These two verses remind the Israelites that the Passover is to be celebrated only in the one central place of worship. Good News Translation has combined the two verses into one, eliminating some of the redundancy. Another translation model may be “Don’t slaughter the Passover animals in your own town. You must offer them at the one place where Yahweh chooses for you to worship him.”

The passover sacrifice: that is, the animal offered in sacrifice at the Passover Festival. For passover see verse 1.

Any of your towns which the LORD your God gives you: the Israelites conquered the Canaanite towns and villages and settled there. Your towns is literally “your gates” (also 5.14; 12.12; 14.21, 27).

At the place which the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it: see 12.5.

In the evening at the going down of the sun: this can be expressed by “at sunset,” or “at the time when the sun goes down.”

At the time you came out of Egypt: Good News Translation and Contemporary English Version have “the time of day when you left Egypt” (Exo 12.31, 42).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .