New International Version
Deuteronomy 12:5
5But 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;
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:
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Rather, you must seek the Lord your God at the place of worship he himself will choose from among all the tribes—the place where his name will be honored.
Context of Deuteronomy 12:5
3Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places. 4You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. 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; 6there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 7There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, 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 to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord.
- Deuteronomy 16:2Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name.
- Deuteronomy 26:2take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name
- Joshua 9:27That day he made the Gibeonites woodcutters and water carriers for the assembly, to provide for the needs of the altar of the Lord at the place the Lord would choose. And that is what they are to this day.
- Joshua 18:1The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The country was brought under their control,
- 1 Kings 8:16‘Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built so that my Name might be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.’
- 1 Kings 14:21Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.
- 1 Chronicles 22:1Then David said, “The house of the Lord God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
- 2 Chronicles 7:12the Lord appeared to him at night and said: “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 gates of Zion more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.
- John 4:20Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
- Hebrews 12:22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,
- Revelation 14:1Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
- Exodus 15:2“The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
- Exodus 25:22There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will 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
New International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries