Deuteronomy 12 · Verse 20

Deuteronomy 12:20

When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.
Deuteronomy 12:20, King James Version

Deuteronomy 12:20 in other translations

BSBWhen the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want.
WEBWhen the LORD your God enlarges your border, as he has promised you, and you say, “I want to eat meat,” because your soul desires to eat meat, you may eat meat, after all the desire of your soul.
ASVWhen Jehovah thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul desireth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, after all the desire of thy soul.
YLT‘When Jehovah thy God doth enlarge thy border, as He hath spoken to thee, and thou hast said, Let me eat flesh--for thy soul desireth to eat flesh--of all the desire of thy soul thou dost eat flesh.
DARBYWhen Jehovah thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he promised thee, and thou say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh, thou mayest eat flesh, according to all the desire of thy soul.
BBEWhen the Lord your God makes wide the limit of your land, as he has said, and you say, I will take flesh for my food, because you have a desire for it; then you may take whatever flesh you have a desire for.
WebsterWhen the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatever thy soul desireth.

What does Deuteronomy 12:20 mean?

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 12:5-32

The command to bring ALL the sacrifices to the door of the tabernacle, was now explained with reference to the promised land. As to moral service, then, as now, men might pray and worship every where, as they did in their synagogues. The place which God would choose, is said to be the place where he would put his name. It was to be his habitation, where, as King of Israel, he would be found by all who reverently…

Read the full comment on Deuteronomy 12:5-32 →

Deuteronomy 12:20 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּֽי\־ki-ifH3588
יַרְחִיב֩yar.Chivhe will enlargeH7337
יְהוָ֨הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֱלֹהֶ֥יךָ'e.lo.Hei.khaGod yourH430
אֶֽת\־'et-<obj.>H853
גְּבֽוּלְךָ֮ge.vu.le.Khaterritory yourH1366
כַּאֲשֶׁ֣רka.'a.Sherjust asH834
דִּבֶּר\־di.ber-he spokeH1696
לָךְ֒loKhto you
וְאָמַרְתָּ֙ve.'a.mar.Taand you will sayH559
אֹכְלָ֣ה'o.khe.LahI want to eatH398
בָשָׂ֔רva.SarmeatH1320
כִּֽי\־ki-forH3588
תְאַוֶּ֥הte.'a.Vehit will desireH183
נַפְשְׁךָ֖naf.she.Khaappetite yourH5315
לֶאֱכֹ֣לle.'e.Kholto eatH398
בָּשָׂ֑רba.SarmeatH1320
בְּכָל\־be.kholin allH3605
אַוַּ֥ת'a.Vat[the] desireH185
נַפְשְׁךָ֖naf.she.Khaappetite yourH5315
תֹּאכַ֥לto.Khalyou will eatH398
בָּשָֽׂר\׃ba.SarmeatH1320

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 12:20

  • Deuteronomy 19:8

    And if the Lord thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;

  • Deuteronomy 11:24

    Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.

  • Exodus 34:24

    For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year.

  • Genesis 28:14

    And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

  • 1 Chronicles 4:10

    And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.

  • Psalms 63:1

    A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

  • Psalms 107:9

    For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness.

  • Exodus 23:31

    And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

  • Deuteronomy 12:15

    Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.

  • Genesis 15:18-21

    In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

  • Numbers 11:34

    And he called the name of that place Kibroth–hattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted.

  • Numbers 11:4

    And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
shall.
1Ch 4:10
as he hath.
11:24; 19:8; Ge 15:18-21; 28:14; Ex 23:31; 34:24
I will.
15; Ge 31:30; Nu 11:4,20,34; 2Sa 13:39; 23:15; Ps 63:1; 84:2; 107:9
Ps 119:20,40,174; 2Co 9:14; Php 1:8; 2:26

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Deuteronomy 12:19

    Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.

  • Deuteronomy 12:20

    When the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.

  • Deuteronomy 12:21

    If the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the Lord hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.

Read all of Deuteronomy 12

Deuteronomy 12:20 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Cuando Jehová tu Dios ensanchare tu término, como él te ha dicho, y tú dijeres, Comeré carne, porque deseó tu alma comerla, conforme á todo el deseo de tu alma comerás carne.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Quand l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, aura étendu tes limites, comme il te l’a promis, et que tu diras: Je mangerai de la chair, parce que ton âme désirera de manger de la chair, tu mangeras de la chair, selon tout le désir de ton âme.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Wenn Jehova, dein Gott, dein Gebiet erweitern wird, so wie er zu dir geredet hat, und du sprichst: Ich will Fleisch essen, weil deine Seele Fleisch zu essen begehrt, so magst du Fleisch essen nach allem Begehr deiner Seele.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Quando dilataverit Dominus Deus tuus terminos tuos, sicut locutus est tibi, et volueris vesci carnibus, quas desiderat anima tua: