Deuteronomy 26
New King James Version
Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes
26 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, 2 (A)that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and (B)go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 3 And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord [a]your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. 5 And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was (C)a [b]Syrian, (D)about to perish, and (E)he went down to Egypt and [c]dwelt there, (F)few in number; and there he became a nation, (G)great, mighty, and populous. 6 But the (H)Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. 7 (I)Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. 8 So (J)the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, (K)with great terror and with signs and wonders. 9 He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, (L)“a land flowing with milk and honey”; 10 and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’
“Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. 11 So (M)you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.
12 “When you have finished laying aside all the (N)tithe of your increase in the third year—(O)the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, 13 then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the [d]holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, (P)nor have I forgotten them. 14 (Q)I have not eaten any of it [e]when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it [f]for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 (R)Look down from Your holy [g]habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, (S)“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
A Special People of God
16 “This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. 17 Today you have (T)proclaimed the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will (U)obey His voice. 18 Also today (V)the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, 19 and that He will set you (W)high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be (X)a [h]holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 26:3 LXX my
- Deuteronomy 26:5 Or Aramean
- Deuteronomy 26:5 As a resident alien
- Deuteronomy 26:13 hallowed things
- Deuteronomy 26:14 Lit. in my mourning
- Deuteronomy 26:14 Or while I was unclean
- Deuteronomy 26:15 home
- Deuteronomy 26:19 consecrated
Deuteronomy 26
Complete Jewish Bible
Parashah 50: Ki Tavo (When you come) 26:1–29:8(9)
26 “When you have come to the land Adonai your God is giving you as your inheritance, taken possession of it and settled there; 2 you are to take the firstfruits of all the crops the ground yields, which you will harvest from your land that Adonai your God is giving you, put them in a basket and go to the place where Adonai your God will choose to have his name live. 3 You will approach the cohen holding office at the time and say to him, ‘Today I declare to Adonai your God that I have come to the land Adonai swore to our ancestors that he would give us.’ 4 The cohen will take the basket from your hand and put it down in front of the altar of Adonai your God.
5 “Then, in the presence of Adonai your God, you are to say, ‘My ancestor was a nomad from Aram. He went down into Egypt few in number and stayed. There he became a great, strong, populous nation. 6 But the Egyptians treated us badly; they oppressed us and imposed harsh slavery on us. 7 So we cried out to Adonai, the God of our ancestors. Adonai heard us and saw our misery, toil and oppression; 8 and Adonai brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. 9 Now he has brought us to this place and given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 Therefore, as you see, I have now brought the firstfruits of the land which you, Adonai, have given me.’ You are then to put the basket down before Adonai your God, prostrate yourself before Adonai your God, 11 and take joy in all the good that Adonai your God has given you, your household, the Levi and the foreigner living with you.
(ii) 12 “After you have separated a tenth of the crops yielded in the third year, the year of separating a tenth, and have given it to the Levi, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, so that they can have enough food to satisfy them while staying with you; 13 you are to say, in the presence of Adonai your God, ‘I have rid my house of the things set aside for God and given them to the Levi, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, in keeping with every one of the mitzvot you gave me. I haven’t disobeyed any of your mitzvot or forgotten them. 14 I haven’t eaten any of this food when mourning, I haven’t put any of it aside when unclean, nor have I given any of it for the dead. I have listened to what Adonai my God has said, and I have done everything you ordered me to do. 15 Look out from your holy dwelling-place, from heaven; and bless your people Isra’el and the land you gave us, as you swore to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.’
(iii) 16 “Today Adonai your God orders you to obey these laws and rulings. Therefore, you are to observe and obey them with all your heart and all your being. 17 You are agreeing today that Adonai is your God and that you will follow his ways; observe his laws, mitzvot and rulings; and do what he says. 18 In turn Adonai is agreeing today that you are his own unique treasure, as he promised you; that you are to observe all his mitzvot; 19 and that he will raise you high above all the nations he has made, in praise, reputation and glory; and that, as he said, you will be a holy people for Adonai your God.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.