1Monuments of idolatry must be destroyed. 4The service of God must be attended upon in the place of his choosing. 15, 20Flesh for common food may be killed and eaten elsewhere, only without the blood; 17, 26but all holy things must be brought and eaten in the holy place. 19The Levite not to be forsaken. 29Idolatrous practices not to be enquired after.
1THESE are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.
2Yea shall 1utterly destroy 2all the places, wherein the nations 3which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the 4high mountains, and upon the hills, and under 5every 6green tree:
a Exod. 34:12, 13; Deut. 7:5.
1 Hebr. destroying destroy.
2 Understand such places as were fitted and reared up as idolatrous temples, houses and all manner of consecrated places in a pagan manner, and instruments of idolatry.
3 That is, of which lands you shall inherit, as Deut. 11:23.
4 Where they thought to be somewhat nearer heaven and their idols than on the low ground. Compare Isa. 57:5, 7; Ezek. 6:13; Hosea 4:13.
5 That is, all manner of.
6 Which in height, beauty and shadow excelled others. See 2 Kings 16 on verse 4.
3And ye shall overthrow their altars,b and break their 7pillars, and burn their 8groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.
b Judges 2:2.
7 Or, pillar-images, statues.
8 Thick dark groves, misused to idolatry, as if darkness served for religiosity, and had some holiness in it.
4Ye shall not do 9so unto the LORD your God.
9 As the heathens do, who practice idolatry in all places where it pleased them.
5Butc unto the 10place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your 11tribes to put his 12name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:
c 2 Chron. 7:12.
10 The sure place, afterward chosen and ordained by God, is Jerusalem. See 2 Samuel 7; 24; 1 Chronicles 22; Psalm 122:1, 2, 3, 4; 132:13, 14. Before Jerusalem was ordained for that end, there was no such place, although they were ordinarily to serve God and ask counsel of Him in the place where the ark of the covenant, or tent of the congregation, by God’s appointment, did rest; as in the following books shall plainly appear.
11 God honored the tribe of Judah herewith, passing by the other tribes in this matter. See Psalm 78:67, 68, 69.
12 That the ark of the covenant, which was a special visible token of My gracious presence, might safely rest there in My tabernacle or house, and My public solemn worship might be there performed, etc. Compare 2 Sam. 6 on verse 2; 1 Kings 8:29. Also below verses 11, 21; Deut. 14:23, 24; 16:2, 6, 11, etc.
6And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your 13vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:
13 That is, what you have promise to give unto the LORD.
7And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice 14in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your 15households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.
14 Hebr. in all putting forth, all stretching forth of your hand, that is, unto all that you have stretched forth, or, might stretch forth your hand. Also verse 18; Deut. 15:10, etc.
15 Or, houses.
8Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man 16whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
16 That is, all that seems good unto him. How far this extended may be seen in verse 11.
9For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.
10But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
11Then there shall be a place whichd the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your 17choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:
d 1 Kings 8:29.
17 That is, which you have picked and chosen out of the best and have vowed unto the LORD.
12And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hathe18no part nor inheritance with you.
e Num. 18:20; Deut. 10:9; 18:1.
18 See Deut. 10:9.
13Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that 19thou seest:
19 Namely, with delight.
14But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
15Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy 20gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the 21roebuck, and as of the hart.f
20 That is, in all your cities or dwelling places, and also often.
21 That is, not as holy, but as common and permitted food. Deer and roes were indeed clean beasts, which as common food might be eaten (Deuteronomy 14), but they were not used for offerings, also verse 22; Deut. 15:22.
f deer*
16Onlyg ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
g Gen. 9:4; Lev. 7:26; 17:10; Deut. 15:23.
17¶Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe 22of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:
22 See concerning tithes, Lev. 27 on verse 30.
18But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all 23that thou puttest thine hands unto.
23 See verse 7; Deut. 15:10.
19Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite 24as long as thou livest upon the earth.
24 That is, as long as you shall live upon the earth.
20¶When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, ash 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.
h Gen. 28:13; Exod. 23:31; Deut. 11:24; 19:8.
21If 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.
2225Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.
25 See on verse 15.
23Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the 26blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
26 See Lev. 17 on verse 11.
2427Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
27 This ceremony, also commanded in verse 16, is here especially inculcated. See hereof Gen. 9:4; Lev. 17:11.
25Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.
26Only 28thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose:
28 Hebr. thy holinesses; that is, things that are hallowed, or appropriated unto the LORD; as is declared in the sequel.
27And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.
28Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.
29¶When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess 29them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
29 That is, their land; as Deut. 9:1; 11:23, etc.
30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared 30by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
30 That is, in order that you follow after them.
31Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire 31to their gods.
31 That is, to the honor of their idols. Of this abomination of the heathens imitated by the backsliding Jews, see Jer. 7:31; 19:5 and compare 2 Kings 16:3; 17:17, 31; 23:10.
3232What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thoui shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.
32 Or, All this word; similar words see Deut. 4:2. Other, Everything which I command you, ye shall, etc.
i Deut. 4:2; Prov. 30:6; Rev. 22:18.