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Deuteronomy 12:18

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Deuteronomy 12:18 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “but thou shalt eat them before Jehovah thy God in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

but thou shalt eat them before Jehovah thy God in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
Deuteronomy 12:18 — American Standard Version

Context — Deuteronomy 12

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
15Notwithstanding, thou mayest kill and eat flesh within all thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul, according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the gazelle, and as of the hart.
16Only ye shall not eat the blood; thou shalt pour it out upon the earth as water.
17Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy grain, or of thy new wine, or of thine oil, or the firstlings of thy herd or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill-offerings, nor the heave-offering of thy hand;
18but thou shalt eat them before Jehovah thy God in the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before Jehovah thy God in all that thou puttest thy hand unto.
19Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest in thy land.
20When 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.
21If the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to put his name there, be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which Jehovah hath given thee, as I have commanded thee; and thou mayest eat within thy gates, after all the desire of thy soul.
← Deuteronomy 12:17Deuteronomy 12:19 →
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What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“But thou must eat them before the Lord thy God, in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, etc.] Which may be said to be eaten before him, being eaten in the place where his sanctuary stood, in which he dwelt: thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates; who were all to come with him to this place; (See Gill on “<051212>Deuteronomy 12:12”) and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hand unto; cheerfully make and keep this feast in the manner directed to, rejoicing with his family and his friends, with the Levites and with the poor, expressing his thankfulness to God for his…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“12:18 The place he will choose was the central sanctuary—first the Tabernacle and then the Temple.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“thou must: Deu 12:11, Deu 12:12, Deu 12:19, Deu 14:23, Deu 15:20 rejoice: Deu 12:7; Psa 32:11, Psa 68:3; Pro 3:17; Isa 12:3; Act 2:46, Act 16:34; Co1 10:31; Gal 5:22; Phi 3:1-3 Deuteronomy 12:19”
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Related study paths

Read Deuteronomy 12 in contextBrowse Hebrew word studiesOpen this verse in the study reader

Sources and verification