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
1Never offer an ox or a sheep that has a defect or anything seriously wrong with it as a sacrifice to the Lord your God. That would be disgusting to him.
2In one of the cities the Lord your God is giving you, there may be a man or woman among you who is doing what the Lord considers evil. This person may be disregarding the conditions of the Lord’s promise #17:2 Or “covenant.” 3by worshiping and bowing down to other gods, the sun, the moon, or the whole army of heaven. I have forbidden this. 4When you are told about it, investigate it thoroughly. If it’s true and it can be proven that this disgusting thing has been done in Israel, 5then bring the man or woman who did this evil thing to the gates of your city, and stone that person to death. 6The person can only be sentenced to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses, but no one should ever be sentenced to death on the testimony of only one witness. 7The witnesses must start the execution, then all the other people will join them in putting the person to death. You must get rid of this evil.
8There may be a case that is too hard for you to decide. It may involve murder, assault, or a dispute—any case which may be brought to court in your cities. Take this case to the place that the Lord your God will choose. 9Go to the Levitical priests and the judge who is serving at that time. Ask for their opinion, and they will give you their verdict 10at the place that the Lord will choose. Do what they tell you. Follow all their instructions carefully, 11and do what they tell you to do in their verdict. Do exactly what they tell you to do in their decision. 12If anyone deliberately disobeys the priest (who serves the Lord your God) or the judge, that person must die. You must get rid of this evil in Israel. 13When all the people hear about it, they will be afraid and will never defy ⌞God’s law⌟ again.
14You will enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You will take possession of it and live there. You will say, “Let’s have our own king like all the other nations around us.” 15Be sure to appoint the king the Lord your God will choose. He must be one of your own people. Never let a foreigner be king, because he’s not one of your own people.
16The king must never own a large number of horses or make the people return to Egypt to get more horses. The Lord has told you, “You will never go back there again.” 17The king must never have a large number of wives, or he will turn away ⌞from God⌟. And he must never own a lot of gold and silver.
18When he becomes king, he should have the Levitical priests make him a copy of these teachings on a scroll. 19He must keep it with him and read it his entire life. He will learn to fear the Lord his God and faithfully obey everything found in these teachings and laws. 20Then he won’t think he’s better than the rest of his people, and he won’t disobey these commands in any way. So he and his sons will rule for a long time in Israel.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.