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Statutes for the King

14 “When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and you (A)possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘(B)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 (C)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 (D)Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he (E)cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. (F)Yahweh has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 (G)And he shall not multiply wives for himself, [a]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 [b](H)in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it (I)all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, [c]to carefully observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers (J)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.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:17 Lit nor
  2. Deuteronomy 17:18 Lit from before
  3. Deuteronomy 17:19 Lit to keep to do them

Appointing a King

14 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you,(A) 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.(B) Appoint a king from your brothers. You are not to set a foreigner over you, or one who is not of your people.(C) 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.’(D) 17 He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray.(E) He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself.(F) 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(G) 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 reigning many years[a] in Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. 17:20 Lit will lengthen days on his kingdom