Deuteronomy 12:21
כִּֽי־יִרְחַק מִמְּךָ הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לָשׂוּם שְׁמוֹ שָׁם וְזָבַחְתָּ מִבְּקָרְךָ וּמִצֹּֽאנְךָ אֲשֶׁר נָתַן יְהוָה לְךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִךָ וְאָֽכַלְתָּ בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ בְּכֹל אַוַּת נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
כִּֽי־יִרְחַ֨ק מִמְּךָ֜ הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִבְחַ֜ר יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶיךָ֮ לָשׂ֣וּם שְׁמ֣וֹ שָׁם֒ וְזָבַחְתָּ֞ מִבְּקָרְךָ֣ וּמִצֹּֽאנְךָ֗ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נָתַ֤ן יְהוָה֙ לְךָ֔ כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר צִוִּיתִ֑ךָ וְאָֽכַלְתָּ֙ בִּשְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ בְּכֹ֖ל אַוַּ֥ת נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃
ἐὰν δὲ μακρὰν ἀπέχῃ σου ὁ τόπος ὃν ἂν ἐκλέξηται κύριος ὁ θεός σου ἐκεῖ ἐπικληθῆναι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, καὶ θύσεις ἀπὸ τῶν βοῶν σου καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν προβάτων σου, ὧν ἂν δῷ ὁ θεός σοι, ὃν τρόπον ἐνετειλάμην σοι, καὶ φάγῃ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσίν σου κατὰ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς ψυχῆς σου·
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
locus autem, quem elegerit Dominus Deus tuus ut sit nomen ejus ibi, si procul fuerit, occides de armentis et pecoribus, quæ habueris, sicut præcepi tibi, et comedes in oppidis tuis, ut tibi placet.
Si el lugar que Yehová, tu Dios, elige para poner su nombre está demasiado lejos de ti, entonces matarás de tu rebaño y de tus ovejas, que Yehová te ha dado, como yo te he mandado; y podrás comer dentro de tus puertas, según todo el deseo de tu alma.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Cuando estuviere lejos de ti el lugar que Jehová tu Dios habrá escogido, para poner allí su nombre, matarás de tus vacas y de tus ovejas, que Jehová te hubiere dado, como te he mandado yo, y comerás en tus puertas según todo lo que deseare tu alma.
If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Deuteronomy 12:21 addresses the situation where the place chosen by Yehovah for his name is too distant, permitting slaughter of herd and flock animals for consumption at home, following the manner previously commanded, and eating according to the desire of one's own being.
Key words
- yirChak ("it will be far", H7368) — qal imperfect, expressing a future/hypothetical condition governed by ki ("if", H3588A) at the verse's opening.
- yivChar ("he will choose", H0977) — qal imperfect inside a relative clause introduced by 'aSher ("where/that", H0834A), describing the place's designation as ongoing divine action rather than a one-time past event.
- zavachTa ("you will slaughter", H2076) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the narrative chain begun by the conditional clause; this verb form links consequence to condition.
- tzivviTi ("I commanded", H6680) — piel perfect, intensive stem, marking a completed act of command referenced back to earlier instruction (first person "I").
- avvat nafSheicha ("the desire of your self", H0185 + H5315I) — construct chain, feminine singular nouns in sequence, expressing an intensified, personal craving or appetite.
What the text says
The verse opens with the conditional particle ki ("if", H3588A) governing yirChak ("it will be far", H7368), a qal imperfect verb indicating a hypothetical or repeated future situation — the place being at a distance. The subject of distance is ha-maKom ("the place", H4725), specified by the relative clause 'aSher yivChar Yehovah 'Eloheicha ("where Yehovah your God will choose", H0834A + H0977 + H3068G + H0430G), itself in the imperfect, suggesting the choosing is expressed as an ongoing or repeated divine action within the grammar, rather than a single completed act.
The main clause response begins with ve-zavachTa ("and you will slaughter", H2076), a sequential perfect verb continuing directly from the conditional protasis — this verb form in Biblical Hebrew narrative typically carries the sense of consequence or continuation in a chain of instructions. The objects of slaughter are drawn mi-bekarcha ("from your herd", H1241) and u-mi-tzonecha ("and from your flock", H6629G), both construct nouns marked by the partitive preposition mi ("some of", H9006), indicating selection from a larger group rather than the whole.
The clause ka'aSher tzivviTicha ("as I commanded you", H0834D + H6680) uses the piel perfect tzivviTi ("I commanded", H6680), an intensive stem completed-action form, referring back to prior instruction. The final phrase be-khol avvat nafShecha ("in all the desire of your self", H3605 + H0185 + H5315I) stacks construct nouns — khol ("all", H3605), avvat ("desire of", H0185), and nafShecha ("your self", H5315I) — building an intensified expression of personal appetite governing the manner of eating.
Differences between versions
The LXX renders yirChak ("it will be far", H7368) with μακρὰν ἀπέχῃ ("be far distant"), matching the Hebrew's spatial sense closely. Where the Hebrew has lasum shemo sham ("to put his name there", H7760H + H8034 + H8033G), the LXX uses ἐπικληθῆναι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ("that his name be called/invoked"), a distinct verb choice describing invocation rather than placement. The Vulgate's ut sit nomen ejus ibi ("that his name be there") offers a third rendering, closer to simple presence than either "placing" or "invoking."
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.