1 “ These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall carefully observe in the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess as long as you live on the earth.

`These the statutes and the judgments which ye observe to do in the land which Jehovah, God of thy fathers, hath given to thee to possess it, all the days that ye are living on the ground:

2 Y ou shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.

ye do utterly destroy all the places where the nations which ye are dispossessing served their gods, on the high mountains, and on the heights, and under every green tree;

3 Y ou shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.

and ye have broken down their altars, and shivered their standing pillars, and their shrines ye burn with fire, and graven images of their gods ye cut down, and have destroyed their name out of that place.

4 Y ou shall not act like this toward the Lord your God.

`Ye do not do so to Jehovah your God;

5 B ut you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come.

but unto the place which Jehovah your God doth choose out of all your tribes to put His name there, to His tabernacle ye seek, and thou hast entered thither,

6 T here you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock.

and hast brought in thither your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and your vows, and your free-will offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock;

7 T here also you and your households shall eat before the Lord your God, and rejoice in all your undertakings in which the Lord your God has blessed you.

and ye have eaten there before Jehovah your God, and have rejoiced in every putting forth of your hand, ye and your households, with which Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee.

8 “ You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes;

`Ye do not do according to all that we are doing here to-day, each anything that is right in his own eyes,

9 f or you have not as yet come to the resting place and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you.

for ye have not come in hitherto unto the rest, and unto the inheritance, which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee;

10 W hen you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security,

and ye have passed over the Jordan, and have dwelt in the land which Jehovah your God is causing you to inherit, and He hath given rest to you from all your enemies round about, and ye have dwelt confidently:

11 t hen it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord.

`And it hath been, the place on which Jehovah your God doth fix to cause His name to tabernacle there, thither ye bring in all that which I am commanding you, your burnt-offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave-offering of your hand, and all the choice of your vows which ye vow to Jehovah;

12 A nd you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance with you.

and ye have rejoiced before Jehovah your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your men-servants, and your handmaids, and the Levite who within your gates, for he hath no part and inheritance with you.

13 “ Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see,

`Take heed to thee, lest thou cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend in any place which thou seest,

14 b ut in the place which the Lord chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

except in the place which Jehovah doth choose in one of thy tribes, there thou dost cause thy burnt-offerings to ascend, and there thou dost do all that which I am commanding thee.

15 “ However, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of the gazelle and the deer.

`Only, with all the desire of thy soul thou dost sacrifice, and hast eaten flesh according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which He hath given to thee, in all thy gates; the unclean and the clean do eat it, as of the roe, and as of the hart.

16 O nly you shall not eat the blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.

`Only, the blood ye do not eat -- on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

17 Y ou are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand.

thou art not able to eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, and of thy new wine, and thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock, and any of thy vows which thou vowest, and thy free-will offerings, and heave-offering of thy hand;

18 B ut you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all your undertakings.

but before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth fix on, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who within thy gates, and thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God in every putting forth of thy hand;

19 B e careful that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.

take heed to thee lest thou forsake the Levite all thy days on thy ground.

20 “ When the Lord your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire.

`When Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath spoken to thee, and thou hast said, Let me eat flesh -- for thy soul desireth to eat flesh -- of all the desire of thy soul thou dost eat flesh.

21 I f the place which the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter of your herd and flock which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire.

`When the place is far from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, then thou hast sacrificed of thy herd and of thy flock which Jehovah hath given to thee, as I have commanded thee, and hast eaten within thy gates, of all the desire of thy soul;

22 J ust as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you will eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it.

only, as the roe and the hart is eaten, so dost thou eat it; the unclean and the clean doth alike eat it.

23 O nly be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.

`Only, be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood the life, and thou dost not eat the life with the flesh;

24 Y ou shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.

thou dost not eat it, on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

25 Y ou shall not eat it, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you, for you will be doing what is right in the sight of the Lord.

thou dost not eat it, in order that it may be well with thee, and with thy sons after thee, when thou dost that which right in the eyes of Jehovah.

26 O nly your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the Lord chooses.

`Only, thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou dost take up, and hast gone in unto the place which Jehovah doth choose,

27 A nd you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the Lord your God, and you shall eat the flesh.

and thou hast made thy burnt-offerings -- the flesh and the blood -- on the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices is poured out by the altar of Jehovah thy God, and the flesh thou dost eat.

28 “ Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that it may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

Observe, and thou hast obeyed all these words which I am commanding thee, in order that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee -- to the age, when thou dost that which good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.

29 “ When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land,

`When Jehovah thy God doth cut off the nations -- whither thou art going in to possess them -- from thy presence, and thou hast possessed them, and hast dwelt in their land --

30 b eware that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’

take heed to thee, lest thou be snared after them, after their being destroyed out of thy presence, and lest thou enquire about their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods, and I do so -- even I?

31 Y ou shall not behave thus toward the Lord your God, for every abominable act which the Lord hates they have done for their gods; for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.

`Thou dost not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every abomination of Jehovah which He is hating they have done to their gods, for even their sons and their daughters they burn with fire to their gods.

32 “ Whatever I command you, you shall be careful to do; you shall not add to nor take away from it.

The whole thing which I am commanding you -- it ye observe to do; thou dost not add unto it, nor diminish from it.