Deuteronomy 5:4-21

Lexham English Bible

⁴ Face to face^[a] Yahweh spoke with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire. ⁵ I was standing between Yahweh and you^[b] at that time to report^[c] to you the word of Yahweh, for you were afraid because of the presence of^[d] the fire, and so you did not go up the mountain. He said,^[e]

⁶ ‘I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ⁷ There shall not be for you other gods besides me.^[f]

⁸ ‘You shall not make for yourself a divine image of any type of form that is in the heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.

⁹ ‘You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, punishing the guilt of fathers upon their children and upon the third and upon the fourth generation of those hating me, ¹⁰ but showing loyal love to thousands of those who love me and of those who keep my commandments.

¹¹ ‘You shall not take up the name of Yahweh your God for a worthless purpose, for Yahweh will not leave unpunished anyone who uses his name for a worthless purpose.

¹² ‘Observe the Sabbath day^[g] to make it holy,^[h] just as Yahweh your God has commanded you. ¹³ Six days you shall work, and you shall do all of your work, ¹⁴ but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto Yahweh your God; you shall not do any work, or your son, or your daughter, or your slave, or your slave woman, or your ox, or your donkey, or any of your domestic animals, or your resident alien who is in your towns,^[i] so that your slave and your slave woman may rest as you rest. ¹⁵ And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm; therefore, Yahweh your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath.^[j]

¹⁶ ‘Honor your father and your mother, as Yahweh your God commanded you, so that it will be good for you^[k] in the land^[l] that Yahweh your God is giving to you.

¹⁷ ‘You shall not murder.

¹⁸ ‘And you shall not commit adultery.

¹⁹ ‘And you shall not steal.

²⁰ ‘And you shall not falsely bear evidence against your neighbor.

²¹ ‘And you shall not covet the wife of your neighbor, and you shall not crave the house of your neighbor, his field or his slave or his slave woman or his ox and his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.’^[m]

²² “These words Yahweh spoke to your whole assembly at the mountain from the midst of the fire and the very thick cloud with a loud voice, and he did not add anything,^[n] and then he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. ²³ And then^[o] when you heard^[p] the voice from the midst of the darkness, and as the mountain was burning with fire, and and all the heads of your tribes and your elders approached me, ²⁴ you said, ‘Look, Yahweh our God has shown us his glory and his greatness, and we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire; this day we have seen^[q] that God can speak with a human being, yet he remains alive.^{[r] 25} And so then why shall we die, for this great fire will consume us if we continue^[s] to hear the voice of Yahweh our God any longer, and so we shall die? ²⁶ For who is there of all flesh who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire as we have heard it and remained alive?^{[t] 27} You go near and hear everything^[u] that Yahweh our God will say; and then you tell us all that Yahweh our God tells you, and we will listen, and we will do it.’

²⁸ “And Yahweh heard the sound of your words when you spoke to me,^[v] and Yahweh said to me, ‘I have heard the sound of the words of this people that they have spoken to you; they are right with respect to all that they have spoken. ²⁹ If only^[w] they had such a mind’;^[x] that is, to fear me and to keep all my commandments at all times,^[y] so that it will go well^[z] for them and for their children forever.^{[aa] 30} Go! Say to them, “Return to your tents.” ³¹ But you stand here with me, and let me tell you all of the commandments and the rules and the regulations that you shall teach them, so that they may do them in the land that I am giving to them to take possession of it.’

³² “So you must be careful to do just as Yahweh your God commanded you; you shall not turn to the right or to the left. ³³ In exactly the path^[ab] that Yahweh your God has commanded, you must go, so that you may live and it will go well^[ac] for you and you may live long^[ad] in the land that you will take possession of.”

Detailed Stipulations

6 “Now this is the commandment, the rules and the regulations, that Yahweh your God charged to teach to you for you to observe^[ae] in the land that you are about to cross over into^[af] to take possession of it, ² so that you may revere Yahweh your God by keeping all his statutes and his commandments that I am commanding you, you and your children and grandchildren,^[ag] all the days of your life and so you may live long^[ah] lives. ³ And you shall hear, Israel, and be careful to observe these instructions, so that it may go well for you^[ai] and that you may multiply greatly, just as Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,^[aj] promised^[ak] you, in a land with milk and honey.

⁴ “Hear, Israel, Yahweh our God, Yahweh is unique.^{[al] 5} And you shall love Yahweh your God with all of your heart^[am] and with all of your soul^[an] and with all of your might. ⁶ And these words that I am commanding you today^[ao] shall be on^[ap] your heart.^{[aq] 7} And you shall recite them to your children, and you shall talk about them at the time of your living in your house and at the time of your going on the road and at the time of your lying down and at the time of your rising up. ⁸ And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as an emblem between your eyes. ⁹ And you shall write them on the doorframe of your house and on your gates.

¹⁰ “And then it will happen that when Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that he swore to your ancestors,^[ar] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to you large and fine cities that you did not build, ¹¹ and houses full of all sorts of good things^[as] that you did not fill, and hewn cisterns that you did not hew, vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant, and you have eaten your fill,^{[at] 12} then take care for yourself, so that you do not forget Yahweh, who brought you out from the land of Egypt from the house of slavery.

¹³ “You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear. ¹⁴ You shall not go after other gods from the gods of the peoples who are all around you, ¹⁵ for Yahweh your God is a jealous god in your midst, so that the anger of Yahweh your God would be kindled,^[au] and he would destroy you from the face of the earth. ¹⁶ You shall not put Yahweh your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. ¹⁷ You shall diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your God and his legal provisions and his rules that he has commanded you. ¹⁸ And you shall do what is right and good in the eyes of Yahweh, so that it shall go well^[av] for you and so that you may go and you may take possession of the good land that Yahweh swore for your ancestors,^{[aw] 19} by driving out all of your enemies before you,^[ax] just as Yahweh has promised.^[ay]

²⁰ “When your child^[az] asks you in the future, saying,^[ba] ‘What is the meaning of the legal provisions and the rules and the regulations that Yahweh our God commanded for you?’ ²¹ Then you shall say to your child,^[bb] ‘We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, and Yahweh brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand. ²² And Yahweh gave great and awesome signs and wonders in Egypt against Pharaoh and against his entire household in our presence.^{[bc] 23} But he brought us out from there in order to bring us here to give us the land that he swore to our ancestors.^{[bd] 24} And so Yahweh commanded us to observe all of these rules and to revere Yahweh our God for our benefit^[be] all the days that we live,^[bf] as it is today.^{[bg] 25} And it shall be righteousness for us if we diligently observe and do all of this commandment before^[bh] Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us.’

7 “When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you are about to enter into it^[bi] to take possession of it, and he drives^[bj] out many nations before you,^[bk] the Hittites^[bl] and the Girgashites^[bm] and the Amorites^[bn] and the Canaanites^[bo] and the Hivites^[bp] and the Jebusites,^[bq] seven nations mightier and more numerous than you, ² and Yahweh your God will give them over to you^[br] and you defeat them, you must utterly destroy them;^[bs] you shall not make a covenant with them, and you shall not show mercy to them. ³ And you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son; and you shall not take his daughter for your son.^{[bt] 4} For their^[bu] sons and daughters will cause your son^[bv] to turn away from following me,^[bw] and so they will serve other gods, and the anger of Yahweh would be kindled^[bx] against you, and he would quickly destroy you. ⁵ But this is what you must do to them: you shall break down their altars, and their stone pillars you shall smash, and their Asherah poles you shall hew down, and you shall burn their idols with fire. ⁶ For you are a holy people for Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be for him a people, a treasured possession from among all the peoples that are on the face^[by] of the earth.

⁷ “Yahweh loved you and chose you not because of your great number^[bz] exceeding all other peoples, for you are fewer than all of the peoples, ⁸ but^[ca] because of^[cb] the love of Yahweh for you and because of his keeping of the sworn oath that he swore to your ancestors,^[cc] Yahweh brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. ⁹ So know that Yahweh your God, he is God, the trustworthy God, maintaining his^[cd] covenant and his^[ce] loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments to a thousand generations,^{[cf] 10} but repaying those^[cg] who hate him in their own person^[ch] to destroy them;^[ci] he is not slow with those who hate him in their own person;^[cj] he repays them.^{[ck] 11} And so you shall keep the commandment and the rules and the regulations that I am commanding you today^[cl] to observe them.

¹² “And then^[cm] because you listen to these regulations and you diligently keep and you do them, then Yahweh your God will maintain his^[cn] covenant and his^[co] loyal love that he swore to your ancestors.^{[cp] 13} And he will love you, and he will bless you, and he will multiply you, and he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your grain, your wine, and your olive oil, and newborn calves of your cattle, and the newborn lambs^[cq] of your flocks in the land that he swore to your ancestors^[cr] to give you. ¹⁴ You shall be blessed more than all of the peoples; among you there shall not be sterility and bareness, even^[cs] among domestic animals.^{[ct] 15} And Yahweh will turn away from you all the illness and all the harmful diseases of Egypt that you experienced; he will not lay them on you, but he will lay them on all of those who hate you. ¹⁶ And you shall devour all of the peoples that Yahweh your God is giving to you; you shall not pity them,^[cu] and you shall not serve their gods, which will be a snare for you.

¹⁷ “If you think in your heart, ‘These nations are more numerous than I, so how can I dispossess them?’ ¹⁸ then remember you must not be afraid of them; you must well remember what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt: ¹⁹ the great trials that your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the workings of the strong hand and the outstretched arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out; so Yahweh your God will do to all of the peoples because of whom^[cv] you are in fear before them.^{[cw] 20} And, moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornets^[cx] among them until both the survivors and the fugitives are destroyed^[cy] before you.^{[cz] 21} You must not be in dread from the presence of them, because Yahweh your God, who is in your midst, is a great and awesome God. ²² And Yahweh your God will clear away these nations from before you^[da] little by little; you will not be able to finish them off quickly, lest^[db] the wild animals^[dc] multiply^[dd] against you.^{[de] 23} But Yahweh your God will give them to you,^[df] and he will throw them into great panic until they are destroyed.^{[dg] 24} And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall blot out their names^[dh] from under the heaven; anyone will not be able to stand against you^[di] until you destroy them.^{[dj] 25} You shall burn the images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, and so you take it for yourself, so that you are not ensnared by it, for it is a detestable thing to Yahweh your God. ²⁶ And you must not bring a detestable thing into your house, or you will become a thing devoted to destruction like it; you must utterly detest it, and you must utterly abhor it, for it is an object devoted to destruction.

8 “All of the commandments^[dk] that I am commanding you today you must diligently observe, so that you may live and multiply, and you may go and take possession of the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors.^{[dl] 2} And you shall remember all of the way that Yahweh your God led you during these forty years in the desert in order to humble you and to test you to know what is in your heart, whether you would diligently keep his commandments or not. ³ And he humbled you and let you go hungry, and then he fed you with that which you did not know nor did your ancestors^[dm] know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone but by all that goes out^[dn] of the mouth of Yahweh humankind shall live. ⁴ Your clothing did not wear out on you,^[do] and your feet did not swell during these forty years. ⁵ And you should know with your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so Yahweh your God is disciplining you.^{[dp] 6} So you must keep the commandments of Yahweh your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. ⁷ For Yahweh your God is bringing you to a good land with streams of water, springs and underground water, welling up in the valleys^[dq] and in the hills,^{[dr] 8} to a land of wheat and barley and vines^[ds] and fig trees^[dt] and pomegranate trees,^[du] a land of olive trees,^[dv] olive oil and honey; ⁹ to a land where you may eat food in it without scarcity;^[dw] you will not find anything lacking in it, a land where its stones are iron and from its mountains you can mine copper. ¹⁰ And you will eat, and you will be satisfied,^[dx] and you will bless Yahweh your God because of the good land that he has given to you.

¹¹ “Take care for yourself so that you not forget Yahweh your God by not keeping his commandments and his regulations and his statutes that I am commanding you today,^{[dy] 12} lest when you have eaten and you are satisfied and you have built good houses and you live in them, ¹³ and your herds and your flocks have multiplied, and you have accumulated silver and gold,^[dz] and all that you have^[ea] has multiplied, ¹⁴ then your heart becomes proud^[eb] and you forget Yahweh your God, the one who brought you out^[ec] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, ¹⁵ the one leading you in the great and terrible desert infested with dangerous^[ed] snakes^[ee] and scorpions^[ef] and parched ground, where there is^[eg] no water, and the one bringing out water for you from flint rock, ¹⁶ the one feeding you^[eh] manna in the desert, food that your ancestors^[ei] did not know, in order to humble you and in order to test you so that he could do good to you in the future.^{[ej] 17} And you may think^[ek] in your heart, ‘My strength and the might of my hand acquired this wealth for^[el] me.’ ¹⁸ But you must remember Yahweh your God, for he is the one giving you strength to acquire wealth in order to confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors^[em] as it is today.^{[en] 19} And it will happen that if you indeed forget Yahweh your God and you go after other gods and you serve them and you bow down before them, I warn you today that you will surely perish. ²⁰ As with the nations that Yahweh is destroying before you,^[eo] so you shall perish because you would not obey the voice of Yahweh your God.

9 “Hear, Israel, you are about to cross the Jordan today to go to dispossess nations larger and more numerous than you, great cities fortified with high walls,^{[ep] 2} a great and tall people, the sons of the Anakites, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who could stand before the sons of Anak?’ ³ You should know today^[eq] that Yahweh your God is the one crossing ahead of you^[er] as a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will subdue them before you; so you will dispossess them, and you will destroy them quickly, just as^[es] Yahweh promised^[et] you.

⁴ “You shall not say to yourself^[eu] when Yahweh your God is driving them out^[ev] before you,^[ew] saying,^[ex] ‘Because of my righteousness Yahweh brought me to take possession of this land’; but because of the wickedness of these nations Yahweh is driving them out before you.^{[ey] 5} It is not because of your righteousness and because of the uprightness of your heart that you are coming to take possession of their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations Yahweh your God is driving them before you,^[ez] and in order to confirm the promise^[fa] that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,^[fb] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

⁶ “So you should understand that it is not because of your righteousness that Yahweh your God is giving you this good land to take possession of it, because you are a stubborn people. ^{[fc] 7} Remember, do not forget,^[fd] that you provoked Yahweh your God in the desert, and from the day that you went out from the land of Egypt until you came to this place^[fe] you were rebelling against Yahweh.

⁸ “And remember at Horeb you provoked Yahweh, and Yahweh became angry enough to destroy you. ⁹ When I went up the mountain^[ff] to receive the stone tablets,^[fg] the tablets of the covenant that Yahweh made^[fh] with you, and remained on the mountain forty days^[fi] and forty nights,^[fj] I did not eat food and I did not drink water. ¹⁰ And Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them was writing according to all the words that Yahweh spoke with you at the mountain, from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. ¹¹ And then^[fk] at the end of forty days^[fl] and forty nights,^[fm] Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. ¹² And Yahweh said to me, ‘Come now, go down quickly from this mountain because your people behave corruptly whom you brought out from Egypt, for they turned quickly from the way that I commanded them to follow; they have made for themselves a cast image.’ ¹³ And Yahweh spoke to me, saying,^[fn] ‘I have seen this people, and look! They are a stubborn people.^{[fo] 14} Leave me alone, and let me destroy them, and let me blot out their name from under heaven, and let me make you into a nation mightier and more numerous than they!’

¹⁵ “And I turned, and I went down the mountain, as the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. ¹⁶ And I looked,^[fp] and indeed you had sinned against Yahweh your God; you had made for yourselves an image of a calf of cast metal; ^[fq] you had turned quickly from the way that Yahweh had commanded for you. ¹⁷ And I took hold of the two tablets, and I threw them out of^[fr] my two hands and smashed them before your eyes. ¹⁸ And then I lay prostrate before^[fs] Yahweh, as earlier, forty days^[ft] and forty nights;^[fu] I did not eat food and I did not drink water because of all your sins that you committed, by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh and so provoking him. ¹⁹ For I was in dread^[fv] from being in the presence of the anger and the wrath with which Yahweh was angry with you so as to destroy you, but Yahweh listened to me also at that time.^{[fw] 20} And with Aaron Yahweh was angry enough^[fx] to destroy him, and I prayed also for Aaron at that time. ²¹ And your sinful thing that you had made, the molten calf, I took and I burned it with fire, and I crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was crushed to dust, and I threw its dust into the stream that flowed down the mountain.^[fy]

²² “And also at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to anger. ²³ And when Yahweh sent you out from Kadesh Barnea, saying,^[fz] ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ you rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God, and you did not believe him, and you did not listen to his voice. ²⁴ You have been rebellious toward Yahweh from the day I have known you.^[ga]

²⁵ “And I lay prostrate before Yahweh through forty days,^[gb] and through forty nights^[gc] I prostrated myself, because Yahweh intended to kill you. ²⁶ And I prayed to Yahweh, and I said, ‘Lord Yahweh, you must not destroy your people and your inheritance whom you redeemed in your greatness,^[gd] whom you brought out from Egypt with a strong hand. ²⁷ Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; you must not pay attention to^[ge] the stubbornness of this people, to their wickedness and to their sin, ²⁸ lest the people of the land from which you brought us out from there say, “Because Yahweh was not able to bring them to the land that he promised^[gf] to them and because of his hatred toward them, he has brought them out to kill them in the desert.” ²⁹ For they are your people and your inheritance whom you brought with your great power and with your outstretched arm.’

10 “At that time Yahweh said to me, ‘Carve for yourself two tablets of stone just as the former ones, and come up the mountain to me, and you shall make for yourself an ark of wood. ² And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets, which you smashed, and you must put them in the ark.’ ³ And so I made an ark of acacia wood,^[gg] and I carved two tablets of stone like the former ones, and I went up the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. ⁴ And he wrote upon the tablets according to the first writing,^[gh] the ten words that Yahweh spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly, and Yahweh gave them to me. ⁵ And I turned, and I came down from the mountain, and I put the tablets in the ark that I had made, and they are there, just as Yahweh commanded me.

⁶ “And the Israelites^[gi] journeyed from the wells of Bene-Yaqan to Moserah; there Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar, his son, served as a priest in place of him. ⁷ From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land flowing with streams of water. ⁸ At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to stand before^[gj] Yahweh, to serve him and to bless the people in his name until this day. ⁹ Therefore there was not^[gk] for Levi an allotment or an inheritance along with his brothers; rather Yahweh is his inheritance just as Yahweh your God promised^[gl] to him.

¹⁰ And I stayed on the mountain just as during the former forty days^[gm] and forty nights,^[gn] and Yahweh listened to me also on that occasion;^[go] Yahweh was not willing to destroy you. ¹¹ And Yahweh said to me, ‘Come, continue^[gp] your journey before the people, ^[gq] so that you may go and take possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors^[gr] to give to them.’

¹² And now, Israel, what is Yahweh your God asking^[gs] from you, except^[gt] to revere Yahweh your God, to go^[gu] in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,^{[gv] 13} to keep the commandments of Yahweh and his statutes that I am commanding you today for your own good.^{[gw] 14} Look! For to Yahweh your God belong^[gx] heaven and the highest heavens,^[gy] the earth and all that is in it. ¹⁵ Yet^[gz] to your ancestors^[ha] Yahweh was very attached, so as to love them, and so he chose their offspring after them, namely you, from all the peoples, as it is today.^{[hb] 16} So you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and do not be stubborn.^{[hc] 17} For Yahweh your God, he is God of the gods and Lord of the lords, the great and mighty God, the awesome one who is not partial,^[hd] and he does not take bribes. ¹⁸ And he executes justice for the orphan and widow, and he is one who loves the alien, to give to them food and clothing. ¹⁹ And you shall love the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. ²⁰ Yahweh your God, you shall revere him, you shall serve him, and to him you shall cling, and by his name you shall swear. ²¹ He is your praise, and he is your God, who has done with you these great and awesome things that your eyes have seen. ²² With only seventy persons your ancestors^[he] went down to Egypt, but now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the heaven with respect to multitude.^[hf]

11 “And you shall love Yahweh your God, and you shall keep his obligations and his statutes and his regulations and his commandments always.^{[hg] 2} And you shall realize today^[hh] that it is not with your children who have not known and who have not seen the discipline of Yahweh your God—his greatness, his strong hand, and his outstretched arm, ³ and his signs and his deeds that he did in the midst of Egypt to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to all of his land, ⁴ and what he did to the army of Egypt and to their horses and to their chariots, and how he made the water of the Red Sea^[hi] flow over them, when they pursued after them,^[hj] and so Yahweh has destroyed them, as is the case today,^{[hk] 5} and what he did to you in the desert until you came up to this place, ⁶ and what he did to Dathan and to Abiram, the sons of Eliab, the son of Reuben, how the earth opened its mouth wide and swallowed them, their households and their tents, and all of the living creatures^[hl] that were in their possession and that were following along with them^[hm] in the midst of all of Israel. ⁷ The fact of the matter is, your own eyes have seen^[hn] all of the great deeds^[ho] of Yahweh that he did.

⁸ “And you must keep all of the commandments^[hp] that I am commanding you today,^[hq] so that you may have strength and you may go and you may take possession of that land to which you are crossing^[hr] to take possession of it, ⁹ so that you may live long^[hs] on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,^[ht] to give it to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ For the fact is that the land that you are about to go into^[hu] to take possession of it is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come out of,^[hv] where you sow your seed and you give water by your foot, as in a vegetable garden.^{[hw] 11} But the land that you are about to cross into to take possession of it is a land of hills and valleys, and by the rain of the heaven it drinks water, ¹² a land that Yahweh your God is caring for it; continually the eyes of Yahweh your God are on it, from the beginning of the year up to the end of the year.

¹³ “And it will happen that if you listen carefully to my commandments that I am commanding you today,^[hx] to love Yahweh your God, and to serve him with all of your heart and with all of your soul,^{[hy] 14} then ‘I will send the rain for your land in its season, early rain and later rain, and you will gather your grain and your wine and your olive oil. ¹⁵ And I will give vegetation in your field for your livestock, and you will eat your fill.’^{[hz] 16} Take care^[ia] so that your heart is not easily deceived, and you turn away, and you serve other gods, and you bow down to them. ¹⁷ And then the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you,^[ib] and he will shut up the heavens,^[ic] and there shall not be rain, and so the ground will not give its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land that Yahweh is giving to you.

¹⁸ “And you shall put these, my words, on your heart and on your inner self,^[id] and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be as an emblem between your eyes. ¹⁹ And you shall teach them to your children^[ie] by talking about them when you sit in your house and when you travel on the road and when you lie down and when you get up. ²⁰ And you shall write them on the doorframes of your house and on your gates, ²¹ so that they may multiply your days and the days of your children on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors^[if] to give it to them as long as heaven endures over the earth.^{[ig] 22} Yes, if you diligently keep all^[ih] this commandment that I am commanding you to observe it, ^[ii] by loving Yahweh your God by walking in^[ij] all his ways and by holding fast to him, ²³ then Yahweh will drive out all of these nations before you,^[ik] and you will dispossess nations larger and more numerous than you. ²⁴ Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, it shall be yours; your boundary shall be from the desert and Lebanon from the river, the river Euphrates, on up to the western sea.^{[il] 25} No one can take a stand against you;^[im] your dread and your fear Yahweh your God will put on the surface^[in] of all the land where you tread,^[io] just as he promised^[ip] to you.

²⁶ “See, I am setting before you^[iq] today^[ir] a blessing and a curse: ²⁷ the blessing, if you listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God that I am commanding you today,^{[is] 28} and the curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, but rather you turn from the way that I am commanding you today^[it] to go after other gods that you have not known.

²⁹ “And it will happen that when Yahweh your God has brought you to the land that you are going to,^[iu] to take possession of it, then^[iv] you shall pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. ³⁰ (Are they not beyond the Jordan, toward the west,^[iw] in the land of the Canaanites living in the Jordan Valley,^[ix] opposite Gilgal beside the terebinth^[iy] of Moreh?) ³¹ For you are now about to cross the Jordan to go to take possession of the land that Yahweh, your God, is giving to you, and you will take possession of it and live in it, ³² and you must diligently observe^[iz] all the rules and the regulations that I am setting before you^[ja] today.”^[jb]

Detailed Stipulations: Purity and Unity

12 “These are the rules and the regulations that you must diligently observe^[jc] in the land that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,^[jd] has given to you to take possession of it, during all the days that you are living on the land.

² You must completely demolish all of the places there where they served their gods, that is, the nations whom you are about to dispossess, on the high mountains, and on the hills and under each leafy green tree.^{[je] 3} And you shall break down their altars, and you shall smash their stone pillars, and their Asherah poles you must burn with fire, and the images of their gods you shall hew down, and you shall blot out their names from that place. ⁴ You shall not worship Yahweh your God like this. ⁵ But only^[jf] to the place that Yahweh your God will choose from all of your tribes to place his name there as his dwelling shall you seek, and there you shall go. ⁶ And you shall bring there your burnt offerings and your sacrifices and your tithes and your donations^[jg] and your votive gifts and your freewill offerings and the firstling of your herd and your flock. ⁷ And you shall eat there before^[jh] Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice in all your endeavors,^[ji] you and your family in which Yahweh your God has blessed you.

⁸ “You must not do just as we are doing here today,^[jj] each according to all that is right in his eyes.^{[jk] 9} For you have not come up to now to the resting place and to the inheritance that Yahweh your God is giving to you. ¹⁰ But you will cross the Jordan, and you will settle in the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give rest to you from all your enemies from all around, and you will live securely, ¹¹ and then^[jl] at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there, there you shall bring all the things I am commanding you, your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and your donations,^[jm] and all of the choice things, your votive gifts that you vow to Yahweh. ¹² And you shall rejoice before^[jn] Yahweh your God, you and your sons and your daughters and your slaves and your slave women and the Levite who is in your towns,^[jo] because there is not for him a plot of ground and an inheritance with you.

¹³ “Take care for yourself so that you do not offer your burnt offerings at just any place that you happen to see, ¹⁴ but only^[jp] at the place that Yahweh will choose among one of your tribes; there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all the things that I am commanding you.

¹⁵ “But whenever you desire^[jq] you may slaughter, and you may eat meat according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you in all of your towns;^[jr] the unclean and the clean may eat it just as they would the gazelle and as the deer. ¹⁶ Only the blood you must not eat, but on the ground you must pour it like water. ¹⁷ You are not allowed to eat in your towns^[js] the tithe of your grain and your wine and your olive oil and the firstborn of your herd and your flock and all of your votive gifts that you vowed and your freewill offering and your donations.^{[jt] 18} But only before^[ju] Yahweh your God you shall eat it, at the place that Yahweh your God will choose,^[jv] you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite who is in your towns,^[jw] and you must rejoice before^[jx] your God in all your undertakings.^{[jy] 19} Take care^[jz] so that you do not neglect the Levite all of your days on your land.

²⁰ “When Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he has promised^[ka] to you, and you say ‘I want to eat some meat,’ because you want it,^[kb] whenever you desire^[kc] you may eat meat. ²¹ If the place that^[kd] Yahweh your God will choose to put his name there is too far from you, and you slaughter any of your herd and any of your flock that Yahweh has given to you just as I have commanded you, then you may eat whenever you desire in your towns.^{[ke] 22} Surely just as the gazelle and the deer is eaten, so both the unclean and the clean together may eat it. ²³ Only, be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat. ²⁴ You shall not eat it, but on the ground you shall pour it out like water. ²⁵ You shall not eat it, so that it will go well^[kf] for you and your children after you, because then you will be doing what is^[kg] right in the eyes of Yahweh. ²⁶ Only your holy objects that are yours^[kh] and your votive gifts you must carry and you must bring to the place that Yahweh will choose. ²⁷ And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood on the altar of Yahweh your God, and the blood of your sacrifices you shall pour out on the altar of Yahweh your God, but the meat you may eat. ²⁸ Be careful to obey^[ki] all these things that I am commanding you, so that it will go well^[kj] for you and for your children after you forever,^[kk] because then you will be doing what is^[kl] good and right^[km] in the eyes of Yahweh your God.

²⁹ “When Yahweh your God has cut off the nations whom you are about to go to,^[kn] to dispossess them before you,^[ko] and you have dispossessed them, and you live in their land, ³⁰ take care^[kp] so that you are not ensnared into imitating them^[kq] after their being destroyed from before you,^[kr] and so that you not enquire concerning their gods, saying,^[ks] ‘How did these nations serve their gods, and thus I myself^[kt] want to do also.’ ³¹ You must not do so toward Yahweh your God, because of every detestable thing they have done for their gods Yahweh hates, for even their sons and their daughters they would burn in the fire to their gods. ^32 [ku] All of the things^[kv] that I am commanding you, you must diligently observe;^[kw] you shall not add to it, and you shall not take away from it.”

13 “If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams^[kx] and he gives to you a sign or wonder, ² and the sign or^[ky] the wonder comes about that he spoke^[kz] to you, saying,^[la] ‘Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,’ ³ you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God is testing you to know whether you love^[lb] Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all of your inner self.^{[lc] 4} You shall go after Yahweh your God, and him you shall revere, and his commandment you shall keep, and to his voice you shall listen, and him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast. ⁵ But that prophet or the dreamer of that dream shall be executed, for he spoke falsely about Yahweh your God, the one bringing you out from the land of Egypt and the one redeeming you from the house of slavery, in order to seduce you from the way that Yahweh your God commanded you to go in it; so in this way you shall purge the evil from your midst.

⁶ “If your brother, the son of your mother or your son or your daughter or your wife whom you embrace^[ld] or your intimate friend^[le] in secrecy says,^[lf] ‘Let us go and let us serve other gods!’ gods that you and your ancestors^[lg] have not known, ⁷ from among the gods of the people who are around you, those near you or those far from you,^[lh] from one end of the earth and up to the other end of the earth, ⁸ you must not give in to him, and you shall not listen to him, and your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall not have compassion, and you shall not cover up^[li] for him. ⁹ But you shall certainly kill him; your hand shall be first against him to kill him and next the hand of all of the people. ¹⁰ And you shall stone him with stones and let him die, for he tried to seduce you from Yahweh your God, the one bringing you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ¹¹ And all of Israel shall hear, and they shall fear, and they shall not continue to act^[lj] according to this evil thing in your midst.

¹² “If you hear in one of your towns which Yahweh your God is giving to you to live in, someone saying that^{[lk] 13} worthless men^[ll] have gone out from your midst and have seduced the inhabitants of their town, saying,^[lm] ‘Let us go and serve other gods!’ whom you have not known, ¹⁴ then you shall inquire and examine and interrogate thoroughly, and, look! It is true; the thing has actually been done, this detestable thing in your midst, ¹⁵ then you shall certainly strike down the inhabitants of that town with the edge^[ln] of the sword; you shall destroy it and everything in it, its domestic animals with the edge^[lo] of the sword. ¹⁶ And then you shall gather all of its booty into the middle of its public square, and you shall burn the town and all of its war-booty totally for Yahweh your God, and it shall be a pile of rubble forever;^[lp] it shall not be built again. ¹⁷ And let not something cling to your hand from the things devoted to destruction, so that Yahweh may turn back from his burning anger,^[lq] and he may show compassion to you and he may continue to show compassion and so multiply you just as he swore^[lr] to your ancestors,^{[ls] 18} if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep all of his commandments that I am commanding to you today^[lt] so as to do the right thing in the eyes of Yahweh your God.”

14 “You are children^[lu] of Yahweh your God; therefore you must not gash^[lv] yourself, and you must not make your forehead bald^[lw] for the dead. ² For you are a people holy to Yahweh your God, and you Yahweh has chosen to be a treasured possession from among all of the peoples that are on the surface^[lx] of the earth.

³ You shall not eat any detestable thing. ⁴ These are the animals you may eat: ox, sheep, goats,^{[ly] 5} deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep. ⁶ And any animal having a split hoof^[lz] and so a dividing of the hoof into two parts^[ma] and that chews the cud^[mb] among the animals^[mc]—that animal you may eat. ⁷ Only these you may not eat from those chewing the cud^[md] and from those having a division of the hoof:^[me] the camel and the hare and the coney, because they chew the cud,^[mf] but they do not divide the hoof; they are therefore unclean for you. ⁸ And also the pig because it has a division of the hoof^[mg] but does not chew the cud;^[mh] it is unclean for you; from their meat you shall not eat, and you shall not touch their carcasses.^[mi]

⁹ “This is what you shall eat from all that is in the water: everything^[mj] that has fins and scales^[mk] you may eat. ¹⁰ But anything that does not have^[ml] fins and scales, you may not eat, for it is unclean for you.

¹¹ “All of the birds that are clean you may eat. ¹² Now these are the ones you shall not eat any of them:^[mm] the eagle and the vulture and the short-toed eagle,^{[mn] 13} and the red kite^[mo] and the black kite or any kind of falcon,^{[mp] 14} and any kind of crow^[mq] according to its kind, ¹⁵ and the ostrich^[mr] and the short-eared owl and the seagull^[ms] and the hawk according to its kind, ¹⁶ the little owl and the great owl and the barn owl,^{[mt] 17} and the desert owl^[mu] and the carrion vulture^[mv] and the cormorant,^{[mw] 18} and the stork and the heron according to its kind and the hoopoe and the bat. ¹⁹ And also all of the winged insects;^[mx] they are unclean for you; you shall not eat them. ²⁰ You may eat any clean bird.

²¹ “You shall not eat any carcass;^[my] you may give it to the alien who is in your towns,^[mz] and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are a holy people for Yahweh your God; you may not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.

²² “Certainly you must give a tithe of all the yield of your seed, which comes forth from your field year after year.^{[na] 23} And you shall eat before^[nb] Yahweh your God in the place that he will choose to make to dwell his name there the tithe of your grain, your wine and your olive oil and the firstling of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to revere Yahweh your God always.^{[nc] 24} But if the distance is too great for you,^[nd] so that you are not able to transport^[ne] it, because the place that Yahweh your God will choose to set his name there, it is too far from you, when Yahweh your God will bless you, ²⁵ then in that case you may exchange for money,^[nf] and you shall take^[ng] the money to your hand and go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose. ²⁶ You may spend the money for anything that you desire,^[nh] for oxen or for sheep or for wine or for strong drink or for anything that you desire,^[ni] and you shall eat it there before^[nj] Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. ²⁷ And as to the Levite who is in your towns,^[nk] you shall not neglect him, because there is not a plot of ground for him and an inheritance along with you.

²⁸ “At the end of three years you shall bring out all of the tithe of your yield for that year, and you shall store it in your towns.^{[nl] 29} And so the Levite may come, because there is no plot of ground for him or an inheritance with you, and the alien also may come and the orphan and the widow that are in your towns,^[nm] and they may eat their fill,^[nn] so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all of the work of your hand that you undertake.”

15 “At the end of seven years you shall grant a remission of debt. ² And this is the manner of the remission of debt: every creditor^[no] shall remit his claim that he holds against his neighbor, and he shall not exact payment from his brother because there^[np] a remission of debt has been proclaimed unto^[nq] Yahweh. ³ With respect to the foreigner you may exact payment, but you must remit^[nr] what shall be owed to you with respect to your brother. ⁴ Nevertheless, there^[ns] shall not be among you a poor person, because Yahweh will certainly bless you in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, to take possession of it. ⁵ If only you listen well to the voice of Yahweh your God by observing diligently^[nt] all of these commandments^[nu] that I am commanding you today.^{[nv] 6} When Yahweh your God has blessed you, just as he promised^[nw] to you, then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow from them, and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you. ⁷ If there is a poor person among you from among one of your brothers in one of your towns^[nx] that Yahweh your God is giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand toward your brother who is poor.^{[ny] 8} But you shall certainly open your hand for him, and you shall willingly lend^[nz] to him enough to meet his need, whatever it is.^{[oa] 9} Take care^[ob] so that there^[oc] will not be a thought of wickedness^[od] in your heart, saying,^[oe] ‘The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,’ and you view your needy neighbor with hostility,^[of] and so you do not give to him, and he might cry out against you to Yahweh, and you would incur guilt against yourself.^{[og] 10} By all means you must give to him, and you must not be discontented^[oh] at your giving to him, because on account of this very thing, Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.^{[oi] 11} For the poor^[oj] will not cease to be among you^[ok] in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying,^[ol] ‘You shall willingly open your hand to your brother, to your needy and to your poor that are in your land.’

¹² If your relative^[om] who is a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman is sold to you, and he or she has served you six years, then in the seventh year you shall send that person out free.^{[on] 13} And when you send him out free from you, you shall not send him away empty-handed. ¹⁴ You shall generously supply him from among your flocks and from your threshing floor and from your press; according to that with which Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. ¹⁵ And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you thus today.^{[oo] 16} And then if it will happen that he says to you, ‘I do not want to go out^[op] from you,’ because he loves you and your family, because it is good for him to be with you; ¹⁷ then you shall take an awl, and you shall thrust it through his earlobe and into the door, and he shall be to you a slave forever;^[oq] and you shall also do likewise for your slave woman. ¹⁸ It shall not be hard in your eyes when you send him forth free,^[or] because for six years he has served you worth twice the wage of a hired worker; and Yahweh your God will bless you in whatever you will do.^[os]

¹⁹ “Every firstling male that is born of your herd and of your flock you shall consecrate to Yahweh your God; you shall not do work with the firstling of your ox, and you shall not shear the firstling of your flock. ²⁰ Rather before Yahweh^[ot] your God you shall eat it year by year at the place Yahweh will choose, you and your household. ²¹ But if there is a physical defect in it, such as lameness or blindness, any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. ²² In your towns^[ou] you shall eat it, the unclean and the clean together may eat it, just as they eat the gazelle and as they eat the deer. ²³ But you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.”

16 “Observe the month of Abib, and you shall keep the Passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out from Egypt by night. ² And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to Yahweh your God from among your flock and herd at the place that Yahweh will choose, to let his name dwell there. ³ You shall not eat with it^[ov] anything leavened; seven days you shall eat with it^[ow] unleavened bread of affliction, because in haste you went out from the land of Egypt, so that you will remember the day of your going out from the land of Egypt all the days of your life. ⁴ And leaven shall not be seen with^[ox] you in any of your territory^[oy] for seven days, and none of the meat that you will slaughter on the evening on the first day shall remain overnight until morning. ⁵ You are not allowed to offer the Passover sacrifice in one of your towns^[oz] that Yahweh your God is giving to you, ⁶ but only at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there; you shall offer the Passover sacrifice in the evening at sunset,^[pa] at the designated time^[pb] of your going out from Egypt. ⁷ And you shall cook, and you shall eat it at the place that Yahweh your God will choose; and you may turn in the morning and go to your tents. ⁸ Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be an assembly for Yahweh your God; you shall not do work.

⁹ “You shall count off seven weeks for you; from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain^[pc] you shall begin to count seven weeks. ¹⁰ And then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the measure of the freewill offering of your hand that you shall give just as Yahweh your God has blessed you. ¹¹ And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that is in your towns^[pd] and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there. ¹² And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and so you shall diligently observe^[pe] these rules.

¹³ “You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for yourselves^[pf] seven days at the gathering in of the produce^[pg] from your threshing floor and from your press; ¹⁴ and you shall rejoice at your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite and the orphan and the widow that are in your towns.^{[ph] 15} Seven days you shall celebrate your feast to Yahweh your God at the place Yahweh will choose, for Yahweh your God shall bless you in all of your produce^[pi] and in all of the work of your hand, and you shall surely be rejoicing.^{[pj] 16} Three times in the year all of your males shall appear before ^[pk] Yahweh your God at the place that he will choose, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before Yahweh^[pl] empty-handed. ¹⁷ Each person shall give as he is able,^[pm] that is, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you.

¹⁸ “You shall appoint judges and officials for you in all your towns^[pn] that Yahweh your God is giving to you throughout your tribes, and you shall render for the people righteous judgments.^{[po] 19} You shall not subvert^[pp] justice; you shall not show partiality;^[pq] and you shall not take a bribe, for the bribe makes blind the eyes of the wise and misrepresents the words of the righteous. ²⁰ Justice, only justice^[pr] you shall pursue, so that you may live, and you shall take possession of the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you. ²¹ You shall not plant for yourselves^[ps] an Asherah pole^[pt] beside the altar of Yahweh your God that you make for yourselves.^{[pu] 22} And you shall not set up for yourselves a stone pillar, a thing that Yahweh your God hates.

17 “You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or sheep that has a physical defect^[pv] of anything seriously wrong,^[pw] for that is a detestable thing to Yahweh your God. ² If there is found in one of your towns^[px] that Yahweh your God is giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant ³ and by going and serving other gods and so he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any of the host of heaven which I have forbidden,^{[py] 4} and it is reported to you or you hear about it and you enquire about it thoroughly and, indeed,^[pz] the trustworthiness of the deed^[qa] has been established, it has occurred,^[qb] this detestable thing, in Israel, ⁵ then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has^[qc] done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones to death.^{[qd] 6} On the evidence of^[qe] two or three witnesses the person shall be put to death.^[qf] The person^[qg] shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness. ⁷ The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person^[qh] to kill the person,^[qi] and afterward the hands^[qj] of all the people, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

⁸ “If a matter is too difficult for you,^[qk] for example disputes between blood and blood,^[ql] between legal claim and legal claim^[qm] and between assault and assault^[qn] and between matters of discernment in your towns,^[qo] then you shall get up and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose; ⁹ then you shall go to the priests and the Levites and to the judge who will be in office in those days, and you shall enquire, and they shall announce to you the verdict.^[qp]

¹⁰ “And you shall carry out exactly the decision^[qq] that they announced to you from that place that Yahweh will choose, and you shall diligently observe^[qr] according to all that they instruct you. ¹¹ And so according to the instruction of the law^[qs] that they teach you and according to the decisions that they say to you, you shall do; you shall not turn from the word that they tell you to the right or to the left. ¹² And the man who treats with contempt^[qt] so as not to listen to the priest who is standing to minister on behalf of Yahweh your God or to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall purge the evil from Israel. ¹³ And all the people will hear and will be afraid, and they will not behave presumptuously again.

¹⁴ “When you have come to that land that Yahweh your God is giving to you and you have taken possession of it and you have settled in it, and you say, ‘I will set over me a king like all the nations that are around me,’ ¹⁵ indeed, you may set a king over you whom Yahweh your God will choose, from the midst of your countrymen^[qu] you must set a king over you; you are not allowed to appoint over you a man, a foreigner, who is not your countryman.^{[qv] 16} Except, he may not make numerous^[qw] for himself horses, and he may not allow the people to to go to Egypt in order to increase horses,^[qx] for Yahweh has said to you that you may never return.^{[qy] 17} And he must not acquire many^[qz] wives for himself, so that his heart would turn aside; and he must not accumulate silver and gold for himself excessively.^[ra]

¹⁸ “And then^[rb] when he is sitting^[rc] on the throne of his kingdom, then he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll before^[rd] the Levitical priests. ¹⁹ And it shall be with him, and he shall read it^[re] all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere Yahweh your God by diligently observing^[rf] all the word of this law and these rules, ²⁰ so as not to exalt his heart above his countrymen^[rg] and not to turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left, so that he may reign long over his kingdom,^[rh] he and his children in the midst of Israel.”

18 “And there shall not be for the Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, a plot of ground and an inheritance with Israel, rather they may eat an offering made by fire as their inheritance,^[ri] for Yahweh. ² And there shall not be for them^[rj] an inheritance of land in the midst of his brothers; rather Yahweh is his inheritance, just as he promised^[rk] to them.^[rl]

³ Now this shall be the share of the priest from the people, from those who sacrifice the sacrifice,^[rm] whether it is an ox, sheep, or goat, and they shall give the priest the shoulder and the jawbones and the stomach. ⁴ The firstfruits^[rn] of your grain, your wine, and your olive oil and the firstfruits^[ro] of the fleece of your sheep you shall give to him. ⁵ For Yahweh your God has chosen him from among all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of Yahweh, he and his sons forever.^[rp]

⁶ And if a^[rq] Levite comes from one of your towns^[rr] from anywhere in Israel^[rs] where he is residing, he may come whenever he desires,^[rt] to the place that Yahweh will choose, ⁷ and he may minister in the name of Yahweh his God, just like all his brothers, the Levites who stand there^[ru] before^[rv] Yahweh. ⁸ They shall eat equal portions,^[rw] apart from what he may receive from the sale of his patrimony.^[rx]

⁹ “When you come to the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you, you must not learn to do like the detestable practices of those nations. ¹⁰ There shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, or one who practices divination,^[ry] or an interpreter of signs,^[rz] or an augur,^[sa] or sorcerer, ¹¹ or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults a spirit of the dead,^[sb] or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead.^{[sc] 12} For everyone doing these things is detestable to Yahweh, and because of these detestable things Yahweh your God is driving them out from before you.^{[sd] 13} You must be blameless before Yahweh your God. ¹⁴ For these nations that you are about to dispossess listen to interpreters of signs^[se] and to diviners, but Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do the same.

¹⁵ “Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your countrymen,^[sf] and to him you shall listen. ¹⁶ This is according to all that you asked^[sg] from Yahweh your God at Horeb, on the day of the assembly, saying,^[sh] ‘I do not want again to hear^[si] the voice of Yahweh my God, and I do not want to see again this great fire, so that I may not die!’ ¹⁷ And Yahweh said to me, ‘They are right in what they have said. ¹⁸ I will raise up a prophet for them from among their countrymen^[sj] like you, and I will place^[sk] my words into his mouth, and he shall speak to them everything that I command him.^{[sl] 19} And then^[sm] the man that will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I will hold accountable. ²⁰ However, the prophet that behaves presumptuously by speaking a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, then that prophet shall die.’ ²¹ And if you say to yourself,^[sn] ‘How can we know the word that Yahweh has not spoken to him?’ ²² Whenever what the prophet spoke in the name of Yahweh, the thing does not take place and does not come about, that is the thing that Yahweh has not spoken to him.^[so] Presumptuously the prophet spoke it; you shall not fear that^[sp] prophet.”

19 “When Yahweh your God has exterminated^[sq] the nations concerning whom Yahweh your God is giving to you their land, and you have dispossessed them, and you have settled in their towns and in their houses, ² you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it. ³ You shall prepare the roads^[sr] for yourselves, and you shall divide the regions of your land into thirds that Yahweh your God gives you as a possession, so that it will be available for any manslayer to flee there.^[ss]

⁴ “Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live there who has killed his neighbor unintentionally,^[st] and he did not hate him previously.^{[su] 5} For example,^[sv] when somebody goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut wood, and the iron head slips from the handle of the tool and strikes his neighbor and he dies, then he may flee to one of these cities, and so he may live. ⁶ He does this lest the avenger of blood might pursue after the killer, because he is hot with anger^[sw] and he overtakes him, because it is a long distance to the city of refuge, and so he kills him,^[sx] but he did not deserve a death sentence,^[sy] because he was not hating him before.^{[sz] 7} Therefore I am commanding you, saying,^[ta] ‘You shall set apart three cities.’ ⁸ Then if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory just as he swore to your ancestors^[tb] and gives^[tc] to you all the land that he promised^[td] to give to your ancestors,^{[te] 9} then if you diligently observe this entire commandment^[tf] that I am commanding you today^[tg] by loving Yahweh your God and by going^[th] in his ways at all times,^[ti] then you shall add three more cities for yourselves to these three. ¹⁰ Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed^[tj] in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance and thereby bloodguilt would be on you.^[tk]

¹¹ But if someone hates^[tl] his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up^[tm] against him and murders him,^[tn] and the murderer flees to one of these cities, ¹² then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and they shall give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall be put to death. ¹³ Your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that good will be directed toward you.^[to]

¹⁴ “You shall not move the boundary marker of your neighbor that former generations^[tp] set up on your property in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it. ¹⁵ The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict^[tq] with respect to any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person^[tr] committed; on the evidence^[ts] of two witnesses or on the evidence^[tt] of three witnesses a charge shall be sustained.^{[tu] 16} If a malicious witness^[tv] gets up to accuse^[tw] anyone to testify against him falsely, ¹⁷ then the two men to whom the legal dispute pertains^[tx] shall stand before^[ty] Yahweh, before^[tz] the priests and the judges who are in office in those days. ¹⁸ Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and if it turns out^[ua] that the witness is a false witness and he testified falsely against his brother, ¹⁹ then you shall do to him as he meant^[ub] to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst. ²⁰ And the rest^[uc] shall hear and shall fear, and they shall not continue to do such a thing again^[ud] as this evil thing in your midst. ²¹ You must show no pity:^[ue] life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.”

20 “If you go out to war against your enemies and you see a horse and a chariot, an army^[uf] larger that you, you shall not be afraid because of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, the one who brought you from the land of Egypt. ² And then^[ug] when you approach the battle, then the priest shall come near and speak to the troops. ³ And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are near today^[uh] to the battle against your enemies; do not lose heart;^[ui] you shall not be afraid, and you shall not panic, and you shall not be terrified because of them,^{[uj] 4} for Yahweh your God is going with you to fight for you against your enemies to help you.’ ⁵ And the officials shall speak to the troops, saying,^[uk] ‘Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to this house, so that he does not die in battle and another man^[ul] dedicates it. ⁶ And who is the man that has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed it? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and another man^[um] enjoys it. ⁷ And who is the man who got engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and another man^[un] marries her.’ ⁸ And the officials shall continue to speak to the troops, and they shall say, ‘What man^[uo] is afraid and disheartened?^[up] Let him go, and let him return to his house, and let him not cause the heart of his brothers to melt^[uq] like his.’ ⁹ And when the officials have finished speaking^[ur] to the army troops, then they shall appoint commanders of divisions at the head of the troops.

¹⁰ “When you approach a city to fight against it, you must offer it peace.^{[us] 11} And then^[ut] if they accept your terms of peace^[uu] and they surrender to you,^[uv] and then^[uw] all the people inhabiting it^[ux] shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you. ¹² But if they do not accept your terms of peace^[uy] and they want to make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it.^{[uz] 13} And Yahweh your God will give it into your hand, and you shall kill all its males with the edge^[va] of the sword. ¹⁴ Only the women and the little children and the domestic animals^[vb] and all that shall be in the city, all of its spoil you may loot for yourselves, and you may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that Yahweh you God has given to you. ¹⁵ Thus you shall do to all the far^[vc] cities from you, which are not from the cities of these nations located nearby.^[vd]

¹⁶ But from the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not let anything live that breathes.^{[ve] 17} Rather, you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites^[vf] and the Amorites,^[vg] the Canaanites^[vh] and the Perizzites,^[vi] the Hivites,^[vj] and the Jebusites,^[vk] just as Yahweh your God has commanded you, ¹⁸ so that they may not teach you to do like all their detestable things that they do for their gods and thereby you sin against Yahweh your God.

¹⁹ “If^[vl] you besiege a town for many days to make war against it in order to seize it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them,^[vm] for you may eat from them,^[vn] and so you must not cut them^[vo] down. Are the trees of the field humans that they should come in siege against you?^{[vp] 20} Only^[vq] the trees^[vr] that you know are not fruit trees^[vs] you may destroy and you may cut down, and you may build siege works against that city that is making war with you until it falls.”^[vt]

21 “If someone slain is found in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it and is lying in the field, and it is not known who killed him,^{[vu] 2} then your elders and your judges shall go out and shall measure the distance to the cities that are around the slain one. ³ And then^[vv] the nearest city to the slain one, the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd that has not been worked with in the field, that has not pulled a yoke, ⁴ and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a wadi that flows with water all year^[vw] and that has not been plowed and has not been sown; then there they shall break the neck of the heifer in the wadi.^[vx]