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Deuteronomy 17
International Standard Version

17 1 You are not to sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has a defect or any flaw in it, because that is detestable to the Lord your God.”

Death to the Idolater

2 “You may discover that a man or woman living in one of your cities that the Lord your God is about to give you has done evil in the eyes of the Lord your God by transgressing his covenant. 3 He may be following and serving other gods by bowing down to them—that is, to the sun, the moon, or to any of the heavenly host[a] (something I did not command). 4 When it is reported to you or you hear of it, you are to investigate it thoroughly. When the truth has been established that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 summon the man or the woman who did this evil thing to your city gates, and then stone the man or the woman to death. 6 Based on the testimony[b] of two or three witnesses, they must surely die, but they are not to die based on the testimony of one person. 7 Let the witnesses[c] be the first to begin executing them, then the rest of[d] the people are to follow. By doing this you will purge evil from among you.”

Deciding Difficult Cases

8 “If a case is too difficult for you to decide with respect to bloodshed,[e] civil claims,[f] assault and battery,[g] or other matters of dispute within your courts,[h] bring[i] it to the place that the Lord your God will choose. 9 Present the case[j] to the Levitical priest or the judge at that time. When you have inquired and they have announced the verdict, 10 carry out the verdict that was declared to you at the place that the Lord will choose. Carefully observe all of their instructions to you 11 in accordance with what the Law says and in accordance with the verdict that will be handed to you. You must not deviate from the verdict that they declare to you either to the right or to the left. 12 If a man presumptuously disregards the priest who is serving the Lord your God there, or the judge, that person must die so you will purge evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people who hear will be afraid and will not act presumptuously again.”

Duties of the Future King

14 “When you have come to the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, and you have taken possession of it and have settled in it, then you will say, ‘I will appoint a king over me like all the nations around me.’ 15 You will certainly set a king over you, whom the Lord your God will choose from among your relatives, but you must not place a foreign king over you who is not from your relatives. 16 He must not amass horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt to obtain more horses, because the Lord said you must never return that way again. 17 Also, he must not accumulate wives for himself (otherwise, his affection will become diverted), nor accumulate for himself excessive quantities of[k] silver and gold. 18 When he occupies his royal throne, he must make a copy of this Law for himself from a scroll used by the Levitical priests. 19 It is to remain with him the rest of his life so he may learn to fear the Lord his God and observe all the words of this Law and these statutes, in order to fulfill them. 20 He is not to exalt himself over his relatives, nor turn aside from the commandment—neither to the right nor to the left—so that he and his sons may reign long in Israel.”

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:3 Or any of the stars or planets, if referring to astronomical bodies; or supernatural beings, if referring to fallen or unfallen angelic armies
  2. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit. mouth
  3. Deuteronomy 17:7 Lit. the hands of the witnesses
  4. Deuteronomy 17:7 Lit. the hand of all
  5. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit. blood versus blood
  6. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit. justice versus justice
  7. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit. wound versus wound
  8. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit. gates
  9. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit. stand and go up
  10. Deuteronomy 17:9 The Heb. lacks Present the case
  11. Deuteronomy 17:17 The Heb. lacks quantities of
Close LEB

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

  1. Deuteronomy 17:1 Literally “that is on it a physical defect”
  2. Deuteronomy 17:1 Literally “of any thing bad/evil”
  3. Deuteronomy 17:2 Literally “gates”
  4. Deuteronomy 17:3 Literally “which not I have commanded”
  5. Deuteronomy 17:4 Or “look!”
  6. Deuteronomy 17:4 Hebrew “the thing”
  7. Deuteronomy 17:4 Literally “has been done”
  8. Deuteronomy 17:5 Hebrew “have”
  9. Deuteronomy 17:5 Literally “and so they die”
  10. Deuteronomy 17:6 Literally “By the mouth of”
  11. Deuteronomy 17:6 Literally “he/she shall be put to death, the dead person”
  12. Deuteronomy 17:6 Hebrew “he/she”
  13. Deuteronomy 17:7 Hebrew “him”
  14. Deuteronomy 17:7 Hebrew “him”
  15. Deuteronomy 17:7 Hebrew “hand”
  16. Deuteronomy 17:8 Literally “If is difficult/wonderful from you a thing for judgment”
  17. Deuteronomy 17:8 Or “between one homicide and another”
  18. Deuteronomy 17:8 Or “one kind of lawsuit and another”
  19. Deuteronomy 17:8 Or “one kind of abuse and another”
  20. Deuteronomy 17:8 Literally “gates”
  21. Deuteronomy 17:9 Literally “the word of the decision”
  22. Deuteronomy 17:10 Literally “and you shall do according to the mouth of the word”
  23. Deuteronomy 17:10 Literally “and you shall observe and do”
  24. Deuteronomy 17:11 Literally “mouth of the law”
  25. Deuteronomy 17:12 Or “acts presumptuously”
  26. Deuteronomy 17:15 Or “brothers”
  27. Deuteronomy 17:15 Or “brother”
  28. Deuteronomy 17:16 Literally “not multiply”
  29. Deuteronomy 17:16 Literally “in order to make numerous horse”
  30. Deuteronomy 17:16 Literally “not you may do again to return”
  31. Deuteronomy 17:17 Or “make numerous”
  32. Deuteronomy 17:17 Literally “gold and silver not he must make numerous for him very”
  33. Deuteronomy 17:18 Literally “And it shall happen”
  34. Deuteronomy 17:18 Literally “as/when his sitting”
  35. Deuteronomy 17:18 Literally “to the face of”
  36. Deuteronomy 17:19 Hebrew “in it”
  37. Deuteronomy 17:19 Literally “by keeping ... to do them”
  38. Deuteronomy 17:20 Or “brothers”
  39. Deuteronomy 17:20 Literally “he may make long his days over his kingdom”
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Deuteronomy 16
Deuteronomy 18
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