| NET Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to obey as long as you live in the land the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess. | 1“These are the decrees and regulations you must be careful to obey when you live in the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must obey them as long as you live. |
| 2You must by all means destroy all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods--on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. | 2“When you drive out the nations that live there, you must destroy all the places where they worship their gods—high on the mountains, up on the hills, and under every green tree. |
| 3You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, burn up their sacred Asherah poles, and cut down the images of their gods; you must eliminate their very memory from that place. | 3Break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Burn their Asherah poles and cut down their carved idols. Completely erase the names of their gods! |
| 4You must not worship the LORD your God the way they worship. | 4“Do not worship the LORD your God in the way these pagan peoples worship their gods. |
| 5But you must seek only the place he chooses from all your tribes to establish his name as his place of residence, and you must go there. | 5Rather, you must seek the LORD your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored. |
| 6And there you must take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. | 6There you will bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, your offerings to fulfill a vow, your voluntary offerings, and your offerings of the firstborn animals of your herds and flocks. |
| 7Both you and your families must feast there before the LORD your God and rejoice in all the output of your labor with which he has blessed you. | 7There you and your families will feast in the presence of the LORD your God, and you will rejoice in all you have accomplished because the LORD your God has blessed you. |
| 8You must not do like we are doing here today, with everyone doing what seems best to him, | 8“Your pattern of worship will change. Today all of you are doing as you please, |
| 9for you have not yet come to the final stop and inheritance the LORD your God is giving you. | 9because you have not yet arrived at the place of rest, the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession. |
| 10When you do go across the Jordan River and settle in the land he is granting you as an inheritance and you find relief from all the enemies who surround you, you will live in safety. | 10But you will soon cross the Jordan River and live in the land the LORD your God is giving you. When he gives you rest from all your enemies and you’re living safely in the land, |
| 11Then you must come to the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to reside, bringing everything I am commanding you--your burnt offerings, sacrifices, tithes, the personal offerings you have prepared, and all your choice votive offerings which you devote to him. | 11you must bring everything I command you—your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your sacred offerings, and your offerings to fulfill a vow—to the designated place of worship, the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored. |
| 12You shall rejoice in the presence of the LORD your God, along with your sons, daughters, male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you). | 12“You must celebrate there in the presence of the LORD your God with your sons and daughters and all your servants. And remember to include the Levites who live in your towns, for they will receive no allotment of land among you. |
| 13Make sure you do not offer burnt offerings in any place you wish, | 13Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings just anywhere you like. |
| 14for you may do so only in the place the LORD chooses in one of your tribal areas--there you may do everything I am commanding you. | 14You may do so only at the place the LORD will choose within one of your tribal territories. There you must offer your burnt offerings and do everything I command you. |
| 15On the other hand, you may slaughter and eat meat as you please when the LORD your God blesses you in all your villages. Both the ritually pure and impure may eat it, whether it is a gazelle or an ibex. | 15“But you may butcher your animals and eat their meat in any town whenever you want. You may freely eat the animals with which the LORD your God blesses you. All of you, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you now eat gazelle and deer. |
| 16However, you must not eat blood--pour it out on the ground like water. | 16But you must not consume the blood. You must pour it out on the ground like water. |
| 17You will not be allowed to eat in your villages your tithe of grain, new wine, olive oil, the firstborn of your herd and flock, any votive offerings you have vowed, or your freewill and personal offerings. | 17“But you may not eat your offerings in your hometown—neither the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, nor the firstborn of your flocks and herds, nor any offering to fulfill a vow, nor your voluntary offerings, nor your sacred offerings. |
| 18Only in the presence of the LORD your God may you eat these, in the place he chooses. This applies to you, your son, your daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levites in your villages. In that place you will rejoice before the LORD your God in all the output of your labor. | 18You must eat these in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose. Eat them there with your children, your servants, and the Levites who live in your towns, celebrating in the presence of the LORD your God in all you do. |
| 19Be careful not to overlook the Levites as long as you live in the land. | 19And be very careful never to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land. |
| 20When the LORD your God extends your borders as he said he would do and you say, "I want to eat meat just as I please," you may do so as you wish. | 20“When the LORD your God expands your territory as he has promised, and you have the urge to eat meat, you may freely eat meat whenever you want. |
| 21If the place he chooses to locate his name is too far for you, you may slaughter any of your herd and flock he has given you just as I have stipulated; you may eat them in your villages just as you wish. | 21It might happen that the designated place of worship—the place the LORD your God chooses for his name to be honored—is a long way from your home. If so, you may butcher any of the cattle, sheep, or goats the LORD has given you, and you may freely eat the meat in your hometown, as I have commanded you. |
| 22Like you eat the gazelle or ibex, so you may eat these; the ritually impure and pure alike may eat them. | 22Anyone, whether ceremonially clean or unclean, may eat that meat, just as you do now with gazelle and deer. |
| 23However, by no means eat the blood, for the blood is life itself--you must not eat the life with the meat! | 23But never consume the blood, for the blood is the life, and you must not consume the lifeblood with the meat. |
| 24You must not eat it! You must pour it out on the ground like water. | 24Instead, pour out the blood on the ground like water. |
| 25You must not eat it so that it may go well with you and your children after you; you will be doing what is right in the LORD's sight. | 25Do not consume the blood, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what pleases the LORD. |
| 26Only the holy things and votive offerings that belong to you, you must pick up and take to the place the LORD will choose. | 26“Take your sacred gifts and your offerings given to fulfill a vow to the place the LORD chooses. |
| 27You must offer your burnt offerings, both meat and blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; the blood of your other sacrifices you must pour out on his altar while you eat the meat. | 27You must offer 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 on the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat. |
| 28Pay careful attention to all these things I am commanding you so that it may always go well with you and your children after you when you do what is good and right in the sight of the LORD your God. | 28Be careful to obey all my commands, so that all will go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and pleasing to the LORD your God. |
| 29When the LORD your God eliminates the nations from the place where you are headed and you dispossess them, you will settle down in their land. | 29“When the LORD your God goes ahead of you and destroys the nations and you drive them out and live in their land, |
| 30After they have been destroyed from your presence, be careful not to be ensnared like they are; do not pursue their gods and say, "How do these nations serve their gods? I will do the same." | 30do not fall into the trap of following their customs and worshiping their gods. Do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations worship their gods? I want to follow their example.’ |
| 31You must not worship the LORD your God the way they do! For everything that is abhorrent to him, everything he hates, they have done when worshiping their gods. They even burn up their sons and daughters before their gods! | 31You must not worship the LORD your God the way the other nations worship their gods, for they perform for their gods every detestable act that the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters as sacrifices to their gods. |
| 32You must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! | 32 “So be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them. |
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