Deuteronomy 26:1-11

EasyEnglish Bible

Harvest gifts

26 You will soon go into the land that the Lord your God is giving to you. It will belong to you as your home. ² This is what you must do the first time that the land provides food for you: At harvest time, when you bring in your crops, put some in a basket. Take it to the special place that the Lord your God will choose for people to worship him. ³ Go to the priest who has authority at that time. Say to him, ‘Today, I say to the Lord our God that I am now living in the land that he promised to us. He made that promise to our ancestors.’

⁴ Then the priest will take the basket from you. He will put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ Then you must say this, so that the Lord your God hears you: ‘My ancestor was an Aramean who moved from place to place. He went to Egypt to live there as a foreigner. At that time, his family was small. But while he lived in Egypt, his family became a great nation of many powerful people. ⁶ But the Egyptian people were cruel to us. They made us work very hard for them. ⁷ So we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors. He heard our prayers. He saw that we were in trouble. He saw that we had to do very hard work for cruel people. ⁸ So the Lord used his great strength and power to bring us out of Egypt. He did powerful miracles which caused the Egyptians to be afraid. ⁹ Then he brought us to this place. He gave us this land where there is plenty of food and drink, enough for everyone. ¹⁰ So now I am bringing the first food that has grown in my fields. You, Lord, have given it to me.’

Then you must put the basket down in front of the Lord's altar. Worship him there. ¹¹ In that way, you will enjoy a meal to say ‘thank you’ for all the good things that the Lord your God has given to you and your family. Share your meal with the Levites and the foreign people who live among you.