Deuteronomy 12:1–14

The Chosen Place of Worship

12“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that Yahweh, the God of your fathers, ^phas 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 ^q—on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. ^r3Tear 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 ^splace. ^t4Don’t worship the Lord your God this way. ⁵Instead, you must turn to the place Yahweh your God chooses ^ufrom 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, ^vyour 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, ^wbecause 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. ^x9Indeed, you have not yet come into the resting place ^yand the inheritance ^zthe 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, ^aand He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you live in security, ¹¹then Yahweh your God will choose the place to have His name dwell. ^bBring there everything I command you: your burnt offerings, sacrifices, offerings of the tenth, personal contributions, ^cand all your choice offerings you vow to the Lord. ¹²You will rejoice ^dbefore 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. ^e13Be 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.