Joshua 22:23

22:23 If we have built ¹  an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making ²  burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering ³  tokens of peace ⁴  on it, the Lord himself will punish us. ⁵ 

Joshua 22:26

22:26 So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices,

Deuteronomy 12:13-14

12:13 Make sure you do not offer burnt offerings in any place you wish, 12:14 for you may do so ⁶  only in the place the Lord chooses in one of your tribal areas – there you may do everything I am commanding you. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 12:2

12:2 You must by all means destroy ⁸  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ⁹ 

Deuteronomy 18:22

18:22 whenever a prophet speaks in my ¹⁰  name and the prediction ¹¹  is not fulfilled, ¹²  then I have ¹³  not spoken it; ¹⁴  the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him.”

Deuteronomy 18:2

18:2 They ¹⁵  will have no inheritance in the midst of their fellow Israelites; ¹⁶  the Lord alone is their inheritance, just as he had told them.

Deuteronomy 32:12

32:12 The Lord alone was guiding him, ¹⁷ 

no foreign god was with him.

¹ tn Heb “by building.” The prepositional phrase may be subordinated to what precedes, “if in unfaithfulness…by building.”

² tn Heb “or if to offer up.”

³ tn Heb “or if to make.”

⁴ tn Or “peace offerings.”

⁵ tn Heb “the Lord, he will seek.” Perhaps this is a self-imprecation in an oath, “may the Lord himself punish us.”

⁶ tn Heb “offer burnt offerings.” The expression “do so” has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

⁷ sn This injunction to worship in a single and central sanctuary – one limited and appropriate to the thrice-annual festival celebrations (see Exod 23:14-17; 34:22-24; Lev 23:4-36; Deut 16:16-17) – marks a departure from previous times when worship was carried out at local shrines (cf. Gen 8:20; 12:7; 13:18; 22:9; 26:25; 35:1, 3, 7; Exod 17:15). Apart from the corporate worship of the whole theocratic community, however, worship at local altars would still be permitted as in the past (Deut 16:21; Judg 6:24-27; 13:19-20; 1 Sam 7:17; 10:5, 13; 2 Sam 24:18-25; 1 Kgs 18:30).

⁸ tn Heb “destroying you must destroy”; KJV “Ye shall utterly (surely ASV) destroy”; NRSV “must demolish completely.” The Hebrew infinitive absolute precedes the verb for emphasis, which is reflected in the translation by the words “by all means.”

⁹ sn Every leafy tree. This expression refers to evergreens which, because they keep their foliage throughout the year, provided apt symbolism for nature cults such as those practiced in Canaan. The deity particularly in view is Asherah, wife of the great god El, who was considered the goddess of fertility and whose worship frequently took place at shrines near or among clusters (groves) of such trees (see also Deut 7:5). See J. Hadley, NIDOTTE 1:569-70; J. DeMoor, TDOT 1:438-44.

¹⁰ tn Heb “the Lord’s.” See note on the word “his” in v. 5.

¹¹ tn Heb “the word,” but a predictive word is in view here. Cf. NAB “his oracle.”

¹² tn Heb “does not happen or come to pass.”

¹³ tn Heb “the Lord has.” See note on the word “his” in v. 5.

¹⁴ tn Heb “that is the word which the Lord has not spoken.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “he” (and throughout the verse).

¹⁶ tn Heb “brothers,” but not referring to actual siblings. Cf. NASB “their countrymen”; NRSV “the other members of the community.”

¹⁷ tn The distinctive form of the suffix on this verb form indicates that the verb is an imperfect, not a preterite. As such it draws attention to God’s continuing guidance during the period in view.