Ulangan 12:12-15

12:12 You 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 ¹  (since they have no allotment or inheritance with you). ²  12:13 Make sure you do not offer burnt offerings in any place you wish, 12:14 for you may do so ³  only in the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribal areas – there you may do everything I am commanding you. ⁴ 

Regulations for Profane Slaughter

12:15 On the other hand, you may slaughter and eat meat as you please when the Lord your God blesses you ⁵  in all your villages. ⁶  Both the ritually pure and impure may eat it, whether it is a gazelle or an ibex.

[12:12]  ¹ tn Heb “within your gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “who belongs to your community.”

[12:12]  ² sn They have no allotment or inheritance with you. See note on the word “inheritance” in Deut 10:9.

[12:14]  ³ tn Heb “offer burnt offerings.” The expression “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[12:14]  ⁴ sn This injunction to worship in a single and central sanctuary – one limited and appropriate to the thrice-annual festival celebrations (see Exod 23:14-17; 34:22-24; Lev 23:4-36; Deut 16:16-17) – marks a departure from previous times when worship was carried out at local shrines (cf. Gen 8:20; 12:7; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 35:1, 3, 7; Exod 17:15). Apart from the corporate worship of the whole theocratic community, however, worship at local altars would still be permitted as in the past (Deut 16:21; Judg 6:24-27; 13:19-20; 1 Sam 7:17; 10:5, 13; 2 Sam 24:18-25; 1 Kgs 18:30).

[12:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “only in all the desire of your soul you may sacrifice and eat flesh according to the blessing of the Lord your God which he has given to you.”

[12:15]  ⁶ tn Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB; likewise in vv. 17, 18).