Deuteronomy 12:1–14

THE CHOSEN PLACE OF WORSHIP

12“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors,^f has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth. ²Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods^g—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.^{h 3}Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every^F place.^{i 4}Don’t worship the Lord your God this way. ⁵Instead, turn to the place the Lord your God chooses^j from all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling and go there. ⁶You are to bring there your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tenths and personal contributions,^A your vow offerings and freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. ⁷You 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 sight.^{k 9}Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place^l and the inheritance^m the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁰When you cross the Jordan and live in the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit,ⁿ and he gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security, ¹¹then the Lord your God will choose the place to have his name dwell.^o Bring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions,^C and all your choice offerings you vow to the Lord. ¹²You will rejoice^p before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is within your city gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you.^{q 13}Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in all the sacred places you see. ¹⁴You 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.