The One Place of Worship
1These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess—as long as you live in the land. 2Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. 3Break 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.
4You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. 5But 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; 6there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you.
8You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, 9since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. 10But 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 you will live in safety. 11Then 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. 12And there rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance of their own. 13Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. 14Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.
15Nevertheless, 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. 16But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. 17You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. 18Instead, 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 male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to. 19Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.
20When 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. 21If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want. 22Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat. 23But be sure you do not eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. 24You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. 25Do 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.
26But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give, and go to the place the Lord will choose. 27Present 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 beside the altar of the Lord your God, but you may eat the meat. 28Be 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.
29The 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, 30and 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.” 31You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
32See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it.12:32 In Hebrew texts this verse (12:32) is numbered 13:1.
合宜的敬拜
1“只要你们生活在你们祖先的上帝耶和华赐给你们的土地上，就要谨遵以下律例和典章。
2“你们赶走那里的列邦后，要彻底摧毁他们在高山上、丘陵上、绿树下供奉其神明的地方。 3你们要拆毁他们的祭坛，打碎他们的神柱，焚烧他们的亚舍拉神像，砍倒他们神明的雕像，使他们的名字从那里消失。 4你们不可按照他们的方式敬拜你们的上帝耶和华。 5你们的上帝耶和华要在你们众支派中选一个地方作祂的居所，你们要去那里敬拜祂， 6把你们的燔祭及其他祭物、十一奉献、举祭、还愿祭、自愿献的祭和头生的牛羊带到那里。 7你们和家人要在那里，在你们的上帝耶和华面前吃喝；要为你们所做的一切蒙祂赐福而欢喜快乐。
8“你们不可再像今日这样各行其是， 9因为到如今你们还没有进入你们的上帝耶和华赐给你们作产业的安歇之地。 10但不久你们将渡过约旦河，定居在那片土地上。你们的上帝耶和华将使你们四境太平，安然居住， 11你们要把我吩咐你们献的燔祭、各种牲祭、十一奉献、举祭和一切还愿祭，带到你们的上帝耶和华选定的敬拜场所。 12在那里，你们和儿女、仆婢及同城中没有分到土地作产业的利未人，要一起在你们的上帝耶和华面前欢喜快乐。 13你们切不可随处向耶和华献燔祭。 14耶和华会在你们的一个支派中选定敬拜的场所，你们只可以在那里献燔祭，做我吩咐你们的一切事。
15“你们可以随意在居住的各城宰杀牲畜吃，享受你们的上帝耶和华所赐的福，像吃羚羊和鹿一样。洁净的人和不洁净的人都可以吃。 16但你们不可吃血。要把血倒在地上，像倒水一样。 17不可在你们的城里吃十一奉献的谷物、新酒和油、头生的牛羊、还愿祭、自愿献的祭和举祭； 18要在你们的上帝耶和华选定的地方，与儿女、仆婢及同城的利未人一起在你们的上帝耶和华面前吃。要为你们所做的一切，在你们的上帝耶和华面前欢喜快乐。 19切记，只要你们还住在自己的土地上，就不可忘记利未人。
20“你们的上帝耶和华按照祂的应许扩展你们的疆域后，你们若想吃肉，随时都可以吃。 21如果你们的上帝耶和华选定的敬拜场所离你们太远，你们可以在自己的城里，按照我的吩咐，随时宰杀耶和华赐给你们的牛羊吃， 22就像你们吃羚羊和鹿一样。洁净的人和不洁净的人都可以吃。 23但你们切不可吃血，因为血就是生命；你们不可把生命和肉一起吃。 24你们切不可吃血，要把血倒在地上，像倒水一样。 25你们要做耶和华视为正的事——不可吃血，以便你们及子孙凡事顺利。 26你们要把圣物和还愿祭带到耶和华选定的地方。 27你们要在你们的上帝耶和华的祭坛上献燔祭，连肉带血都要献上。要把其他祭牲的血倒在坛上，但可以吃祭肉。 28你们要认真听从我给你们的这些吩咐，做你们的上帝耶和华视为正与善的事，以便你们及子孙凡事顺利，直到永远。
29“你们的上帝耶和华将为你们铲除列国。你们要赶走他们，住在他们的土地上。 30他们从你们面前被毁灭之后，你们要谨慎，不可受诱惑去效法他们的习俗，不可打听他们神明的事，说，‘这些民族怎样供奉他们的神明呢？我也要效法。’ 31你们不可按照他们的方式敬拜你们的上帝耶和华。他们祭拜自己神明的种种行为令耶和华憎恶，他们甚至焚烧自己的儿女献给他们的神明。
32“你们要谨遵我的一切吩咐，不可增添，也不可删减。
