Deuteronomy 12:13-28

“Yet whenever you desire you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your towns, according to the blessing that the Lord your God has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as they would of gazelle or deer.¹ The blood, however, you must not eat; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.² Nor may you eat within your towns the tithe of your grain, your wine, or your oil, the firstlings of your herds or your flocks, any of your votive gifts that you vow, your freewill-offerings, or your donations;³ these you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God at the place that the Lord your God will choose, you together with your son and your daughter, your male and female slaves, and the Levites resident in your towns, rejoicing in the presence of the Lordyour God in all your undertakings. Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.”⁴

“When the Lord your God enlarges your territory, as he has promised you, and you say, ‘I am going to eat some meat’, because you wish to eat meat, you may eat meat whenever you have the desire.⁵ If the place where the Lord your God will choose to put his name is too far from you,⁶ and you slaughter as I have commanded you any of your herd or flock that the Lord has given you, then you may eat within your towns whenever you desire. Indeed, just as gazelle or deer is eaten, so you may eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat it. Only be sure that you do not eat the blood; for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat. Do not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.⁷ Do not eat it, so that all may go well with you and your children after you, because you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. But the sacred donations that are due from you, and your votive gifts, you shall bring to the place that the Lord will choose. You shall present your burnt-offerings, both the meat and the blood, on the altar of the Lord your God; the blood of your other sacrifices shall be poured out beside the altar of the Lord your God, but the meat you may eat.”

“Be careful to obey all these words that I command you today,⁸ so that it may go well with you and with your children after you for ever,⁹ because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.”

1 Making clear that all that came before was a religious prescription, not a rule about all killing/eating of meat.

2 Like in Leviticus, the connection between life and the blood leads to a taboo against eating blood

3 Tithes, however, are clearly religious and must be given accordingly

4 Another one of those side-notes for the Levites.

5 Making the point clear again.

6 So does that mean that if the temple is close enough, you should still do all your slaughter there if possible?

7 Verses 20-24 basically seem to just repeat 15-16

8 Obedience to the commandments commanded again

9 As usual, obedience comes with rewards

Take-home: A clarification is made to earlier laws, which gave the impression that all slaughter may have to be done by priests. The exclusivity of worship to God is maintained by keeping all sacrifice at the one approved temple, but other meat may be killed and eaten at will.