| New International Version | NET Bible |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 4You must not worship the LORD your God in their way. | 4You must not worship the LORD your God the way they worship. |
| 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; | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 8You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, | 8You must not do like we are doing here today, with everyone doing what seems best to him, |
| 9since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you. | 9for you have not yet come to the final stop and 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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). |
| 13Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. | 13Make sure you do not offer burnt offerings in any place you wish, |
| 14Offer them only at the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 16But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. | 16However, you must not eat 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 19Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land. | 19Be careful not to overlook the Levites as long as you live in the 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 22Eat them as you would gazelle or deer. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat. | 22Like you eat the gazelle or ibex, so you may eat these; the ritually impure and pure alike may eat them. |
| 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. | 23However, by no means eat the blood, for the blood is life itself--you must not eat the life with the meat! |
| 24You must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. | 24You must not eat it! You must 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. | 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. |
| 26But take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give, and go to the place the LORD will choose. | 26Only the holy things and votive offerings that belong to you, you must pick up and take 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. | 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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, | 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. |
| 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." | 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." |
| 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. | 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! |
| 32See that you do all I command you; do not add to it or take away from it. | 32You must be careful to do everything I am commanding you. Do not add to it or subtract from it! |
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