Holman Christian Standard Bible (59 page)

Deuteronomy

The Chosen Place of Worship

12
“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that
•Yahweh
, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth.
2
 Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods  — on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
3
 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their
•Asherah
poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place.
4
 Don't worship the
Lord
your God this way.
5
 Instead, you must turn to the place Yahweh your God chooses from all your tribes to put His name for His dwelling and go there.
6
 You are to bring there your
•burnt
offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
7
 You will eat there in the presence of the
Lord
your God and rejoice with your household in everything you do, because the
Lord
your God has blessed you.

8
 “You are not to do as we are doing here today; everyone is doing whatever seems right in his own eyes.
9
 Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place and the inheritance the
Lord
your God is giving you.
10
 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the
Lord
your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security,
11
 then Yahweh your God will choose the place to have His name dwell. Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, and all your choice offerings you vow to the
Lord
.
12
 You will rejoice before the
Lord
your God — you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you. 
13
 Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in all the sacred places you see.
14
 You must offer your burnt offerings only in the place the
Lord
chooses in one of your tribes, and there you must do everything I command you.

Slaughtering Animals to Eat

15
 “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. Those who are
•clean
or
•unclean
may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer,
16
 but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water. 
17
 Within your gates you may not eat: the tenth of your grain, new wine, or oil; the firstborn of your herd or flock; any of your vow offerings that you pledge; your freewill offerings; or your personal contributions. 
18
 You must eat them in the presence of the
Lord
your God at the place the
Lord
your God chooses — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your gates. Rejoice before the
Lord
your God in everything you do, 
19
 and be careful not to neglect the Levite, as long as you live in your land.

20
 “When the
Lord
your God enlarges your territory as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I want to eat meat' because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want.
21
 If the place where Yahweh your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.
22
 Indeed, you may eat it as the gazelle and deer are eaten; both the clean and the unclean may eat it.
23
 But don't eat the blood, since the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat.
24
 Do not eat blood; pour it on the ground like water.
25
 Do not eat it, so that you and your children after you will prosper, because you will be doing what is right in the
Lord
's sight.

26
 “But you are to take the holy offerings you have and your vow offerings and go to the place the
Lord
chooses.
27
 Present the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the
Lord
your God. The blood of your other sacrifices is to be poured out beside the altar of the
Lord
your God, but you may eat the meat.
28
 Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that you and your children after you may prosper forever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the
Lord
your God.

29
 “When the
Lord
your God annihilates the nations before you, which you are entering to take possession of, and you drive them out and live in their land,
30
 be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, ‘How did these nations worship their gods? I'll also do the same.'
31
 You must not do the same to the
Lord
your God, because they practice every detestable thing, which the
Lord
hates, for their gods. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32
 You must be careful to do everything I command you; do not add anything to it or take anything away from it. 

Deuteronomy

The False Prophet

13
“If a prophet or someone who has dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you,
2
 and that sign or wonder he has promised you comes about, but he says, ‘Let us follow other gods,' which you have not known, ‘and let us worship them,'
3
 do not listen to that prophet's words or to that dreamer. For the
Lord
your God is testing you to know whether you love the
Lord
your God with all your heart and all your soul.
4
 You must follow the
Lord
your God and
•fear
Him. You must keep His commands and listen to His voice; you must worship Him and remain faithful to Him. 
5
 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has urged rebellion against the
Lord
your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the place of slavery, to turn you from the way the
Lord
your God has commanded you to walk. You must purge the evil from you.

Don't Tolerate Idolatry

6
 “If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods' — which neither you nor your fathers have known,
7
 any of the gods of the peoples around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other —
8
 you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.
9
 Instead, you must kill him. Your hand is to be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people. 
10
 Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the
Lord
your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.
11
 All Israel will hear and be afraid, and they will no longer do anything evil like this among you. 

12
 “If you hear it said about one of your cities the
Lord
your God is giving you to live in,
13
 that
•wicked
men have sprung up among you, led the inhabitants of their city astray, and said, ‘Let us go and worship other gods,' which you have not known,
14
 you are to inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable thing has happened among you,
15
 you must strike down the inhabitants of that city with the sword.
•Completely
destroy everyone in it as well as its livestock with the sword.
16
 You are to gather all its spoil in the middle of the city square and completely burn up the city and all its spoil for the
Lord
your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever; it is not to be rebuilt.
17
 Nothing
•set
apart for destruction is to remain in your hand, so that the
Lord
will turn from His burning anger and grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers.
18
 This will occur if you obey the
Lord
your God, keeping all His commands I am giving you today, doing what is right in the sight of the
Lord
your God.

Deuteronomy

Forbidden Practices

14
“You are sons of the
Lord
your God; do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head on behalf of the dead, 
2
 for you are a holy people belonging to the
Lord
your God. The
Lord
has chosen you to be His own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

Clean and Unclean Foods

3
 “You must not eat any detestable thing.
4
 These are the animals you may eat:

6
 You may eat any animal that has hooves divided in two and chews the cud.
7
 But among the ones that chew the cud or have divided hooves, you are not to eat these:

You must not eat their meat or touch their carcasses. 

9
 “You may eat everything from the water that has fins and scales,
10
 but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales — it is unclean for you. 

11
 “You may eat every
•clean
bird,
12
 but these are the ones you may not eat:

19
 All winged insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten.
20
 But you may eat every clean flying creature. 

21
 “You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to a temporary resident living within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the
Lord
your God. You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.

A Tenth for the
Lord

22
 “Each year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields.
23
 You are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, in the presence of
•Yahweh
your God at the place where He chooses to have His name dwell, so that you will always learn to
•fear
 the
Lord
your God.
24
 But if the distance is too great for you to carry it, since the place where Yahweh your God chooses to put His name is too far away from you and since the
Lord
your God has blessed you,
25
 then exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place the
Lord
your God chooses.
26
 You may spend the money on anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or anything you desire. You are to feast there in the presence of the
Lord
your God and rejoice with your family.
27
 Do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you. 

28
 “At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and store it within your gates.
29
 Then the Levite, who has no portion or inheritance among you, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come, eat, and be satisfied. And the
Lord
your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do. 

Deuteronomy

Debts Canceled

15
“At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 
2
 This is how to cancel debt: Every creditor is to cancel what he has lent his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the
Lord
's release of debts has been proclaimed.
3
 You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you.

4
 “There will be no poor among you, however, because the
Lord
is certain to bless you in the land the
Lord
your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance  —
5
 if only you obey the
Lord
your God and are careful to follow every one of these commands I am giving you today.
6
 When the
Lord
your God blesses you as He has promised you, you will lend to many nations but not borrow; you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.