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⌂ ← DEU 17:1–17:20 → ║ ©

The Book of Deuteronomy 17

17 Do not sacrifice to Yahweh our God any cattle, sheep, or goat that has any defect. This is because Yahweh detests that kind of gift.

2 When you are living in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, suppose that some man or woman in one of your towns sins by disobeying the agreement that Yahweh has made with you. 3 Suppose that the person has worshiped other gods, the sun, the moon, or the stars. Remember that I commanded you not to do this. 4 Suppose that someone tells you of this idol worship, and you confirm that this detestable thing has happened in Israel. 5 In that case, you must take the man or woman who has sinned outside of your town. Then you must kill that person by throwing stones at him or her. 6 At least two people must confirm that they saw the person sin before you execute that person. If only one person says they saw the sin happen, you must not kill the person who is accused. 7 The people who saw the sin happen should throw stones at the guilty person. Then all the other people from that town should throw stones until the guilty person dies. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice from your community.

8 Sometimes it will be very difficult for a judge to decide what really happened. It could be that he must decide whether someone killed another on purpose or accidentally. Or, it could be that he must decide if one person or another has the legal right in a case. Or, it could be that he must decide whether someone hurt another, or the property of another. If in any town it is very difficult to know what really happened, and the judge cannot decide it, you should go to the place where Yahweh our God will choose for you to worship him. 9 There, you should explain the case to the descendants of Levi who are priests, and to the judge who is serving at that time. They should decide what should be done. 10 After they make their decision, you must do what they tell you to do. 11 Accept what they have decided, and do what they say that you should do. Do not try to change in any way what they have decided. 12 You must execute anyone who proudly disobeys the judge or the priest who stands there in the presence of Yahweh and decides what should be done. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice from all the Israelites. 13 Then after that person is executed, all the people will hear about it, and they will be afraid. None of them will proudly disobey anymore.

14 After you occupy and live in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, you might want a king to rule over you, as the nearby peoples do. 15 Yahweh our God will permit you to have a king. But, be sure that you appoint someone whom he has chosen. Your king must be an Israelite. A foreigner cannot be your king. 16 After he becomes the king, he should not own a large number of horses. He should not send people to Egypt to buy horses for him. Remember that Yahweh told you that you would never return to Egypt again. 17 And he must not marry a lot of wives. If he did that, they might cause him to stop worshipping Yahweh. And he must not obtain a lot of silver and gold.

18 When he becomes your king, he must appoint a scribe to copy these laws. The scribe must copy them from the scroll that is kept by the priests descended from Levi. 19 He must keep this new scroll near him and read from it every day of his life This is so that he may learn to have an awesome respect for Yahweh. Also, this is so that he may faithfully obey all the rules and regulations that are written in these laws. 20 If he does that, he will not think that he is more important than his fellow Israelites. And, he will completely obey Yahweh’s commands. As a result, he and his descendants will rule as kings in Israel for many years.

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