God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 12:5
5The Lord your God will choose a place out of all your tribes to live and put his name. Go there and worship him.
Deuteronomy 12:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
- New International Version (NIV)But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go;
- English Standard Version (ESV)But 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,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.
Context of Deuteronomy 12:5
3Tear down their altars, crush their sacred stones, burn their poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, cut down their idols, and wipe out the names of their gods from those places. 4Never worship the Lord your God in the way they worship their gods. The Lord your God will choose a place out of all your tribes to live and put his name. Go there and worship him. 6Bring him your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your income, your contributions, the offerings you vow to bring, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your cattle, sheep, and goats. 7There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families will eat and enjoy everything you’ve worked for, because the Lord your God has blessed you.
Read all of Deuteronomy 12Deuteronomy 12:5 word by word
כִּ֠י אִֽם־אֶל־הַמָּק֞וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֨ר יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ מִכָּל־שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֔ם לָשׂ֥וּם אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ שָׁ֑ם לְשִׁכְנ֥וֹ תִדְרְשׁ֖וּ וּבָ֥אתָ שָֽׁמָּה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But unto the placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
- which the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- shall chooseבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
- out of all your tribesשֵׁ֫בֶטshêbeţ · tribeH7626
- to putשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: putH7760
- his nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
- unto his habitationשֵׁ֫כֶןsheken · habitationH7933
- shall ye seekדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
- and thither thou shalt comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 12:5
- Deuteronomy 12:11Then the Lord your God will choose a place where his name will live. You must bring everything I command you to that place. Bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your income, your contributions, and all the best offerings you vow to bring to the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 16:2Slaughter an animal from your flock or herd as the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God. Do this at the place where the Lord will choose for his name to live.
- Deuteronomy 26:2take some of the first produce harvested from the fields in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket. Then go to the place where the Lord your God will choose for his name to live.
- Joshua 9:27But that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation. They served the Lord’s altar, wherever he chose to put it. They still serve today.
- Joshua 18:1The whole congregation of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land was under their control.
- 1 Kings 8:16‘Ever since I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I didn’t choose any city in any of the tribes of Israel as a place to build a temple for my name. But now I’ve chosen David to rule my people Israel.’
- 1 Kings 14:21Rehoboam, son of Solomon, ruled Judah. He was 41 years old when he began to rule. He ruled for 17 years in Jerusalem, the city that the Lord chose from all the tribes of Israel, the city where the Lord put his name. Rehoboam’s mother was an Ammonite woman named Naamah.
- 1 Chronicles 22:1Then David said, “This is where the Lord God’s temple will be. Israel’s altar for burnt offerings will also be here.”
- 2 Chronicles 7:12Then the Lord appeared to him at night. He said to Solomon, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
- Psalms 78:68but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which he loved.
- Psalms 87:2The Lord loves the city of Zion more than any other place in Jacob.
- John 4:20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that people must worship in Jerusalem.”
- Hebrews 12:22Instead, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to tens of thousands of angels joyfully gathered together
- Revelation 14:1I looked, and the lamb was standing on Mount Zion. There were 144,000 people with him who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
- Exodus 15:2The Lord is my strength and my song. He is my Savior. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will honor him.
- Exodus 25:22I will be above the throne of mercy between the angels whenever I meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 12:5
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5“To put his name there” means to manifest to men His divine presence. The Targumists rightly refer to the Shechinah; but the expression comprehends all the various modes in which God vouchsafed to reveal Himself and His attributes to men. The purpose of the command of the text is to secure the unity, and through unity the purity of the worship of God. That there should be one national center for the religion of the people was obviously essential to the…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. 5establish as a dwelling for His Name: The name of God represents the God himself. God lived among his people in a particular place by placing his name there (see Exodus 3:13–14).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose ... to put his name there ... thou shalt come--They were forbidden to worship either in the impure superstitious manner of the heathen, or in any of the places frequented by them. A particular place for the general rendezvous of all the tribes would be chosen by God Himself; and the choice of one common place for the solemn rites of religion was an act of divine wisdom, for the security of the true…Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 12:5
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries