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26 And then[a] when you come to the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and you settle in it, then you shall take from the firstfruit of all the fruit of the ground that you harvest from your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose to make his name to dwell there. And you shall go to the priest who is in office in those days, and you shall say, ‘I declare today[b] to Yahweh your God that I have come into the land that Yahweh swore to our ancestors[c] to give to us.’ Then the priest takes the basket from your hand and places it before[d] the altar of Yahweh your God. And you shall declare[e] and you shall say before[f] your God, ‘My ancestor[g] was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt, and there he dwelt as an alien few in number,[h] and there he became a great nation, mighty and numerous. And the Egyptians treated us badly, and they oppressed us and imposed on us hard labor. And we cried to Yahweh, the God of our ancestors,[i] and Yahweh heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression. And Yahweh brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and with wonders. And he brought us to this place and gave to us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And now, look, I am bringing[j] the firstfruit of the fruit of the ground that you gave to me, Yahweh,’ and you shall place it before[k] Yahweh your God, and you shall bow down before[l] Yahweh your God. 11 And you shall celebrate with all of the bounty that Yahweh your God gave to you and to your family, you and the Levite and the alien who is in your midst.

12 “When you are finished giving a tithe,[m] all of the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give to the Levite, to the alien, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and they may be satisfied. 13 And you shall say before[n] Yahweh your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from the[o] house and, moreover, I have given it to the Levite and to the alien and to the orphan and to the widow according to all your commandment that you commanded me; I have not transgressed any of your commandments, and I have not forgotten any of them. 14 I have not eaten during my time of mourning, and I have not removed anything from it while being unclean, and I have not offered any of it[p] to someone who has died. I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have done all that you commanded me to do. 15 Look down from the dwelling place of your holiness, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the land that you have given to us, as you swore to our ancestors,[q] a land flowing with milk and honey.’

16 “This day Yahweh your God is commanding you to do these rules and regulations, and you must observe them diligently[r] with all your heart and with all your soul.[s] 17 Yahweh you have declared today[t] to be for you as your God, and to go[u] in his ways and to observe his rules and his commandments and his regulations and to listen to his voice. 18 And Yahweh has declared you today[v] to be for him as a people, a treasured possession, as he promised[w] to you, and that you are to observe all his commandments, 19 and that he then will set you[x] high above all the nations that he has made for his praise and for fame[y] and for honor and for you to be a holy people[z] to Yahweh your God, as he promised.”[aa]

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 26:1 Literally “And it shall happen”
  2. Deuteronomy 26:3 Literally “the day”
  3. Deuteronomy 26:3 Or “fathers”
  4. Deuteronomy 26:4 Literally “to the face of”
  5. Deuteronomy 26:5 Literally “answer”
  6. Deuteronomy 26:5 Literally “to the face of”
  7. Deuteronomy 26:5 Or “father”
  8. Deuteronomy 26:5 Literally “in people only a few”
  9. Deuteronomy 26:7 Or “fathers”
  10. Deuteronomy 26:10 Hebrew “I bring”
  11. Deuteronomy 26:10 Literally “to the face of”
  12. Deuteronomy 26:10 Literally “to the face of”
  13. Deuteronomy 26:12 Literally “to give a tenth”
  14. Deuteronomy 26:13 Literally “to the face of”
  15. Deuteronomy 26:13 Or “my” house since the definite article can show possession here
  16. Deuteronomy 26:14 Literally “from it”
  17. Deuteronomy 26:15 Or “our fathers”
  18. Deuteronomy 26:16 Literally “and you shall observe and you shall do them”
  19. Deuteronomy 26:16 Or “inner self”
  20. Deuteronomy 26:17 Literally “the day”
  21. Deuteronomy 26:17 Or “to walk”
  22. Deuteronomy 26:18 Literally “the day”
  23. Deuteronomy 26:18 Literally “spoke”
  24. Deuteronomy 26:19 Literally “and to set you”
  25. Deuteronomy 26:19 Literally “for a name”
  26. Deuteronomy 26:19 Literally “for you to be/your being a people holy”
  27. Deuteronomy 26:19 Literally “spoke”

Giving the Firstfruits

26 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance,(A) and you take possession of it and live in it, take some of the first of all the land’s produce that you harvest from the land the Lord your God is giving you and put it in a basket. Then go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to have his name dwell.(B) When you come before the priest who is serving at that time, say to him, ‘Today I declare to the Lord your[a] God that I have entered the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.’

“Then the priest will take the basket from you and place it before the altar of the Lord your God. You are to respond by saying in the presence of the Lord your God:

My father was a wandering Aramean.(C) He went down to Egypt with a few people and resided there as an alien.(D) There he became a great, powerful, and populous nation. But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, and forced us to do hard labor. So we called out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our cry and saw our misery, hardship, and oppression.(E) Then the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with terrifying power, and with signs and wonders. He led us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.(F) 10 I have now brought the first of the land’s produce that you, Lord, have given me.

You will then place the container before the Lord your God and bow down to him. 11 You, the Levites, and the resident aliens among you will rejoice(G) in all the good things the Lord your God has given you and your household.

The Tenth in the Third Year

12 “When you have finished paying all the tenth of your produce in the third year,(H) the year of the tenth, you are to give it to the Levites, resident aliens, fatherless children, and widows, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 Then you will say in the presence of the Lord your God:

I have taken the consecrated portion out of my house; I have also given it to the Levites, resident aliens, fatherless children, and widows, according to all the commands you gave me. I have not violated or forgotten your commands. 14 I have not eaten any of it while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead.(I) I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done all you commanded me. 15 Look down from your holy dwelling, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us as you swore to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Covenant Summary

16 “The Lord your God is commanding you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. Follow them carefully with all your heart and all your soul. 17 Today you have affirmed that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in his ways, keep his statutes, commands, and ordinances, and obey him. 18 And today the Lord has affirmed that you are his own possession as he promised you, that you are to keep all his commands, 19 that he will elevate you to praise, fame, and glory above all the nations he has made, and that you will be a holy people(J) to the Lord your God as he promised.”

Footnotes

  1. 26:3 LXX reads my