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「只要你們生活在你們祖先的上帝耶和華賜給你們的土地上，就要謹遵以下律例和典章。
2「你們趕走那裡的列邦後，要徹底摧毀他們在高山上、丘陵上、綠樹下供奉其神明的地方。 3你們要拆毀他們的祭壇，打碎他們的神柱，焚燒他們的亞舍拉神像，砍倒他們神明的雕像，使他們的名字從那裡消失。 4你們不可按照他們的方式敬拜你們的上帝耶和華。 5你們的上帝耶和華要在你們眾支派中選一個地方作祂的居所，你們要去那裡敬拜祂， 6把你們的燔祭及其他祭物、十一奉獻、舉祭、還願祭、自願獻的祭和頭生的牛羊帶到那裡。 7你們和家人要在那裡，在你們的上帝耶和華面前吃喝；要為你們所做的一切蒙祂賜福而歡喜快樂。
8「你們不可再像今日這樣各行其是， 9因為到如今你們還沒有進入你們的上帝耶和華賜給你們作產業的安歇之地。 10但不久你們將渡過約旦河，定居在那片土地上。你們的上帝耶和華將使你們四境太平，安然居住， 11你們要把我吩咐你們獻的燔祭、各種牲祭、十一奉獻、舉祭和一切還願祭，帶到你們的上帝耶和華選定的敬拜場所。 12在那裡，你們和兒女、僕婢及同城中沒有分到土地作產業的利未人，要一起在你們的上帝耶和華面前歡喜快樂。 13你們切不可隨處向耶和華獻燔祭。 14耶和華會在你們的一個支派中選定敬拜的場所，你們只可以在那裡獻燔祭，做我吩咐你們的一切事。
15「你們可以隨意在居住的各城宰殺牲畜吃，享受你們的上帝耶和華所賜的福，像吃羚羊和鹿一樣。潔淨的人和不潔淨的人都可以吃。 16但你們不可吃血。要把血倒在地上，像倒水一樣。 17不可在你們的城裡吃十一奉獻的穀物、新酒和油、頭生的牛羊、還願祭、自願獻的祭和舉祭； 18要在你們的上帝耶和華選定的地方，與兒女、僕婢及同城的利未人一起在你們的上帝耶和華面前吃。要為你們所做的一切，在你們的上帝耶和華面前歡喜快樂。 19切記，只要你們還住在自己的土地上，就不可忘記利未人。
20「你們的上帝耶和華按照祂的應許擴展你們的疆域後，你們若想吃肉，隨時都可以吃。 21如果你們的上帝耶和華選定的敬拜場所離你們太遠，你們可以在自己的城裡，按照我的吩咐，隨時宰殺耶和華賜給你們的牛羊吃， 22就像你們吃羚羊和鹿一樣。潔淨的人和不潔淨的人都可以吃。 23但你們切不可吃血，因為血就是生命；你們不可把生命和肉一起吃。 24你們切不可吃血，要把血倒在地上，像倒水一樣。 25你們要做耶和華視為正的事——不可吃血，以便你們及子孫凡事順利。 26你們要把聖物和還願祭帶到耶和華選定的地方。 27你們要在你們的上帝耶和華的祭壇上獻燔祭，連肉帶血都要獻上。要把其他祭牲的血倒在壇上，但可以吃祭肉。 28你們要認真聽從我給你們的這些吩咐，做你們的上帝耶和華視為正與善的事，以便你們及子孫凡事順利，直到永遠。
29「你們的上帝耶和華將為你們剷除列國。你們要趕走他們，住在他們的土地上。 30他們從你們面前被毀滅之後，你們要謹慎，不可受誘惑去效法他們的習俗，不可打聽他們神明的事，說，『這些民族怎樣供奉他們的神明呢？我也要效法。』 31你們不可按照他們的方式敬拜你們的上帝耶和華。他們祭拜自己神明的種種行為令耶和華憎惡，他們甚至焚燒自己的兒女獻給他們的神明。
32「你們要謹遵我的一切吩咐，不可增添，也不可刪減。
