Devarim 16-18

Orthodox Jewish Bible

16 Be shomer of the month of Aviv [springtime, i.e., Nisan], and perform the Pesach offering unto Hashem Eloheicha; for in the month of Aviv Hashem Eloheicha brought thee forth out of Mitzrayim by lailah.

² Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the Pesach unto Hashem Eloheicha, of the tzon and the herd, in the place which Hashem shall choose to place Shmo there.

³ Thou shalt eat no chametz with it; shivat yamim shalt thou eat matzot therewith, even the lechem oni (bread of affliction); for thou camest forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim in haste in order that thou mayest remember the yom when thou camest forth out of Eretz Mitzrayim kol yemei chayyechah (all the days of thy life).

⁴ And there shall be no se’or (leaven) seen with thee in all thy territory shivat yamim; neither shall there any thing of the basar, which thou sacrificedst ba’Erev baYom HaRishon, remain overnight until the boker.

⁵ Thou mayest not sacrifice the Pesach within any of thy she’arim, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee;

⁶ But at the place which Hashem Eloheicha shall choose to place Shmo in, there thou shalt sacrifice the Pesach at erev, at the going down of the shemesh, at the mo’ed (appointed time) that thou camest forth out of Mitzrayim.

⁷ And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which Hashem Eloheicha shall choose; and thou shalt turn back in the boker, and go unto thy oholim.

⁸ Sheshet yamim thou shalt eat matzot; and on the yom ha’shevi’i shall be an atzeret (assembly) to Hashem Eloheicha; thou shalt do no melachah (work) therein.

⁹ Shivah shavu’ot (seven weeks) shalt thou number unto thee; begin to number the shivah shavu’ot from such time as thou begin to put the sickle to the standing crop.

¹⁰ And thou shalt observe Chag Shavuos unto Hashem Eloheicha by giving a terumah (freewill offering) of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto Hashem Eloheicha, according as Hashem Eloheicha hath blessed thee:

¹¹ And thou shalt rejoice before Hashem Eloheicha, thou, and thy ben, and thy bat, and thy eved, and thy amah, and the Levi that is within thy she’arim, and the ger, and the yatom (orphan), and the almanah, that are among you, in the place which Hashem Eloheicha hath chosen to place Shmo there.

¹² And thou shalt remember that thou wast an eved in Mitzrayim: and thou shalt be shomer and do these chukkim.

¹³ Chag HaSukkot shalt thou observe shivat yamim, after that thou hast gathered in from thy threshing floor and from thy winepress:

¹⁴ And thou shalt rejoice in thy chag (feast), thou, and thy ben, and thy bat, and thy eved, and thy amah, and the Levi, the ger, and the yatom (orphan), and the almanah, that are within thy she’arim.

¹⁵ Shivat yamim shalt thou observe the chag (feast) unto Hashem Eloheicha in the place which Hashem shall choose, because Hashem Eloheicha shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, so that thou shalt surely rejoice.

¹⁶ Shalosh p’amim bashanah shall all thy males appear before Hashem Eloheicha in the place which He shall choose; in the Chag Matzot, and in the Chag HaShavu’os, and in the Chag HaSukkot, and they shall not appear before Hashem empty-handed:

¹⁷ Every man shall give as he is able, according to the Birkat Hashem Eloheicha which He hath given thee.

[SHOFTIM]

¹⁸ Shofetim and shoterim shalt thou appoint thee in all thy she’arim, which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, throughout thy shevatim: and they shall judge HaAm with mishpat-tzedek.

¹⁹ Thou shalt not pervert mishpat; thou shalt not show partiality, neither take a shochad: for a bribe doth blind the eyes of the chachamim, and twist the devarim of the tzaddikim.

²⁰ Tzedek tzedek (that which is altogether just) shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit ha’aretz which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee.

²¹ Thou shalt not set up any tree as an Asherah near unto the Mizbe’ach of Hashem Eloheicha, which thou shalt make thee.

²² Neither shalt thou set thee up any matzeivah (pillar); which Hashem Eloheicha hateth.

17 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto Hashem Eloheicha any ox, or sheep, wherein is mum (blemish), or any evil thing, any defect: for that is a to’avat (abomination) unto Hashem Eloheicha.

² If there be found among you, within any of thy she’arim which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, ish or isha, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of Hashem Eloheicha, in transgressing His Brit,

³ And hath gone and served elohim acherim, and worshiped them, either the shemesh, or yarei’ach, or any of the tz’vah HaShomayim, which I have not commanded;

⁴ And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and inquired diligently, and, hinei, it be emes, and the thing nakhon (certain, correct), that such to’evah (abomination) is wrought in Yisroel,

⁵ Then shalt thou bring forth that ish or that isha, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy she’arim, even that ish or that isha, and shalt stone them with avanim, till they die.

⁶ At the mouth of shneym edim, or shloshah edim, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of ed echad (one witness) he shall not be put to death.

⁷ The hands of the edim shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of kol haAm. So thou shalt put harah (the evil) away from among you.

⁸ If there arise a matter too hard for thee in mishpat, between dahm and dahm, between din and din, and between nega and nega, being matters of controversy within thy she’arim, then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which Hashem Eloheicha shall choose;

⁹ And thou shalt come unto the kohanim, who are the Levi’im, and unto the Shofet that shall be in those days, and inquire; and they shall show thee the devar hamishpat (word of judgment);

¹⁰ And thou shalt do according to the devar, which they of that place which Hashem shall choose shall show thee; and thou shalt be shomer to do according to all that they teach thee;

¹¹ According to the pi hatorah which they shall teach thee, and according to the mishpat which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do; thou shalt not turn aside from the devar which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.

¹² And the ish that will do presumptuously, and will not give heed unto the kohen that standeth to minister there before Hashem Eloheicha, or unto the Shofet, even that ish shall die; and thou shalt put away harah from Yisroel.

¹³ And kol haAm shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

¹⁴ When thou art come unto ha’aretz which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a melech over me, like Kol HaGoyim that are about me;

¹⁵ Thou shalt in any wise set him as melech over thee, whom Hashem Eloheicha shall choose; one from among thy achim shalt thou set as melech over thee; thou mayest not set an ish nokhri over thee, which is not achicha (thy brother, i.e., a fellow Hebrew).

¹⁶ But he shall not multiply susim to himself, nor cause the people to return to Mitzrayim, to the end that he should multiply the sus; forasmuch as Hashem hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.

¹⁷ Neither shall he multiply nashim to himself, that his lev turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself kesef and zahav.

¹⁸ And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the kisei mamlakhto (throne of his kingdom), that he shall write him a mishneh hatorah hazot (copy of this torah) in a sefer out of that which is before the kohanim, the Levi’im;

¹⁹ And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Hashem Elohav, to be shomer over kol divrei hatorah hazot and these chukkim, to do them;

²⁰ That his lev be not lifted up in pride above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the mitzvah, to the right hand, or to the left; to the end that he may prolong his days in his mamlachah, he, and his banim, in the midst of Yisroel.

18 The kohanim, who are Levi’im, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no chelek nor nachalah with Yisroel; they shall eat the offerings of Hashem made by eish, even His nachalah.

² Therefore shall they have no nachalah among their achim; Hashem is their nachalah, as He hath said unto them.

³ And this shall be the mishpat hakohanim (the right of the kohanim) from the people, from them that offer the zevach, whether it be shor or seh; and they shall give unto the kohen the shoulder, and the two jowls, and the stomach.

⁴ The reshit also of thy grain, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the reshit of the shearing of thy tzon, shalt thou give him.

⁵ For Hashem Eloheicha hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the Shem of Hashem, he and his banim kol hayamim.

⁶ And if a Levi come from any of thy she’arim (gates, i.e., towns) out of kol Yisroel, where he is living, and come with all the earnestness of his nefesh unto the place which Hashem shall choose;

⁷ Then he shall minister in the Shem of Hashem Elohav, as all his achim the Levi’im do, which stand there before Hashem.

⁸ They shall have chelek k’chelek (like portions) to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.

⁹ When thou art come into ha’aretz which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to imitate the to’avot (abominations) of those Goyim.

¹⁰ There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his ben or his bat to pass through the eish (i.e., be burned as an idol’s offering) or kosem kesamim (a diviner of divination) or a m’onen (soothsayer, astrologer), or a m’nachesh (one who interprets omens), or a mekhashshef (witch).

¹¹ Or one who casts spells, or one who inquires of a ghost or a familiar spirit, or a doresh el hamesim (a consulter of the dead ones, i.e., a necromancer).

¹² For all that do these things are a to’avat Hashem; and because of these to’evot, Hashem Eloheicha is about to drive them out before thee.

¹³ Thou shalt be tamim (blameless) before Hashem Eloheicha.

¹⁴ For these Goyim, which thou shalt dispossess, paid heed unto soothsayers, and unto diviners; but as for thee, Hashem Eloheicha hath not suffered thee so to do.

¹⁵ Hashem Eloheicha will raise up unto thee a Navi from among thee, of thy achim, kamoni (like me [Moshe, Ex 32:30]); unto him ye must listen;

¹⁶ According to all that thou desiredst of Hashem Eloheicha in Chorev in the Yom HaKahal, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Hashem Elohav, neither let me see this eish hagedolah any more, that I die not.

¹⁷ And Hashem said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.

¹⁸ I will raise them up a Navi from among their achim, like unto thee, and will put My words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him [Yn 10:18].

¹⁹ And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not listen unto My words which he shall speak Bishmi (in My Name), I will require it of him.

²⁰ But the navi, which shall presume to speak a word Bishmi (In My Name), which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the shem of elohim acharim, even that navi shall die.

²¹ And if thou say in thine lev, How shall we know the word which Hashem hath not spoken?

²² When a navi speaketh b’Shem Hashem, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which Hashem hath not spoken, but the navi hath spoken it bezadon (in zadon [presumption, arrogance]); thou shalt not be afraid of him.