Deuteronomy 17:14-20

International Children’s Bible

Choosing a King

¹⁴ You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you. You will take it as your own and live in it. Then you will say, “Let’s appoint a king over us like the nations all around us.” ¹⁵ Be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be one of your own people. Do not appoint a foreigner as your king. He is not a fellow Israelite. ¹⁶ The king must not have too many horses for himself. He must not send people to Egypt to get more horses. The Lord has told you, “Don’t return that way again.” ¹⁷ The king must not have many wives. If he does, his heart will be led away from God. He must not have too much silver and gold.

¹⁸ When he becomes king, he should write a copy of the teachings on a scroll for himself. He should copy it from the priests and Levites. ¹⁹ He should keep it with him all the time. He should read from it every day of his life. Then he will learn to respect the Lord his God. And he will obey all the teachings and commands. ²⁰ He should not think he is better than his brothers. He must not stop obeying the law in any way. Then he and his descendants will rule the kingdom for a long time.