hand. BSB BSB: Within your gates you must not eat the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, the firstborn of your herds or flocks, any of the offerings that you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.
18 UEB Instead, you will eat them before Yahweh your God in the place that Yahweh your God will choose—you, your son, your daughter, your male servant, your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; you will rejoice before Yahweh your God about everything to which you put your hand. BSB BSB: Instead, you must 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 Levite within your gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in all you do,
19 UEB Pay attention to yourself so that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live on your land. BSB BSB: and be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
20 UEB When Yahweh your God enlarges your borders, as he has promised you, and you say, 'I will eat flesh,' because of your desire to eat meat, you may eat meat, as your soul desires. BSB BSB: When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want.
21 UEB If the place that Yahweh your God chooses to put his name is too far from you, then you will kill some of your herd and your flock that Yahweh has given you, as I have commanded you; you may eat within your gates, as your soul desires. BSB BSB: If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.
22 UEB Like the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you will eat of it; the unclean and the clean persons may eat of it alike. BSB BSB: Indeed, you may eat it as you would eat a gazelle or deer; both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.
23 UEB Only be sure that you do not consume the blood, for the blood is the life; you will not eat the life with the meat. BSB BSB: Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
24 UEB You will not eat it; you will pour it out on the earth like water. BSB BSB: You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water.
25 UEB You will not eat it, so that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, when you will do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh. BSB BSB: 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 UEB But the things that belong to Yahweh that you have and the offerings for your vows—you will take these and go to the place that Yahweh chooses. BSB BSB: But you are to take your holy things and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose.
27 UEB There you will offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of Yahweh your God; the blood of your sacrifices will be poured out on the altar of Yahweh your God, and you will eat the flesh. BSB BSB: Present the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your other sacrifices must be poured out beside the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat.
28 UEB Observe and listen to all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the eyes of Yahweh your God. BSB BSB: Be careful to obey all these things I command 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.
A Warning against Idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:15–31; Ezekiel 6:1–7)
29 UEB When Yahweh your God cuts off the nations from before you, when you go in to dispossess them, and you dispossess them, and live in their land, BSB BSB: When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations you are entering to dispossess, and you drive them out and live in their land,
30 UEB pay attention to yourself that you are not trapped into following them, after they are destroyed from before you—trapped into investigating their gods, into asking, 'How do these nations worship their gods? I will do the same.' BSB BSB: be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
32 UEB Whatever I command you, observe it. Do not add to it or take away from it. BSB BSB: See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.