The Wilderness Years

`Only, with all the desire of thy soul thou dost sacrifice, and hast eaten flesh according to the blessing of Jehovah thy God which He hath given to thee, in all thy gates; the unclean and the clean do eat it, as of the roe, and as of the hart.

`Only, the blood ye do not eat--on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

thou art not able to eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, and of thy new wine, and thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herd and of thy flock, and any of thy vows which thou vowest, and thy free-will offerings, and heave-offering of thy hand;

but before Jehovah thy God thou dost eat it, in the place which Jehovah thy God doth fix on, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and the Levite who is within thy gates, and thou hast rejoiced before Jehovah thy God in every putting forth of thy hand;

take heed to thee lest thou forsake the Levite all thy days on thy ground.

`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.

`When the place is far from thee which Jehovah thy God doth choose to put His name there, then thou hast sacrificed of thy herd and of thy flock which Jehovah hath given to thee, as I have commanded thee, and hast eaten within thy gates, of all the desire of thy soul;

only, as the roe and the hart is eaten, so dost thou eat it; the unclean and the clean doth alike eat it.

`Only, be sure not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and thou dost not eat the life with the flesh;

thou dost not eat it, on the earth thou dost pour it as water;

thou dost not eat it, in order that it may be well with thee, and with thy sons after thee, when thou dost that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah.

`Only, thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou dost take up, and hast gone in unto the place which Jehovah doth choose,

and thou hast made thy burnt-offerings--the flesh and the blood--on the altar of Jehovah thy God; and the blood of thy sacrifices is poured out by the altar of Jehovah thy God, and the flesh thou dost eat.

Observe, and thou hast obeyed all these words which I am commanding thee, in order that it may be well with thee and with thy sons after thee--to the age, when thou dost that which is good and right in the eyes of Jehovah thy God.

`When Jehovah thy God doth cut off the nations--whither thou art going in to possess them--from thy presence, and thou hast possessed them, and hast dwelt in their land--

take heed to thee, lest thou be snared after them, after their being destroyed out of thy presence, and lest thou enquire about their gods, saying, How do these nations serve their gods, and I do so--even I?

`Thou dost not do so to Jehovah thy God; for every abomination of Jehovah which He is hating they have done to their gods, for even their sons and their daughters they burn with fire to their gods.

The whole thing which I am commanding you--it ye observe to do; thou dost not add unto it, nor diminish from it.

`When there ariseth in your midst a prophet, or a dreamer of a dream, and he hath given unto thee a sign or wonder,

and the sign and the wonder hath come which he hath spoken of unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods (which thou hast not known), and serve them,

thou dost not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of the dream, for Jehovah your God is trying you, to know whether ye are loving Jehovah your God with all your heart, and with all your soul;

after Jehovah your God ye walk, and Him ye fear, and His commands ye keep, and to His voice ye hearken, and Him ye serve, and to Him ye cleave.

`And that prophet, or that dreamer of the dream, is put to death, for he hath spoken apostasy against Jehovah your God (who is bringing you out of the land of Egypt, and hath ransomed you out of a house of servants), to drive you out of the way in which Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee to walk, and thou hast put away the evil thing from thy midst.

`When thy brother--son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend who is as thine own soul--doth move thee, in secret, saying, Let us go and serve other gods--(which thou hast not known, thou and thy fathers,

of the gods of the peoples who are round about you, who are near unto thee, or who are far off from thee, from the end of the earth even unto the end of the earth) --