Study Desk

The Lord your God will choose a special place among your tribes. That will be the home for his name. You must go to that place to worship him.

You and your families will eat together at that place, and the Lord your God will be there with you. You will enjoy sharing the things you worked for there. You will remember that the Lord your God blessed you and gave you these good things.

Then the Lord your God will choose a place that will be the home for his name. You must bring everything I command you to that place. Bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, one-tenth of your crops and animals, your special gifts, and any gifts that you promised to give to the Lord .

Come to that place with all your people—your children, all your servants, and the Levites living in your towns. (These Levites will not have a share of the land for their own.) Enjoy yourselves together there with the Lord your God.

"Also, the things you are offering to God must not be eaten where you live. These include the part of your grain that belongs to God, the part of your new wine and oil that belongs to God, the first animals born in your herd or flock, any gift that you promised to God, any special gifts you want to give, or any other gifts for God.

You must eat these offerings only in his presence at the special place that the Lord your God will choose. You must go there and eat together with your sons, your daughters, all your servants, and the Levites living in your towns. Enjoy yourselves there with the Lord your God. Enjoy what you have worked for.

"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.

You must offer your burnt offerings in that place. Offer the meat and the blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the Lord your God. For your other sacrifices, you must pour the blood on the altar of the Lord your God. Then you may eat the meat.

Carefully obey all the commands that I give you. When you do what is good and right—what pleases the Lord your God—then everything will go well for you and for your descendants forever.

"You are going to take your land from other people. The Lord your God will destroy these people for you. You will force them out of that land, and then you will live there.

But be careful that you don't fall into the same trap they did! Don't go to their false gods for help. Don't say to yourself, ‘They worshiped these gods, so I will worship them too.'

You must not agree with them. Don't listen to them or feel sorry for them. Don't let them go free or protect them.

Everything in that city must be destroyed as an offering to God. So you must not keep any of the things for yourselves. If you follow this command, the Lord will stop being so angry with you. He will be kind to you. He will feel sorry for you. He will let your nation grow larger, as he promised your ancestors.

But don't eat camels, rabbits, or rock badgers. These animals chew the cud, but they don't have split hooves. So these animals are not a clean food for you.

And you must not eat pigs. Their hooves are divided, but they don't chew the cud. So pigs are not a clean food for you. Don't eat any meat from pigs. Don't even touch a pig's dead body.

But don't eat anything living in the water that does not have fins and scales. It is not a clean food for you.

Then you must go to the place the Lord chooses to be the home for his name. You will go there to be with the Lord your God. At that place you will eat the tenth of your crops—one-tenth of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the first animals born in your herds and flocks. In this way you will always remember to respect the Lord your God.

But that place might be too far for you to travel to. Maybe you will not be able to carry one-tenth of all the crops that the Lord has blessed you with. If that happens,

"At the end of every three years, you must gather one-tenth of your harvest for that year. Store this food in your towns.

Keep this food for the Levites, because they don't have any land of their own. Also keep this food for the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live in your towns. This will provide enough for them to come and eat all they want. If you do this, the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.