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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

Duties of the Future King

14 “When you have come to the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, and you have taken possession of it and have settled in it, then you will say, ‘I will appoint a king over me like all the nations around me.’ 15 You will certainly set a king over you, whom the Lord your God will choose from among your relatives, but you must not place a foreign king over you who is not from your relatives. 16 He must not amass horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt to obtain more horses, because the Lord said you must never return that way again. 17 Also, he must not accumulate wives for himself (otherwise, his affection will become diverted), nor accumulate for himself excessive quantities of[a] silver and gold. 18 When he occupies his royal throne, he must make a copy of this Law for himself from a scroll used by the Levitical priests. 19 It is to remain with him the rest of his life so he may learn to fear the Lord his God and observe all the words of this Law and these statutes, in order to fulfill them. 20 He is not to exalt himself over his relatives, nor turn aside from the commandment—neither to the right nor to the left—so that he and his sons may reign long in Israel.”

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:17 The Heb. lacks quantities of