Deuteronomy 12:25

Summary

The verse prohibits eating "it" (referring to blood, based on context from surrounding verses), linking this prohibition to future well-being for the speaker and his descendants. This well-being is conditioned on doing what is ha-yashar ("the right/straight thing", H3477G) in the sight of Yehovah (H3068).

Key words

• to.khe.Le.nu ("you must eat it", H0398 + H9033) — qal imperfect second person masculine singular with a third-person masculine singular pronominal suffix attached, combined with the negation lo' ("not", H3808) to form a prohibition against eating "it."
• le.Ma.'an ("so that", H4616) — a subordinating particle introducing purpose or result, connecting the prohibition to the consequence that follows.
• yi.Tav ("it may go well", H3190) — qal jussive third person masculine singular, expressing a wished-for or resulting state rather than a simple future.
• ta.'a.Seh ("you will do", H6213A) — qal imperfect second person masculine singular, paired with ki ("for/when", H3588A) to introduce the condition under which the good result occurs.
• 'ei.Nei ("eyes of", H5869H) — feminine dual construct noun, forming the idiom "in the eyes of Yehovah," meaning in Yehovah's judgment or view.

What the text says

The verse opens with a negated imperfect verb, lo' to.khe.Le.nu ("you must not eat it"), where the object suffix -nu ("it", H9033) refers back to an antecedent from the preceding context. This prohibition is followed by a purpose clause introduced by le.Ma.'an ("so that", H4616), which governs a jussive verb yi.Tav ("it may go well", H3190). The jussive form expresses a desired or resulting state of well-being, extended through the prepositional phrases le.kha ("for you") and u.le.va.nei.kha 'a.cha.rei.kha ("and for your children after you"), the latter using va.nei ("children", H1121A) in construct form followed by 'a.cha.rei ("after", H0310A), also in construct form, to indicate temporal succession — descendants who come after the addressee.

The second half of the verse introduces a conditional clause with ki ("for/when", H3588A) governing the imperfect verb ta.'a.Seh ("you will do", H6213A). The object of this verb is ha-yashar ("the right thing", H3477G), a definite adjective functioning as a substantive ("the right/straight thing"). This phrase is qualified by be-'ei.nei Yehovah ("in the eyes of Yehovah", H5869H + H3068), an idiomatic construction using the dual construct form of "eyes" to express evaluation or judgment from Yehovah's perspective, rather than a literal visual sense.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the single Hebrew concept ha-yashar ("the right thing") with two terms, τὸ καλὸν καὶ τὸ ἀρεστὸν ("the good and the pleasing"), where the Hebrew has one adjective. The LXX also adds τοῦ θεοῦ σου ("of your God") after "Lord," an addition not present in the Hebrew text, which reads only Yehovah (H3068) without a possessive qualifier at this point. The Vulgate omits the initial prohibition clause entirely, beginning instead with the purpose clause ut bene sit tibi ("so that it may be well with you"), and translates ha-yashar as quod placet ("what pleases"), a phrase emphasizing pleasure or acceptability rather than the more literal sense of "straightness" or "rightness" carried by the Hebrew yashar.