Deuteronomy 12:21

Deuteronomy 12:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the Lord hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
• New International Version (NIV)If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put his Name is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want.
• English Standard Version (ESV)If the place that the Lord your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, then you may kill any of your herd or your flock, which the Lord has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your towns whenever you desire.
• New King James Version (NKJV)If the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the Lord has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires.

Context of Deuteronomy 12:21

19As long as you live in the land, be careful to take care of the Levites. 20The Lord your God has promised to give you more and more land. When he does that, perhaps you will say, ‘I would like to eat some meat.’ Then you may eat as much meat as you like. The place that God chooses as his special home may be far away from you. If it is, you may kill any of the animals that the Lord has given to you. You may eat the meat at your own town, in the way that I have told you. 22You should eat them in the same way that you eat deer. People who are unclean may eat them, as well as people who are clean. 23But never eat the blood. The blood of an animal gives it life. You must not eat the life together with the meat!

Deuteronomy 12:21 word by word

כִּֽי־יִרְחַ֨ק מִמְּךָ֜ הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִבְחַ֜ר יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶיךָ֮ לָשׂ֣וּם שְׁמ֣וֹ שָׁם֒ וְזָבַחְתָּ֞ מִבְּקָרְךָ֣ וּמִצֹּֽאנְךָ֗ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָתַ֤ן יְהוָה֙ לְךָ֔ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר צִוִּיתִ֑ךָ וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֙ בִּשְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ בְּכֹ֖ל אַוַּ֥ת נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• If the placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• hath chosenבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• to putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
• his nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• there be too farרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
• from thee, then thou shalt killזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• of thy herdבָּקָרbâqâr · cattleH1241
• and of thy flockצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629
• hath givenנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• thee, as I have commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
• thee, and thou shalt eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• in thy gatesשַׁ֫עַרsha‛ar · gate: townH8179
• whatsoever thy soulנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: myselfH5315
• lusteth afterאַוָּה'avvâh · desireH185

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 12:21

• Deuteronomy 12:5The Lord will choose one place from the land where all your tribes live. That is the place where people must go to worship him. That is his special home.
• Deuteronomy 14:23Then take your tithe to the place that the Lord your God will choose as his special home. It will be a tenth part of your grain, your new wine, your olive oil and the firstborn animals from your cows, sheep and goats. Eat them there, at the Lord's special home. Then you will learn to respect the Lord your God always.
• Deuteronomy 16:6You must go to the place that he will choose as his special home. You must kill the animal there, at sunset. That was the time of day when you came out of Egypt.
• Deuteronomy 26:2This is what you must do the first time that the land provides food for you: At harvest time, when you bring in your crops, put some in a basket. Take it to the special place that the Lord your God will choose for people to worship him.
• Exodus 20:24Instead, use earth to make an altar for me. You must offer sacrifices to me on the altar. You may take your sheep, your goats or your cows to make burnt offerings or friendship offerings or other sacrifices to me. Make an altar like this in any place that I choose for you to worship me. In those places, I will come to you and I will bless you.
• 1 Kings 14:21King Solomon's son, Rehoboam, ruled Judah as king. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. That was the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. He chose it as the place where people would give honour to his name. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite woman. Her name was Naamah.
• 2 Chronicles 12:13Rehoboam made his authority as king in Jerusalem very strong. He was 41 years old when he became king. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem. That was the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel. He chose it as the place where people would give honour to his name. Rehoboam's mother was an Ammonite woman. Her name was Naamah.
• Ezra 6:12No king or nation should try to change my command. They must never destroy God's temple in Jerusalem. That is the place that he has chosen for people to worship him. I pray that he will remove anyone who tries to attack that place. I, Darius, have made this command. Everyone must obey it completely.’

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12:21

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21If the place … - Rather, “Because, or since, the place will be too far from thee.” The permission given in Deuteronomy 12:15-16 is repeated, and the reason of it assigned.Read the comment
• 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
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21you may slaughter: Because an animal’s blood was considered holy (see Genesis 9:4–6), meat for eating had to be slaughtered at the central place of worship whenever possible (compare Leviticus 17:8–9). If it was not possible to go to the central location, the animal could be sacrificed locally. Even then, the blood had to be handled and disposed of in a way that followed God’s instructions (Deuteronomy 12:23–25; compare Leviticus 17:10–12).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 12:21

• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Cattle
• High place
• Lust
• Rest
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis

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