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THE MESSAGE

Deuteronomy 12:20

When God , your God, expands your territory as he promised he would do, and you say, "I'm hungry for meat," because you happen to be craving meat at the time, go ahead and eat as much meat as you want. If you're too far away from the place that God , your God, has marked with his name, it's all right to slaughter animals from your herds and flocks that God has given you, as I've commanded you. In your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want. Just as the nonsacrificial animals like the gazelle and deer are eaten, you may eat them; the ritually unclean and clean may eat them at the same table.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Sanitation;   Thompson Chain Reference - Enlargement;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Blood;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Person, Personhood;   Psalms, Theology of;   Soul;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Heart;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jerusalem;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Deuteronomy, the Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - High places;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Appetite;   Criticism (the Graf-Wellhausen Hypothesis);   Lust;   Resurrection;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Blood;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Debarim Rabbah;   Ishmael of Akbara;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“When the Lord your God enlarges your territory as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I want to eat meat’ because you have a strong desire to eat meat, you may eat it whenever you want.
Hebrew Names Version
When the LORD your God shall enlarge your border, as he has promised you, and you shall say, I will eat flesh, because your soul desires to eat flesh; you may eat flesh, after all the desire of your soul.
King James Version
When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as 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.
Lexham English Bible
"When Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he has promised to you, and you say ‘I want to eat some meat,' because you want it, whenever you desire you may eat meat.
English Standard Version
"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.
New Century Version
When the Lord your God enlarges your country as he has promised, and you want some meat so you say, "I want some meat," you may eat as much meat as you want.
New English Translation
When the Lord your God extends your borders as he said he would do and you say, "I want to eat meat just as I please," you may do so as you wish.
Amplified Bible
"When the LORD your God extends your territory, as He promised you, and you say, 'I will eat meat,' because you want to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you wish.
New American Standard Bible
"When the LORD your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, 'I will eat meat,' because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire.
Geneva Bible (1587)
When the Lorde thy God shall enlarge thy border, as hee hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I wil eate flesh, (because thine heart longeth to eate flesh) thou maiest eate flesh, whatsoeuer thine heart desireth.
Legacy Standard Bible
"When Yahweh your God enlarges your territory as He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,' because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire.
Contemporary English Version
The Lord has promised that later on he will give Israel more land, and some of you may not be able to travel all the way from your homes to the place of worship each time you are hungry for meat. But the Lord will give you cattle, sheep, and goats, and you can butcher any of those animals at home and eat as much as you want.
Complete Jewish Bible
"When Adonai your God expands your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I want to eat meat,' simply because you want to eat meat, then you may eat meat, as much as you want.
Darby Translation
When Jehovah thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he promised thee, and thou say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh, thou mayest eat flesh, according to all the desire of thy soul.
Easy-to-Read Version
"The Lord your God promised to make your country larger. When he does this, you might live too far from the place the Lord your God chooses to be the home for his name. If it is too far, and you are hungry for meat, you may eat any meat you have. You may kill any animal from the herd or flock that he has given you. Do this the way I have commanded you. You may eat this meat there where you live any time you want.
George Lamsa Translation
When the LORD your God shall enlarge your territory, as he has promised you, and you shall say, I will eat meat, because your soul longs to eat meat; you shall eat meat, whatever your soul may desire.
Good News Translation
"When the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised, you may eat meat whenever you want to.
Literal Translation
Then Jehovah your God shall enlarge your border, as He has promised you, and you shall say, I will eat flesh, because your soul desires to eat flesh, you may eat flesh according to all the desire of your soul.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But whan the LORDE thy God shal enlarge thy bordes of thy londe (as he hath promysed the) and thou saye: I wil eate flesh (for so moch as thy soule longeth to eate flesh) then eate flesh acordinge to all the desyre of thy soule.
American Standard Version
When Jehovah thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul desireth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, after all the desire of thy soul.
Bible in Basic English
When the Lord your God makes wide the limit of your land, as he has said, and you say, I will take flesh for my food, because you have a desire for it; then you may take whatever flesh you have a desire for.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
If when the Lorde thy God shall enlarge thy border as he hath promised thee, thou say, I will eate flesh (because thy soule longeth to eate fleshe) thou mayest eate fleshe whatsoeuer thy soule lusteth.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as He hath promised thee, and thou shalt say: 'I will eat flesh', because thy soul desireth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, after all the desire of thy soul.
King James Version (1611)
When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as hee hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eate flesh (because thy soule longeth to eat flesh) thou mayest eat flesh whatsoeuer thy soule lusteth after.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And if the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy borders, as he said to thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh; if thy soul should desire to eat flesh, thou shalt eat flesh according to all the desire of thy soul.
English Revised Version
When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul desireth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, after all the desire of thy soul.
Berean Standard Bible
When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, "I want to eat meat," you may eat it whenever you want.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whanne thi Lord God hath alargid thi termes, as he spak to thee, and thou wolt ete fleischis, whiche thi soule desirith,
Young's Literal Translation
`When Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath spoken to thee, and thou hast said, Let me eat flesh -- for thy soul desireth to eat flesh -- of all the desire of thy soul thou dost eat flesh.
Update Bible Version
When Yahweh your God shall enlarge your border, as he has promised you, and you shall say, I will eat flesh, because your soul desires to eat flesh; you may eat flesh, after all the desire of your soul.
Webster's Bible Translation
When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatever thy soul desireth.
World English Bible
When Yahweh your God shall enlarge your border, as he has promised you, and you shall say, I will eat flesh, because your soul desires to eat flesh; you may eat flesh, after all the desire of your soul.
New King James Version
"When the LORD your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, "Let me eat meat,' because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires.
New Living Translation
"When the Lord your God expands your territory as he has promised, and you have the urge to eat meat, you may freely eat meat whenever you want.
New Life Bible
"The Lord your God will give you more land as He has promised you. And when you say, ‘I will eat meat,' because you want to eat meat, then you may eat as much meat as you want.
New Revised Standard
When the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, "I am going to eat some meat," because you wish to eat meat, you may eat meat whenever you have the desire.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
When Yahweh thy God shall enlarge thy boundary - as he hath spoken unto thee - and thou shalt say. I would eat flesh because thy soul desireth to eat flesh, of whatsoever thy soul desireth, mayest thou eat flesh.
Douay-Rheims Bible
When the Lord thy God shall have enlarged thy borders, as he hath spoken to thee, and thou wilt eat the flesh that thy soul desireth:
Revised Standard Version
"When the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, 'I will eat flesh,' because you crave flesh, you may eat as much flesh as you desire.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"When the LORD your God extends your border as He has promised you, and you say, 'I will eat meat,' because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire.

Contextual Overview

5Instead find the site that God , your God, will choose and mark it with his name as a common center for all the tribes of Israel. Assemble there. Bring to that place your Absolution-Offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and Tribute-Offerings, your Vow-Offerings, your Freewill-Offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. Feast there in the Presence of God , your God. Celebrate everything that you and your families have accomplished under the blessing of God , your God. 8Don't continue doing things the way we're doing them at present, each of us doing as we wish. Until now you haven't arrived at the goal, the resting place, the inheritance that God , your God, is giving you. But the minute you cross the Jordan River and settle into the land God , your God, is enabling you to inherit, he'll give you rest from all your surrounding enemies. You'll be able to settle down and live in safety. 11From then on, at the place that God , your God, chooses to mark with his name as the place where you can meet him, bring everything that I command you: your Absolution-Offerings and sacrifices, tithes and Tribute-Offerings, and the best of your Vow-Offerings that you vow to God . Celebrate there in the Presence of God , your God, you and your sons and daughters, your servants and maids, including the Levite living in your neighborhood because he has no place of his own in your inheritance. 13Be extra careful: Don't offer your Absolution-Offerings just any place that strikes your fancy. Offer your Absolution-Offerings only in the place that God chooses in one of your tribal regions. There and only there are you to bring all that I command you. 15 It's permissible to slaughter your nonsacrificial animals like gazelle and deer in your towns and eat all you want from them with the blessing of God , your God. Both the ritually clean and unclean may eat. 16But you may not eat the blood. Pour the blood out on the ground like water. Nor may you eat there the tithe of your grain, new wine, or olive oil; nor the firstborn of your herds and flocks; nor any of the Vow-Offerings that you vow; nor your Freewill-Offerings and Tribute-Offerings. All these you must eat in the Presence of God , your God, in the place God , your God, chooses—you, your son and daughter, your servant and maid, and the Levite who lives in your neighborhood. You are to celebrate in the Presence of God , your God, all the things you've been able to accomplish. 19 And make sure that for as long as you live on your land you never, never neglect the Levite. 20When God , your God, expands your territory as he promised he would do, and you say, "I'm hungry for meat," because you happen to be craving meat at the time, go ahead and eat as much meat as you want. If you're too far away from the place that God , your God, has marked with his name, it's all right to slaughter animals from your herds and flocks that God has given you, as I've commanded you. In your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want. Just as the nonsacrificial animals like the gazelle and deer are eaten, you may eat them; the ritually unclean and clean may eat them at the same table. 23Only this: Absolutely no blood. Don't eat the blood. Blood is life; don't eat the life with the meat. Don't eat it; pour it out on the ground like water. Don't eat it; then you'll have a good life, you and your children after you. By all means, do the right thing in God 's eyes. 26And this: Lift high your Holy-Offerings and your Vow-Offerings and bring them to the place God designates. Sacrifice your Absolution-Offerings, the meat and blood, on the Altar of God , your God; pour out the blood of the Absolution-Offering on the Altar of God , your God; then you can go ahead and eat the meat.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

shall: 1 Chronicles 4:10

as he hath: Deuteronomy 11:24, Deuteronomy 19:8, Genesis 15:18-21, Genesis 28:14, Exodus 23:31, Exodus 34:24

I will: Deuteronomy 12:15, Genesis 31:30, Numbers 11:4, Numbers 11:20, Numbers 11:34, 2 Samuel 13:39, 2 Samuel 23:15, Psalms 63:1, Psalms 84:2, Psalms 107:9, Psalms 119:20, Psalms 119:40, Psalms 119:174, 2 Corinthians 9:14, Philippians 1:8, Philippians 2:26

Reciprocal: Leviticus 17:3 - that killeth an Deuteronomy 14:26 - thy soul

Cross-References

Genesis 12:14
When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians took one look and saw that his wife was stunningly beautiful. Pharaoh's princes raved over her to Pharaoh. She was taken to live with Pharaoh.
Proverbs 21:1
Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God ; he directs it to whatever ends he chooses.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee,.... Brought them into the land of Canaan, where they should have large and good pastures for the feeding of their cattle, which they had not in the wilderness, and so a greater increase of them:

and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh; which they were shorts of, or ate but little of in the wilderness, lest their herds and their flocks should be consumed; but now having room to feed them, and an increase of them, they would give themselves a greater liberty of eating flesh:

because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; would have a craving appetite unto it, having so long ate none, or very little:

thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after; of any sort that is clean, and allowed to be eaten, and as much of it as is craved, only intemperance must be guarded against.


 
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