Deuteronomy 17
Legacy Standard Bible
17 “(A)You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep which has a defect or any [a]blemish, for that is an abominable thing to Yahweh your God.
2 “(B)If there is found in your midst, in any of your gates of the towns which Yahweh your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God, by trespassing against His covenant, 3 and has gone and (C)served other gods and worshiped them, (D)or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, (E)which I have not commanded, 4 and if it is told to you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the matter is confirmed that this abomination has been done in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and (F)you shall stone them, and they will die. 6 (G)On the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the mouth of one witness. 7 (H)The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. (I)So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
Judging Cases
8 “(J)If any case is too difficult for you to judge, between [b]one kind of homicide or another, between [c]one kind of lawsuit or another, and between [d]one kind of assault or another, being cases of dispute in your gates, then you shall arise and go up to (K)the place which Yahweh your God chooses. 9 So you shall come to (L)the Levitical priest or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them, and they will declare to you the judgment in the case. 10 And you shall do according to the [e]terms of the judgment which they declare to you from that place which Yahweh chooses; and you shall be careful to do according to all that they teach you. 11 (M)According to the [f]terms of the law which they teach you, and according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12 And the man who acts (N)presumptuously by not listening to the priest who stands there to minister to Yahweh your God, or to the judge, that man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid and will not act (O)presumptuously again.
Statutes for the King
14 “When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and you (P)possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘(Q)I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom Yahweh your God chooses, one (R)from among your brothers you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your brother. 16 (S)Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he (T)cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. (U)Yahweh has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 (V)And he shall not multiply wives for himself, [g]or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.
18 “Now it will be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll [h](W)in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it (X)all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, [i]to carefully observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers (Y)and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his sons in the midst of Israel.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 17:1 Lit evil thing
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit blood to blood
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit judgment to judgment
- Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit stroke to stroke
- Deuteronomy 17:10 Lit mouth
- Deuteronomy 17:11 Lit mouth
- Deuteronomy 17:17 Lit nor
- Deuteronomy 17:18 Lit from before
- Deuteronomy 17:19 Lit to keep to do them
Deuteronomy 17
Holman Christian Standard Bible
17 “You must not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or sheep with a defect or any serious flaw, for that is detestable to the Lord your God.(A)
The Judicial Procedure for Idolatry
2 “If(B) a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the Lord your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God and violating His covenant(C) 3 and has gone to worship other gods by bowing down to the sun, moon, or all the stars in the sky—which I have forbidden— 4 and if you are told or hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report turns out to be true that this detestable thing has happened in Israel, 5 you must bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing and stone them to death. 6 The one condemned to die is to be executed on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one is to be executed on the testimony of a single witness. 7 The witnesses’ hands are to be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people.(D) You must purge the evil from you.(E)
Difficult Cases
8 “If a case is too difficult for you—concerning bloodshed,(F) lawsuits,(G) or assaults(H)—cases disputed at your gates,(I) you must go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. 9 You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case. 10 You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the Lord chooses. Be careful to do exactly as they instruct you. 11 You must abide by the instruction they give you and the verdict they announce to you. Do not turn to the right or the left from the decision they declare to you. 12 The person who acts arrogantly, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there serving the Lord your God or to the judge, must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear about it, be afraid, and no longer behave arrogantly.
Appointing a King
14 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you,(J) take possession of it, live in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations around me,’ 15 you are to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses.(K) Appoint a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people.(L) 16 However, he must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’(M) 17 He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray. He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself. 18 When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear(N) the Lord his God, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes. 20 Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue ruling many years[a] over Israel.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 17:20 Lit will lengthen days on his kingdom
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