Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
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”
Close NET

Deuteronomy 17
New English Translation

17 You must not sacrifice to him[a] a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive[b] to the Lord your God. 2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you in one of your villages[c] that the Lord your God is giving you who sins before the Lord your God[d] and breaks his covenant 3 by serving other gods and worshiping them—the sun,[e] moon, or any other heavenly bodies that I have not permitted you to worship.[f] 4 When it is reported to you and you hear about it, you must investigate carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing[g] is being done in Israel, 5 you must bring to your city gates[h] that man or woman who has done this wicked thing—that very man or woman—and you must stone that person to death.[i] 6 At the testimony of two or three witnesses the person must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 7 The witnesses[j] must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people[k] are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge the evil from among you.

Appeal to a Higher Court

8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge—bloodshed,[l] legal claim,[m] or assault[n]—matters of controversy in your villages[o]—you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses.[p] 9 You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict. 10 You must then do as they have determined at that place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do just as you are taught. 11 You must do what you are instructed, and the verdict they pronounce to you, without fail. Do not deviate right or left from what they tell you. 12 The person who pays no attention[q] to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the judge—that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and not be so presumptuous again.

Provision for Kingship

14 When you come to the land the Lord your God is giving you and take it over and live in it and then say, “I will select a king like all the nations surrounding me,” 15 you must select without fail[r] a king whom the Lord your God chooses. From among your fellow citizens[s] you must appoint a king—you may not designate a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites.[t] 16 Moreover, he must not accumulate horses for himself or allow the people to return to Egypt to do so,[u] for the Lord has said you must never again return that way. 17 Furthermore, he must not marry many[v] wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold. 18 When he sits on his royal throne he must make a copy of this law[w] on a scroll[x] given to him by the Levitical priests. 19 It must be with him constantly, and he must read it as long as he lives, so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and observe all the words of this law and these statutes and carry them out. 20 Then he will not exalt himself above his fellow citizens or turn from the commandments to the right or left, and he and his descendants will enjoy many years ruling over his kingdom[y] in Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:1 tn Heb “to the Lord your God.” See note on “he” in 16:1.
  2. Deuteronomy 17:1 tn The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (toʿevah, “an abomination”; cf. NAB) describes persons, things, or practices offensive to ritual or moral order. See M. Grisanti, NIDOTTE 4:314-18; see also the note on the word “abhorrent” in Deut 7:25.
  3. Deuteronomy 17:2 tn Heb “gates.”
  4. Deuteronomy 17:2 tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”
  5. Deuteronomy 17:3 tc The MT reads “and to the sun,” thus including the sun, the moon, and other heavenly spheres among the gods. However, Theodotion and Lucian read “or to the sun,” suggesting perhaps that the sun and the other heavenly bodies are not in the category of actual deities.
  6. Deuteronomy 17:3 tn Heb “which I have not commanded you.” The words “to worship” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
  7. Deuteronomy 17:4 tn Heb “an abomination” (תּוֹעֵבָה); see note on the word “offensive” in v. 1.
  8. Deuteronomy 17:5 tn Heb “gates.”
  9. Deuteronomy 17:5 tn Heb “stone them with stones so that they die” (KJV similar); NCV “throw stones at that person until he dies.”
  10. Deuteronomy 17:7 tn Heb “the hand of the witnesses.” This means the two or three witnesses are to throw the first stones (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).
  11. Deuteronomy 17:7 tn Heb “the hand of all the people.”
  12. Deuteronomy 17:8 tn Heb “between blood and blood.”
  13. Deuteronomy 17:8 tn Heb “between claim and claim.”
  14. Deuteronomy 17:8 tn Heb “between blow and blow.”
  15. Deuteronomy 17:8 tn Heb “gates.”
  16. Deuteronomy 17:8 tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.
  17. Deuteronomy 17:12 tn Heb “who acts presumptuously not to listen” (cf. NASB).
  18. Deuteronomy 17:15 tn The Hebrew text uses the infinitive absolute for emphasis, indicated in the translation by the words “without fail.”
  19. Deuteronomy 17:15 tn Heb “your brothers,” but not referring to siblings (cf. NIV “your brother Israelites”; NLT “a fellow Israelite”). The same phrase also occurs in v. 20.
  20. Deuteronomy 17:15 tn Heb “your brothers.” See the preceding note on “fellow citizens.”
  21. Deuteronomy 17:16 tn Heb “in order to multiply horses.” The translation uses “do so” in place of “multiply horses” to avoid redundancy (cf. NAB, NIV).
  22. Deuteronomy 17:17 tn Heb “must not multiply” (cf. KJV, NASB); NLT “must not take many.”
  23. Deuteronomy 17:18 tn Or “instruction.” The LXX reads here τὸ δευτερονόμιον τοῦτο (to deuteronomion touto, “this second law”). From this Greek phrase the present name of the book, “Deuteronomy” or “second law” (i.e., the second giving of the law), is derived. However, the MT’s expression מִשְׁנֶה הַתּוֹרָה הַזֹּאת (mishneh hattorah hazzoʾt) is better rendered “copy of this law.” Here the term תּוֹרָה (torah) probably refers only to the book of Deuteronomy and not to the whole Pentateuch.
  24. Deuteronomy 17:18 tn The Hebrew term סֵפֶר (sefer) means a “writing” or “document” and could be translated “book” (so KJV, ASV, TEV). However, since “book” carries the connotation of a modern bound book with pages (an obvious anachronism) it is preferable to render the Hebrew term “scroll” here and elsewhere.
  25. Deuteronomy 17:20 tc Heb “upon his kingship.” Smr supplies כִּסֵא (kiseʾ, “throne”) so as to read “upon the throne of his kingship.” This overliteralizes what is a clearly understood figure of speech.
Next
Deuteronomy 16
Deuteronomy 18
Next
dropdown
Lexham English Bible (LEB)

2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software

New English Translation (NET)

NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.