Deuteronomy 12:5

12:5 But you must seek only the place he ¹  chooses from all your tribes to establish his name as his place of residence, ²  and you must go there.

Deuteronomy 12:21

12:21 If the place he ³  chooses to locate his name is too far for you, you may slaughter any of your herd and flock he ⁴  has given you just as I have stipulated; you may eat them in your villages ⁵  just as you wish.

[12:5]  ¹ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

[12:5]  ² tc Some scholars, on the basis of v. 11, emend the MT reading שִׁכְנוֹ (shikhno, “his residence”) to the infinitive construct לְשָׁכֵן (lÿshakhen, “to make [his name] to dwell”), perhaps with the 3rd person masculine singular sf לְשַׁכְּנוֹ (lÿshakÿno, “to cause it to dwell”). Though the presupposed nounשֵׁכֶן (shekhen) is nowhere else attested, the parallel here with שַׁמָּה (shammah, “there”) favors retaining the MT as it stands.

[12:21]  ³ tn Heb “the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

[12:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 12:5.

[12:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “gates” (so KJV, NASB); NAB “in your own community.”