Give the Lord His Share

26 You will enter the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own. You will take it over. You will make your homes in the land. ² When you do, get some of the first share of everything your soil produces. Put it in a basket. It’s from the land the Lord your God is giving you. Take your gifts and go to the special place he will choose. He will put his Name there. ³ Speak to the priest in office at that time. Tell him, “I announce today to the Lord your God that I have come to this land. It’s the land he promised to give us. He promised it to our people of long ago.” ⁴ The priest will receive the basket from you. He’ll set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ Then you will speak while the Lord is listening. You will say, “My father Jacob was a wanderer from the land of Aram. He went down into Egypt with a few people. He lived there and became the father of a great nation. It had huge numbers of people. ⁶ But the people of Egypt treated us badly. They made us suffer. They made us work very hard. ⁷ Then we cried out to the Lord. He is the God of our people who lived long ago. He heard our voice. He saw how much we were suffering. The Egyptians were treating us badly. They were making us work very hard. ⁸ So the Lord used his mighty hand and powerful arm to bring us out of Egypt. He did great and terrifying things. He did signs and amazing things. ⁹ He brought us to this place. He gave us this land. It’s a land that has plenty of milk and honey. ¹⁰ Now, Lord, I’m bringing you the first share of crops from the soil. After all, you have given them to me.” Place the basket in front of the Lord your God. Bow down to him. ¹¹ Then you and the Levites and the outsiders among you will be full of joy. You will enjoy all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your family.