Deuteronomy 17
Evangelical Heritage Version
17 Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God any ox or sheep that has any kind of defect or serious flaw, because that is something detestable to the Lord your God.
2 If there is found among you (within the gates of one of your cities that the Lord your God is giving you) a man or a woman who is doing something that is evil in the eyes of the Lord your God by transgressing his covenant, 3 or a man or a woman who is going and serving other gods and bowing down to them or to the sun or to the moon or to any of the army of the heavens, something that I have not commanded, 4 and you are told about it and you listen and investigate diligently, and it is established that the charge is true and that this abomination has been committed in Israel, 5 then you are to bring that man or that woman who has committed this evil out to your city gate, and you are to stone that person to death, whether man or woman.
6 A person is to be put to death on the basis of the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be put to death based on the testimony of one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses are to be the first ones raised against him when putting him to death, and after that the hands of all the other people. In that way you are to purge the evil from among you.
8 If a case is too difficult for you to make a decision, whether it involves a homicide, a lawsuit, or an assault, or any matters of controversy within the gates of your cities, then proceed by going up to the place that the Lord your God will choose. 9 Go to the priests, who are from the tribe of Levi, and to the presiding judge at that time and lay out the case. They will declare the verdict to you. 10 Then you are to act according to the verdict that they will declare to you from the place that the Lord will choose, and you are to be careful to carry out everything that they instruct you to do.
11 Act according to the instructions they give you and according to the judgment that they speak to you. Do not turn to the right or to the left from the word that they declare to you.
12 Any man who acts presumptuously by not listening to the priest, who presides and serves the Lord your God there, or by not listening to the judge, that man is condemned to die. In that way you will purge the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and fear and not act presumptuously anymore.
The King
14 When you have entered the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “I am determined to set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,” 15 you may set a king over yourself, one whom the Lord your God will choose. You may set over yourself a king who is from among your brother Israelites. You must not set a foreigner over you, one who is not your brother.
16 But the king must not accumulate more and more horses for himself, and he must not send people back to Egypt in order to accumulate more horses, because the Lord has said to you, “You must not go back that way again.” 17 He must not accumulate more and more wives for himself, or his heart may go astray. He must not accumulate excessive silver and gold for himself.
18 When he sits on his royal throne, he is to have a copy of this law written for him on a scroll in the presence of the priests, who are from the tribe of Levi. 19 It is to remain with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he learns to fear the Lord his God by being careful to carry out all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 so that his heart does not grow haughty toward his brothers and turn away from this set of commands, either to the right or the left, so that the days of his royal reign in Israel, as well as that of his sons, may be many.
Deuteronomy 17
Lexham English Bible
17 “You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or sheep that has a physical defect[a] of anything seriously wrong,[b] for that is a detestable thing to Yahweh your God. 2 If there is found in one of your towns[c] that Yahweh your God is giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant 3 and by going and serving other gods and so he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any of the host of heaven which I have forbidden,[d] 4 and it is reported to you or you hear about it and you enquire about it thoroughly and, indeed,[e] the trustworthiness of the deed[f] has been established, it has occurred,[g] this detestable thing, in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has[h] done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones to death.[i] 6 On the evidence of[j] two or three witnesses the person shall be put to death.[k] The person[l] shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person[m] to kill the person,[n] and afterward the hands[o] of all the people, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.
8 “If a matter is too difficult for you,[p] for example disputes between blood and blood,[q] between legal claim and legal claim[r] and between assault and assault[s] and between matters of discernment in your towns,[t] then you shall get up and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose; 9 then you shall go to the priests and the Levites and to the judge who will be in office in those days, and you shall enquire, and they shall announce to you the verdict.[u]
10 “And you shall carry out exactly the decision[v] that they announced to you from that place that Yahweh will choose, and you shall diligently observe[w] according to all that they instruct you. 11 And so according to the instruction of the law[x] that they teach you and according to the decisions that they say to you, you shall do; you shall not turn from the word that they tell you to the right or to the left. 12 And the man who treats with contempt[y] so as not to listen to the priest who is standing to minister on behalf of Yahweh your God or to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people will hear and will be afraid, and they will not behave presumptuously again.
14 “When you have come to that land that Yahweh your God is giving to you and you have taken possession of it and you have settled in it, and you say, ‘I will set over me a king like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 indeed, you may set a king over you whom Yahweh your God will choose, from the midst of your countrymen[z] you must set a king over you; you are not allowed to appoint over you a man, a foreigner, who is not your countryman.[aa] 16 Except, he may not make numerous[ab] for himself horses, and he may not allow the people to to go to Egypt in order to increase horses,[ac] for Yahweh has said to you that you may never return.[ad] 17 And he must not acquire many[ae] wives for himself, so that his heart would turn aside; and he must not accumulate silver and gold for himself excessively.[af]
18 “And then[ag] when he is sitting[ah] on the throne of his kingdom, then he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll before[ai] the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it[aj] all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere Yahweh your God by diligently observing[ak] all the word of this law and these rules, 20 so as not to exalt his heart above his countrymen[al] and not to turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left, so that he may reign long over his kingdom,[am] he and his children in the midst of Israel.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 17:1 Literally “that is on it a physical defect”
- Deuteronomy 17:1 Literally “of any thing bad/evil”
- Deuteronomy 17:2 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 17:3 Literally “which not I have commanded”
- Deuteronomy 17:4 Or “look!”
- Deuteronomy 17:4 Hebrew “the thing”
- Deuteronomy 17:4 Literally “has been done”
- Deuteronomy 17:5 Hebrew “have”
- Deuteronomy 17:5 Literally “and so they die”
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Literally “By the mouth of”
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Literally “he/she shall be put to death, the dead person”
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Hebrew “he/she”
- Deuteronomy 17:7 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 17:7 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 17:7 Hebrew “hand”
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Literally “If is difficult/wonderful from you a thing for judgment”
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Or “between one homicide and another”
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Or “one kind of lawsuit and another”
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Or “one kind of abuse and another”
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 17:9 Literally “the word of the decision”
- Deuteronomy 17:10 Literally “and you shall do according to the mouth of the word”
- Deuteronomy 17:10 Literally “and you shall observe and do”
- Deuteronomy 17:11 Literally “mouth of the law”
- Deuteronomy 17:12 Or “acts presumptuously”
- Deuteronomy 17:15 Or “brothers”
- Deuteronomy 17:15 Or “brother”
- Deuteronomy 17:16 Literally “not multiply”
- Deuteronomy 17:16 Literally “in order to make numerous horse”
- Deuteronomy 17:16 Literally “not you may do again to return”
- Deuteronomy 17:17 Or “make numerous”
- Deuteronomy 17:17 Literally “gold and silver not he must make numerous for him very”
- Deuteronomy 17:18 Literally “And it shall happen”
- Deuteronomy 17:18 Literally “as/when his sitting”
- Deuteronomy 17:18 Literally “to the face of”
- Deuteronomy 17:19 Hebrew “in it”
- Deuteronomy 17:19 Literally “by keeping ... to do them”
- Deuteronomy 17:20 Or “brothers”
- Deuteronomy 17:20 Literally “he may make long his days over his kingdom”
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