Deuteronomy 17
17
1Don’t sacrifice to the LORD your God any oxen or sheep that have defects of any kind, because that is detestable to the LORD your God.
Capital punishment
2If someone, whether male or female, is found in your community—in one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you—who does evil in the LORD your God’s eyes, by breaking God’s covenant, 3by following and serving other gods, and by bowing down to them, to the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly bodies that I haven’t permitted— 4and you hear news about it, then you must look into this situation very carefully. And if it’s definitely true that this detestable thing was done in Israel, 5then you must bring out the man or woman who has done this evil thing to the gates of the city. Stone that person until he or she is dead.
6Capital punishment must be decided by two or three witnesses. No one may be executed on the basis of only one testimony. 7In the execution, the hands of the witnesses must be against the guilty person from the start; the hand of all the people will be involved at the end. Remove#17.7 Or burn such evil from your community!
Legal disputes
8If some legal dispute in your cities is too difficult for you to decide—say, between different kinds of bloodshed, different kinds of legal ruling, or different kinds of injury—then take it to the location the LORD your God selects. 9Go to the levitical priests and to the head judge in office at that time and look into things there. They will announce to you the correct ruling. 10You must then act according to the ruling they announced to you from that location, the one the LORD selects. You must follow very carefully everything they instruct you to do. 11Act precisely according to the instruction they give you and the ruling they announce to you. Don’t deviate even a bit from the word they announce. 12And whoever acts rashly by not listening to the priest who is in office serving the LORD your God or to the head judge will die. Remove#17.12 Or burn such evil from Israel! 13All the people will hear about this and be afraid. They won’t act arrogantly anymore.
Law of the king
14Once you have entered the land the LORD your God is giving you and you have taken possession of it and settled down in it, you might say: “Let’s appoint a king over us, as all our neighboring nations have done.” 15You can indeed appoint over you a king that the LORD your God selects. You can appoint over you a king who is one of your fellow Israelites. You are not allowed to appoint over you a foreigner who is not one of your fellow Israelites. 16That granted, the king must not acquire too many horses, and he must not return the people to Egypt in order to acquire more horses, because the LORD told you: “You will never go back by that road again.” 17The king must not take numerous wives so that his heart doesn’t go astray. Nor can the king acquire too much silver and gold. 18Instead, when he sits on his royal throne, he himself must write a copy of this Instruction on a scroll in the presence of the levitical priests. 19That Instruction must remain with him, and he must read in it every day of his life so that he learns to revere the LORD his God by keeping all the words of this Instruction and these regulations, by doing them, 20by not being overbearing toward his fellow Israelites, and by not deviating even a bit from the commandment. If the king does all that, he will ensure lasting rule in Israel for himself and for his successors.
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Deuteronomy 17: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Deuteronomy 17
17
Administration of Justice
1“You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or sheep with a blemish or any defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.
2“If there is discovered among you, within any of your cities, which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by transgressing (violating) His covenant, 3and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, [doing these things] which I have commanded not to do, 4and if it is told to you and you hear about it, then you shall investigate thoroughly [all the charges]. If it is confirmed #17:4 Lit the word is certain.beyond doubt that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5then you shall bring that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to the gates [of your city] and you shall stone the man or the woman to death. 6#17:6 Lit By the mouth of.On the evidence of two or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of [only] one witness. 7The hand of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
8“If any case is too difficult for you to judge—between one kind of homicide and another, between one kind of lawsuit and another, between one kind of assault and another, #17:8 Lit any words of judgment.being controversial issues in your #17:8 Lit gates.courts—then you shall arise and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 9So you shall come to the Levitical priests or to the judge who is in office at that time, and you shall consult them and they will declare to you the #17:9 Lit the word of judgment.verdict in the case. 10You shall act in accordance with the terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the Lord chooses. You shall be careful to act in accordance with all of their instructions. 11You shall act in accordance with the law which they teach you and the judgment which they tell you. You shall not turn aside from their verdict, to the right or to the left. 12The man who acts presumptuously and insolently by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall remove the evil from Israel. 13Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again.
14“When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you take possession of it and live there, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15you shall most certainly set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. You shall set a king over you from among your countrymen (brothers); you may not choose a foreigner [to rule] over you who is not your countryman. 16Further, he shall not #17:16 Lit multiply for himself and so throughout.acquire many [war] horses for himself, nor make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire horses [to expand his military power], since the Lord said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17He shall not acquire multiple wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away [from God]; nor [for the same reason] shall he acquire great amounts of silver and gold.
18“Now it shall come about when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19And it shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear [and worship] the Lord his God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], by carefully obeying (keeping foremost in his thoughts and actively doing) all the words of this law and these statutes, 20so that his heart will not be lifted up above his countrymen [by a false sense of self-importance and self-reliance] and that he will not turn away (deviate) from the commandment, to the right or to the left, so that he and his sons may continue [to reign] for a long time in his kingdom in Israel.
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