Deuteronomy 12:1-3

Contemporary English Version

Only One Place To Worship the Lord

Moses said to Israel:

12 Now I'll tell you the laws and teachings that you have to obey as long as you live. Your ancestors worshiped the Lord, and he is giving you this land. ² But the nations that live there worship other gods. So after you capture the land, you must completely destroy their places of worship—on mountains and hills or in the shade of large trees. ^3 (A) Wherever these nations worship their gods, you must tear down their altars, break their sacred stones, burn the sacred poles^[a] used in worshiping the goddess Asherah, and smash their idols to pieces. Destroy these places of worship so completely that no one will remember they were ever there.