Deuteronomy 12:20

12:19 Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth. as long: Heb. all thy days

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.

KJV

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When Yahweh your God enlarges your border, as he has promised you, and you shall say, “I want to eat meat,” because your soul desires to eat meat; you may eat meat, after all the desire of your soul.

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.

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 longs to eat flesh; you may eat flesh, whatever your soul lusts after.

12:21 If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.

What does Deuteronomy 12:20 mean?

Deuteronomy 12:20 is a verse in the book of Deuteronomy, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include יְהֹוָה (Yᵉhôvâh), אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlôhîym), רָחַב (râchab). It connects to 13 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

When

the

LORDיְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God

thy

Godאֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative

shall

enlargeרָחַבrâchab/raw-khab'/H7337to broaden (intransitive or transitive, literal or figurative)

thy

border,גְּבוּלgᵉbûwl/gheb-ool'/H1366properly, a cord (as twisted), i.e. (by implication) a boundary; by extension the territory inclosed

hath

promisedדָבַרdâbar/daw-bar'/H1696perhaps properly, to arrange; but used figuratively (of words), to speak; rarely (in a destructive sense) to subdue

thee,

and

thou

shalt

say,אָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/H559to say (used with great latitude)

will

eatאָכַלʼâkal/aw-kal'/H398to eat (literally or figuratively)

flesh,בָּשָׂרbâsâr/baw-sawr'/H1320flesh (from its freshness); by extension, body, person; also (by euphemistically) the pudenda of aman

because

thy

soulנֶפֶשׁnephesh/neh'-fesh/H5315properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)

longethאָוָהʼâvâh/aw-vaw'/H183to wish for

eatאָכַלʼâkal/aw-kal'/H398to eat (literally or figuratively)

flesh;בָּשָׂרbâsâr/baw-sawr'/H1320flesh (from its freshness); by extension, body, person; also (by euphemistically) the pudenda of aman

thou

mayest

eatאָכַלʼâkal/aw-kal'/H398to eat (literally or figuratively)

flesh,בָּשָׂרbâsâr/baw-sawr'/H1320flesh (from its freshness); by extension, body, person; also (by euphemistically) the pudenda of aman

whatsoever

thy

soulנֶפֶשׁnephesh/neh'-fesh/H5315properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental)

lusteth

after.אַוָּהʼavvâh/av-vaw'/H185longing

Commentary on Deuteronomy 12:20

HENRY_FULL · Deuteronomy 12:20–22

" Summary of Religion. ( b. c. 1451.) 1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: 2 That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Observe here, 1. That Moses taught the people all that, and that only, which God commanded him to teach them, v. 1 . Thus Christ's ministers are to teach his churches all that he has commanded, and neither more nor less, Matt. xxviii. 20 . 2. That the end of their being taught was that they might do as they were taught ( v. 1 ), might keep God's statutes ( v. 2 ), and observe to do them, v. 3 . Good instructions from parents and ministers will but aggravate our condemnation if we do not live up to them. 3. That Moses carefully endeavoured to fix them for God and godliness, now that they were entering upon the land of Canaan, that they might be prepared for the comforts of that land, and fortified against the snares of it, and now that they were setting out in the world might set out well. 4. That the fear of God in the heart will be the most powerful principle of obedience: That thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to keep all his statutes, v. 2 . 5. The entail of religion in a family, or country, is the best entail: it is highly desirable that not we only, but our children, and our children's children, may fear the Lord. 6. Religion and righteousness advance and secure the prosperity of any people. Fear God, and it shall be well with thee. Those that are well taught, if they do what they are taught, shall be well fed too, as Israel in the land flowing with milk and honey, v. 3 .

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Genesis 12:2

And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:

Genesis 13:16

And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

Genesis 15:5

And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Genesis 22:17

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; shore: Heb. lip

Genesis 26:4

And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

Genesis 28:14

And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. spread: Heb. break forth

Exodus 1:7

And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.

Exodus 3:8

And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Deuteronomy 4:6

Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.

Deuteronomy 5:32

Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

Ecclesiastes 8:12

Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him:

Isaiah 3:10

Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

Acts 7:17

But when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt,

Topics

Sanitation

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Deuteronomy 12:20.

Deuteronomy 12:15

Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.

Deuteronomy 12:27

And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.

Deuteronomy 13:12

If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,

Deuteronomy 16:4

And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there any thing of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.

Deuteronomy 19:8

And if the LORD thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;

Deuteronomy 32:42

I will make mine arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh; and that with the blood of the slain and of the captives, from the beginning of revenges upon the enemy.

Judges 6:21

Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the LORD departed out of his sight.

Frequently asked questions

What does Deuteronomy 12:20 say?

Deuteronomy 12:20 (King James Version) reads: "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."

Is Deuteronomy 12:20 in the Old or New Testament?

Deuteronomy 12:20 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Deuteronomy.

Reflect

As you read Deuteronomy 12:20, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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