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Deuteronomy 17
New International Version

17 Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect(A) or flaw in it, for that would be detestable(B) to him.(C)

2 If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant,(D) 3 and contrary to my command(E) has worshiped other gods,(F) bowing down to them or to the sun(G) or the moon or the stars in the sky,(H) 4 and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true(I) and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,(J) 5 take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.(K) 6 On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.(L) 7 The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death,(M) and then the hands of all the people.(N) You must purge the evil(O) from among you.

Law Courts

8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge(P)—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults(Q)—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose.(R) 9 Go to the Levitical(S) priests and to the judge(T) who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.(U) 10 You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. 11 Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.(V) 12 Anyone who shows contempt(W) for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering(X) there to the Lord your God is to be put to death.(Y) You must purge the evil from Israel.(Z) 13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.(AA)

The King

14 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession(AB) of it and settled in it,(AC) and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”(AD) 15 be sure to appoint(AE) over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites.(AF) Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses(AG) for himself(AH) or make the people return to Egypt(AI) to get more of them,(AJ) for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”(AK) 17 He must not take many wives,(AL) or his heart will be led astray.(AM) He must not accumulate(AN) large amounts of silver and gold.(AO)

18 When he takes the throne(AP) of his kingdom, he is to write(AQ) for himself on a scroll a copy(AR) of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life(AS) so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees(AT) 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law(AU) to the right or to the left.(AV) Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.(AW)

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Deuteronomy 17
English Standard Version

17 (A)“You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.

2 (B)“If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, (C)in transgressing his covenant, 3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or (D)the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, (E)which I have forbidden, 4 and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire (F)diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you (G)shall stone that man or woman to death with stones. 6 (H)On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7 (I)The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So (J)you shall purge[a] the evil[b] from your midst.

Legal Decisions by Priests and Judges

8 “If any case arises requiring decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to (K)the place that the Lord your God will choose. 9 (L)And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and (M)they shall declare to you the decision. 10 Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that the Lord will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you. 11 According to the instructions that they give you, and according to the decision which they pronounce to you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the verdict that they declare to you, either to the right hand or to the left. 12 The man who (N)acts presumptuously by not obeying the priest (O)who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So (P)you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people (Q)shall hear and fear and not act presumptuously again.

Laws Concerning Israel's Kings

14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, (R)‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you (S)whom the Lord your God will choose. One (T)from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many (U)horses for himself or cause the people (V)to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, (W)‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17 And he (X)shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, (Y)nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.

18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, (Z)he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, (AA)approved by[c] the Levitical priests. 19 And (AB)it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, (AC)that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he (AD)may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, (AE)so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:7 Septuagint drive out; also verse 12
  2. Deuteronomy 17:7 Or evil person; also verse 12
  3. Deuteronomy 17:18 Hebrew from before
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Deuteronomy 17
New American Standard Bible

Administration of Justice

17 “(A)You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any [a]defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.

2 “(B)If there is found in your midst, in any of your [b]towns which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by violating His covenant, 3 and that person has gone and (C)served other gods and worshiped them, (D)or the sun, the moon, or any of the heavenly [c]lights, (E)which I have commanded not to do, 4 and if it is reported to you and you have heard about it, then you shall investigate thoroughly. And [d]if it is true and the report is trustworthy that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then you are to bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil deed, that is, the man or the woman, and (F)you shall stone them to [e]death. 6 (G)On the [f]testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, the [g]condemned shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the [h]testimony of only one witness. 7 (H)The hands of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. (I)So you shall eliminate the evil from your midst.

8 “(J)If a case is too difficult for you to decide, between [i]one kind of homicide or another, between [j]one kind of lawsuit or another, and between [k]one kind of assault or another, that are cases of dispute in your [l]courts, then you shall arise and go up to (K)the place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 So you shall come to (L)the Levitical priests or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the [m]verdict. 10 Then you shall act in accordance with the [n]terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the Lord chooses; and you shall be careful to act in accordance with everything that they instruct you to do. 11 (M)In accordance with the [o]terms of the law about which they instruct you, and in accordance with the verdict which they tell you, you shall act; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12 But the person who acts (N)insolently by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that person shall die; so you shall eliminate the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act (O)insolently again.

14 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you (P)take possession of it and live in it, and you say, ‘(Q)I will appoint a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall in fact appoint a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. One (R)from among your countrymen you shall appoint as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves, anyone who is not your countryman. 16 (S)In any case, he is not to acquire many horses for himself, nor shall he (T)make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since (U)the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 And (V)he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

18 “Now it shall come about, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Law on a scroll [p](W)in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it (X)all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear the Lord his God, [q]by carefully following all the words of this Law and these statutes, 20 so that his heart will not be haughty toward his countrymen, (Y)and that he will not turn away from the commandment to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may [r]live long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:1 Lit bad thing
  2. Deuteronomy 17:2 Lit gates
  3. Deuteronomy 17:3 Lit host
  4. Deuteronomy 17:4 Lit behold, true
  5. Deuteronomy 17:5 Lit death with stones
  6. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth
  7. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit one dying
  8. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth
  9. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit blood to blood
  10. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit lawsuit to lawsuit
  11. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit blow to blow
  12. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit gates
  13. Deuteronomy 17:9 Lit word of decision
  14. Deuteronomy 17:10 Lit mouth
  15. Deuteronomy 17:11 Lit mouth
  16. Deuteronomy 17:18 Lit from before
  17. Deuteronomy 17:19 Lit to keep all...to do them,
  18. Deuteronomy 17:20 Lit prolong days
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Deuteronomy 17
Common English Bible

17 Don’t sacrifice to the Lord your God any oxen or sheep that have defects of any kind, because that is detestable to the Lord your God.

Capital punishment

2 If someone, whether male or female, is found in your community—in one of the cities the Lord your God is giving you—who does evil in the Lord your God’s eyes, by breaking God’s covenant, 3 by following and serving other gods, and by bowing down to them, to the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly bodies that I haven’t permitted— 4 and you hear news about it, then you must look into this situation very carefully. And if it’s definitely true that this detestable thing was done in Israel, 5 then you must bring out the man or woman who has done this evil thing to the gates of the city. Stone that person until he or she is dead.

6 Capital punishment must be decided by two or three witnesses. No one may be executed on the basis of only one testimony. 7 In the execution, the hands of the witnesses must be against the guilty person from the start; the hand of all the people will be involved at the end. Remove[a] such evil from your community!

Legal disputes

8 If some legal dispute in your cities is too difficult for you to decide—say, between different kinds of bloodshed, different kinds of legal ruling, or different kinds of injury—then take it to the location the Lord your God selects. 9 Go to the levitical priests and to the head judge in office at that time and look into things there. They will announce to you the correct ruling. 10 You must then act according to the ruling they announced to you from that location, the one the Lord selects. You must follow very carefully everything they instruct you to do. 11 Act precisely according to the instruction they give you and the ruling they announce to you. Don’t deviate even a bit from the word they announce. 12 And whoever acts rashly by not listening to the priest who is in office serving the Lord your God or to the head judge will die. Remove[b] such evil from Israel! 13 All the people will hear about this and be afraid. They won’t act arrogantly anymore.

Law of the king

14 Once you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you and you have taken possession of it and settled down in it, you might say: “Let’s appoint a king over us, as all our neighboring nations have done.” 15 You can indeed appoint over you a king that the Lord your God selects. You can appoint over you a king who is one of your fellow Israelites. You are not allowed to appoint over you a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. 16 That granted, the king must not acquire too many horses, and he must not return the people to Egypt in order to acquire more horses, because the Lord told you: “You will never go back by that road again.” 17 The king must not take numerous wives so that his heart doesn’t go astray. Nor can the king acquire too much silver and gold. 18 Instead, when he sits on his royal throne, he himself must write a copy of this Instruction on a scroll in the presence of the levitical priests. 19 That Instruction must remain with him, and he must read in it every day of his life so that he learns to revere the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this Instruction and these regulations, by doing them, 20 by not being overbearing toward his fellow Israelites, and by not deviating even a bit from the commandment. If the king does all that, he will ensure lasting rule in Israel for himself and for his successors.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:7 Or burn
  2. Deuteronomy 17:12 Or burn
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Deuteronomy 17
Contemporary English Version

Sacrifices That Have Something Wrong with Them

Moses said to Israel:

17 If an ox or a sheep has something wrong with it, don't offer it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God—he will be disgusted!

Put To Death People Who Worship Idols

Moses said to Israel:

2-3 (A) The Lord your God is giving you towns to live in. But later, a man or a woman in your town may start worshiping other gods, or even the sun, moon, or stars.[a] I have warned you not to worship other gods, because whoever worships them is disobeying the Lord and breaking the agreement he made with you. 4 So when you hear that someone in your town is committing this disgusting sin, you must carefully find out if that person really is guilty. 5-7 (B) But you will need two or three witnesses—one witness isn't enough to prove a person guilty.

Get rid of those who are guilty of such evil. Take them outside your town gates and everyone must stone them to death. But the witnesses must be the first to throw stones.

Difficult Cases

Moses said to Israel:

8-12 It may be difficult to find out the truth in some legal cases in your town. You may not be able to decide if someone was killed accidentally or murdered. Or you may not be able to tell whether an injury or some property damage was done by accident or on purpose. If the case is too difficult, take it to the court at the place where the Lord your God chooses to be worshiped.

This court will be made up of one judge and several priests[b] who serve at the Lord's altar. They will explain the law to you and give you their decision about the case. Do exactly what they tell you, or you will be put to death. 13 When other Israelites hear about it, they will be afraid and obey the decisions of the court.

The King

Moses said:

14 (C) People of Israel, after you capture the land the Lord your God is giving you, and after you settle on it, you will say, “We want a king, just like the nations around us.”

15 Go ahead and appoint a king, but make sure that he is an Israelite and that he is the one the Lord has chosen.

16 (D) The king should not have many horses, especially those from Egypt. The Lord has said never to go back there again. 17 (E) And the king must not have a lot of wives—they might tempt him to be unfaithful to the Lord.[c] Finally, the king must not try to get huge amounts of silver and gold.

18 The official copy of God's laws[d] will be kept by the priests of the Levi tribe. So, as soon as anyone becomes king, he must go to the priests and write out a copy of these laws while they watch. 19 Each day the king must read and obey these laws, so that he will learn to worship the Lord with fear and trembling 20 and not think that he's better than everyone else.

If the king completely obeys the Lord's commands, he and his descendants will rule Israel for many years.

Footnotes

  1. 17.2,3 sun, moon, or stars: Some people thought these were gods and worshiped them.
  2. 17.8-12 several priests: The Hebrew text has “the priests, the Levites”; priests belonged to the Levi tribe.
  3. 17.17 a lot of wives … unfaithful to the Lord: A king would often marry the daughter of another king that he was making a treaty with. These foreign women would naturally want to worship their own gods, and would want their husband the king to do so as well.
  4. 17.18 God's laws: Or “God's laws for the king.”
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