Deuteronomy 12:26

Summary

The verse instructs that the sacred items and votive offerings belonging to the speaker's addressee must be carried to the specific location that Yehovah will choose. It draws a contrast ("only") with whatever preceded, isolating these holy things and vows as requiring transport to a designated site rather than being handled elsewhere.

Key words

• rak ("only", H7535) — adverb marking restriction or contrast, signaling that what follows is an exception or a specific requirement distinguished from other matters.
• kadasheicha ("your holy things", H6944G) — masculine plural construct noun with pronominal suffix, indicating a category of consecrated items belonging to the addressee.
• nedareicha ("your votive offerings", H5088) — masculine plural construct noun with suffix, paired with the previous term via the conjunction u ("and", H9002), forming a two-part object.
• tissa ("you will take", H5375G) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular, expressing a future/ongoing obligation to lift or carry.
• yivchar ("he will choose", H0977) — qal imperfect, third person masculine singular, describing an ongoing or future selection made by the subject named at the end of the verse.

What the text says

The sentence opens with rak ("only", H7535), an adverb that sets apart the following clause from surrounding material, functioning as a restrictive marker. The object of the sentence is built from two parallel construct-plus-suffix nouns: kadasheicha ("your holy things", H6944G) and nedareicha ("your votive offerings", H5088), both masculine plural forms bound to a second-person singular suffix meaning "your." These two nouns are joined by the conjunction u ("and", H9002), forming a compound direct object that precedes its verb — a common Hebrew word order for emphasis on the object.

The relative clause asher yihyu lecha ("which they will belong to you") uses the qal imperfect yihyu (H1961) to describe an ongoing state of possession, clarifying that these are items already belonging to the addressee. The main verb tissa ("you will take", H5375G) is a qal imperfect, second person masculine singular, expressing continuing or future obligation rather than a single completed act. This is followed by the narrative vav construction u-vata ("and you will go", H0935G), a sequential perfect that continues the action begun by tissa, describing an unbroken sequence: taking the items and then going to the place.

The destination is introduced with ha-makom ("the place", H4725), qualified by a relative clause containing yivchar ("he will choose", H0977), a qal imperfect describing the choosing as an ongoing or future action performed by Yehovah (H3068G), whose name closes the verse.

Differences between versions

The LXX adds a phrase not present in the Hebrew data given: "to have his name called there" (ἐπικληθῆναι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐκεῖ), an expansion beyond the Hebrew clause ending simply with Yehovah choosing the place. The LXX also renders the divine name with the added epithet "the God of you" (ὁ θεός σου), where the Hebrew has only the name Yehovah (H3068G) without a possessive qualifier. The Vulgate uses "Domino" (to the Lord) as an indirect object attached to the verb of vowing ("voveris Domino"), differing from the Hebrew, where the relative clause asher yihyu lecha attaches possession to "you," not explicitly to Yehovah.