12. Then you will rejoice in the Lord your God’s presence: each of you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites who dwell in your cities because they have no designated inheritance.
13. But watch yourself! Make sure you don’t offer up your entirely burned offerings in just any place you see.
14. No, only at the location the Lord selects from one of your tribal areas—that’s where you must offer up your entirely burned offerings and that’s where you must perform everything I’m telling you.
15. However, whenever you wish, you may slaughter and eat meat, as the Lord your God sees fit to bless you with such in your cities. People who are polluted and people who are purified can join in the feast, as they would if they were eating gazelle or deer.
16. But you must not consume any of the animals’ blood. Pour it out on the ground, just like water.
17. Within your cities you are not allowed to eat any of the following: your tenth-part gifts of grain, wine, and oil; the oldest offspring of your herds and flocks; any of the payments you have solemnly promised; your spontaneous gifts or your contributions.
18. Only in the presence of the Lord your God, at the location the Lord your God selects, can you eat these things—that holds true for you, your son and daughter, your male and female servant, and the Levite who lives in your city. Then celebrate all you have done in the Lord your God’s presence.
19. But watch yourself: as long as you are on the land, don’t forget about the Levites.
20. Once the Lord your God has enlarged your territory, as he promised you, and you think to yourself, I’d like to eat some meat (because you have the desire to do so), feel free to do so whenever you want.
21. But if the location that the Lord your God will choose to put his name is far away from where you live, then slaughter an animal from your herd or flock that the Lord has given you, just as I have commanded you, and eat it in your cities whenever you wish.
22. But be sure to eat it as if it were gazelle or deer. People who are polluted and people who are purified can feast on it together.
23. Furthermore, make sure that you don’t consume any of the blood, because blood is life. You must not consume the life along with the meat.
24. You must not consume any of it. Pour it out on the ground, just like water.