Deuteronomy 12:20

Deuteronomy 12:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
• New International Version (NIV)When 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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"When the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, 'I will eat meat,' because you crave meat, you may eat meat whenever you desire.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“When the Lord your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, ‘Let me eat meat,’ because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires.

Context of Deuteronomy 12:20

18You are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God chooses — you, your son and daughter, your male and female slave, and the Levite who is within your city gates. Rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you do, 19and be careful not to neglect the Levite, as long as you live in your land. “When the Lord your God enlarges your territory as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I want to eat meat’ because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want. 21If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his name is too far from you, you may slaughter any of your herd or flock he has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your city gates whenever you want. 22Indeed, you may eat it as the gazelle and deer are eaten; both the clean and the unclean may eat it.

Deuteronomy 12:20 word by word

כִּֽי־יַרְחִיב֩ יְהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֥יךָ אֶֽת־גְּבֽוּלְךָ֮ כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר דִּבֶּר־לָךְ֒ וְאָמַרְתָּ֙ אֹכְלָ֣ה בָשָׂ֔ר כִּֽי־תְאַוֶּ֥ה נַפְשְׁךָ֖ לֶאֱכֹ֣ל בָּשָׂ֑ר בְּכָל־אַוַּ֥ת נַפְשְׁךָ֖ תֹּאכַ֥ל בָּשָֽׂר׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• When the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• shall enlargeרָחַבrâchab · to enlargeH7337
• thy borderגְּבוּלgebûl gebûl · border: areaH1366
• as he hath promisedדָבַרdâbar · to speak: promiseH1696
• thee, and thou shalt sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• I will eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• fleshבָּשָׂרbâώâr · fleshH1320
• because thy soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
• longethאָוָה'âvâh · to desireH183
• lusteth afterאַוָּה'avvâh · desireH185

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 12:20

• 1 Chronicles 4:10Jabez called out to the God of Israel, “If only you would bless me, extend my border, let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm, so that I will not experience pain.” And God granted his request.
• Deuteronomy 11:24Every place the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon and from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea.
• Deuteronomy 19:8If the Lord your God enlarges your territory as he swore to your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised to give them —
• Genesis 15:18On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the Brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates River:
• Genesis 28:14Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out toward the west, the east, the north, and the south. All the peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring.
• Exodus 23:31I will set your borders from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and from the wilderness to the Euphrates River. For I will place the inhabitants of the land under your control, and you will drive them out ahead of you.
• Exodus 34:24For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory. No one will covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.
• Deuteronomy 12:15“But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your city gates, according to the blessing the Lord your God has given you. Those who are clean or unclean may eat it, as they would a gazelle or deer,
• Genesis 31:30Now you have gone off because you long for your father’s family — but why have you stolen my gods?”
• Numbers 11:4The riffraff among them had a strong craving for other food. The Israelites wept again and said, “Who will feed us meat?
• 2 Samuel 13:39King David longed to go to Absalom, for David had finished grieving over Amnon’s death.
• 2 Samuel 23:15David was extremely thirsty and said, “If only someone would bring me water to drink from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem!”
• Psalms 63:1God, you are my God; I eagerly seek you. I thirst for you; my body faints for you in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.
• Psalms 84:2I long and yearn for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
• Psalms 107:9For he has satisfied the thirsty and filled the hungry with good things.
• Psalms 119:20I am continually overcome with longing for your judgments.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12:20

• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-32Verses 5-32 The command to bring ALL the sacrifices to the door of the tabernacle, was now explained with reference to the promised land. As to moral service, then, as now, men might pray and worship every where, as they did in their synagogues. The place which God would choose, is said to be the place where he would put his name. It was to be his habitation, where, as King of Israel, he would be found by all who reverently sought him. Now, under the…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 16-2516. ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water--The prohibition against eating or drinking blood as an unnatural custom accompanied the announcement of the divine grant of animal flesh for food (Ge 9:4), and the prohibition was repeatedly renewed by Moses with reference to the great objects of the law (Le 17:12), the prevention of idolatry, and the consecration of the sacrificial blood to God. In regard, however, to the blood of…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 12:20

• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• High place
• Lust
• Rest
• Appetite
• Atonement, Day of
• Choose; Chosen
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings