Deuteronomy 17:14-20

Living Bible

¹⁴ “When you arrive in the land the Lord your God will give you, and have conquered it, and begin to think, ‘We ought to have a king like the other nations around us’— ¹⁵ be sure that you select as king the man the Lord your God shall choose. He must be an Israelite, not a foreigner. ¹⁶ Be sure that he doesn’t build up a large stable of horses for himself, nor send his men to Egypt to raise horses for him there, for the Lord has told you, ‘Never return to Egypt again.’ ¹⁷ He must not have too many wives, lest his heart be turned away from the Lord, neither shall he be excessively rich.

¹⁸ “And when he has been crowned and sits upon his throne as king, then he must copy these laws from the book kept by the Levite-priests. ¹⁹ That copy of the laws shall be his constant companion. He must read from it every day of his life so that he will learn to respect the Lord his God by obeying all of his commands. ²⁰ This regular reading of God’s laws will prevent him from feeling that he is better than his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from God’s laws in the slightest respect and will ensure his having a long, good reign. His sons will then follow him upon the throne.