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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)It might happen that the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—is a long way from your home. If so, you may butcher any of the cattle, sheep, or goats the Lord has given you, and you may freely eat the meat in your hometown, as I have commanded you.

Context of Deuteronomy 12:21

19Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land. 20"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. 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. 22Just as the gazelle or the deer is eaten, so you may eat of it. The unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh.

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 12:5But you shall seek the place that the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make his habitation there. There you shall go,
• Deuteronomy 14:23And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always.
• Deuteronomy 16:6but at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt.
• Deuteronomy 26:2you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there.
• Exodus 20:24An altar of earth you shall make for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen. In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.
• 1 Kings 14:21Now Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.
• 2 Chronicles 12:13So King Rehoboam grew strong in Jerusalem and reigned. Rehoboam was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel to put his name there. His mother's name was Naamah the Ammonite.
• Ezra 6:12May the God who has caused his name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who shall put out a hand to alter this, or to destroy this house of God that is in Jerusalem. I Darius make a decree; let it be done with all diligence."

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