Chronological
17 1 You are not to sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has a defect or any flaw in it, because that is detestable to the Lord your God.”
Death to the Idolater
2 “You may discover that a man or woman living in one of your cities that the Lord your God is about to give you has done evil in the eyes of the Lord your God by transgressing his covenant. 3 He may be following and serving other gods by bowing down to them—that is, to the sun, the moon, or to any of the heavenly host[a] (something I did not command). 4 When it is reported to you or you hear of it, you are to investigate it thoroughly. When the truth has been established that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 summon the man or the woman who did this evil thing to your city gates, and then stone the man or the woman to death. 6 Based on the testimony[b] of two or three witnesses, they must surely die, but they are not to die based on the testimony of one person. 7 Let the witnesses[c] be the first to begin executing them, then the rest of[d] the people are to follow. By doing this you will purge evil from among you.”
Deciding Difficult Cases
8 “If a case is too difficult for you to decide with respect to bloodshed,[e] civil claims,[f] assault and battery,[g] or other matters of dispute within your courts,[h] bring[i] it to the place that the Lord your God will choose. 9 Present the case[j] to the Levitical priest or the judge at that time. When you have inquired and they have announced the verdict, 10 carry out the verdict that was declared to you at the place that the Lord will choose. Carefully observe all of their instructions to you 11 in accordance with what the Law says and in accordance with the verdict that will be handed to you. You must not deviate from the verdict that they declare to you either to the right or to the left. 12 If a man presumptuously disregards the priest who is serving the Lord your God there, or the judge, that person must die so you will purge evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people who hear will be afraid and will not act presumptuously again.”
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[k] 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.”
Provision for the Descendants of Levi
18 “The Levitical priests—the whole tribe of Levi—will not have a portion or an inheritance within Israel. Instead, they will eat the burnt offerings of the Lord, because that is their inheritance. 2 But they will not have an inheritance among their relatives, because the Lord alone is their inheritance—as he promised them.”
Provision for the Priests
3 “A portion of what the people offer in sacrifice, whether cattle or sheep, is to be due the priests. They must set aside the shoulder, jowls, and stomach for the priest. 4 Give them the first gatherings of your grain, wine, and oil, as well as wool from the shearing of your flock. 5 For the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants[l] from among your tribes to stand and serve in the name of the Lord all their lives.”[m]
Provision for the Itinerant Levite
6 “Any descendant of Levi who wishes to do so may come from any city or part of Israel where he resides to the place that the Lord will choose. 7 There he may serve in the name of the Lord his God. Like his fellow descendants of Levi who stand there in the Lord’s presence, 8 he may eat the same share as they do regardless of what he receives from his ancestral estate.”
Detestable Practices
9 “When you enter the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, don’t learn the detestable practices of those nations there. 10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices[n] his son or daughter in fire, practices divination, interprets omens, practices sorcery, 11 casts spells, or who is a medium, an occultist, or a necromancer. 12 Whoever practices these things is detestable to the Lord, and the Lord your God will expel them before you because of these things. 13 You must be completely faithful to the Lord your God, 14 because those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to those who practice witchcraft and divination. But the Lord does not allow you to act this way.”
Discerning the True Prophet
15 “The Lord your God will raise up a prophet like me for you from among your relatives. You must listen to him, 16 because this is what you asked from the Lord your God at Horeb when you were assembled together: ‘Don’t let us[o] hear the voice of the Lord our God again, or even see this great fire—otherwise, we[p] will die.’
17 “Then the Lord told me: ‘What they have suggested is good. 18 I will raise up a prophet like you from among their relatives, and I will place my words in his mouth so that he may expound everything that I have commanded to them. 19 But if someone will not listen to those words that the prophet[q] speaks in my name, I will hold him accountable. 20 Even then, if the prophet speaks presumptuously in my name, which I didn’t authorize him to speak, or if he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.’ 21 Now you may ask yourselves, ‘How will we be able to discern that the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 Whenever a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the oracle does not come about or the word is not fulfilled, then the Lord has not spoken it. The prophet will have spoken presumptuously, so you need not fear him.”
Cities of Refuge
19 “When the Lord your God destroys those nations whose lands he[r] is about to give you, you must dispossess them and live in their cities and houses. 2 You must reserve[s] three cities within the land that the Lord your God is about to give you to possess. 3 Build roads throughout the land that the Lord your God is providing as an inheritance, and then divide it into three districts so that any killer may flee there.
4 “Now this is the situation for any killer who flees there to live: suppose he strikes his friend unwittingly, not having hated him previously. 5 For instance,[t] he may have accompanied his friend to go to a forest to cut trees. Then he swung his axe to cut some wood, but the ax head flew off the handle[u] and hit[v] his friend, so that he died. The killer[w] may flee to one of these cities to live. 6 Since the distance may be great, the angry avenger may overtake the killer he is pursuing and kill him, in which case there will be no justice in his death, because he did not hate his friend[x] previously. 7 Therefore I am commanding you to reserve[y] three cities.”
Increase the Cities of Refuge
8 “Now if the Lord enlarges your territories just as he promised your ancestors and gives you all the land that he promised,[z] 9 and if you are careful to observe all these commands that I am commanding you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk daily in his ways—then add three more cities in addition to these three cities. 10 You must not shed innocent blood on your land that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. Otherwise, you’ll be guilty of murder.”
Refuse Cold-Blooded Murderers
11 “However, if a person hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and attacks him so that he dies, and then he flees to one of those cities, 12 then the elders of his own city are to send for him, remove him from there, and deliver him to the related avenger for execution. 13 Have no pity on him, but totally purge the shedding of innocent blood from Israel so that life may go well with you.”
Boundary Markers
14 “When you inherit the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, don’t move your neighbor’s boundary marker from where it was placed long ago.”
Laws about Witnesses
15 “The testimony of one person alone is not to suffice to convict anyone of any iniquity, sin, or guilt. But the matter will stand on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 16 When a malicious witness takes the stand[aa] against a man and accuses him, 17 then both must stand with their dispute in the Lord’s presence, the priests, and the judges at that time. 18 The judges will investigate thoroughly. If the false witness lies in testifying against his relative, 19 do to him just as he intended to do to his relative. By doing this you will purge evil from your midst. 20 When others hear of this, they will be afraid and will not do such an evil deed again in your midst. 21 Your eyes must not show pity—life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.”
Rules of War
20 “When you go to war against your enemies and observe more horses, chariots, and soldiers[ab] than you have, don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt is with you. 2 As you draw near for battle, let the priest approach and speak to the army.[ac] 3 He will say to them, ‘Listen, Israel! You’re about to go into battle today against your enemies. Don’t be faint-hearted. Don’t be afraid, don’t panic, and don’t be terrified to face them. 4 For the Lord your God will be with you, fighting on your behalf against your enemies in order to grant you victory.’
5 “Furthermore, let the officials ask the army, ‘Is there a man here[ad] who has built a new house but has not yet dedicated it? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate it. 6 And is there a man here[ae] who has planted a vineyard and not yet benefited from it? Let him go home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man use it. 7 And is there a man here[af] who is engaged to a woman and has not yet married her? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man marry her.’
8 “Let the officials also speak to the army, ‘Is there a man here[ag] who is afraid and faint-hearted? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may demoralize his fellow soldier.’[ah]
9 “When the officials have finished speaking to the army, they must appoint officers to lead the troops.”
Rules of Peace
10 “When you approach a city to wage war against it, extend terms of peace. 11 If it agrees to peace and welcomes you, then all the people found in it will serve you as forced laborers. 12 But if they refuse to make peace with you and instead choose war, then attack it. 13 The Lord your God will deliver it into your control, and you must execute every male. 14 The women, children, all the livestock in the city, and all of the spoil and plunder will belong to you. Appropriate the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God will give you. 15 Do this to all the cities that are distant from you—that is, to those cities that are not in neighboring nations.”
Destruction of the Canaanites
16 “You are not to leave even one person alive in the cities of these nations that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. 17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, just as the Lord your God commanded you, 18 so they won’t teach you to do all the detestable things that they do for their gods. If you do what they teach you, you will sin against the Lord your God.”
Preservation of Fruit Trees
19 “When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don’t destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack them? 20 However, you may cut down the trees whose fruit[ai] you know isn’t edible, in order to build siege works against the city that waged war with you, until it falls.”
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