Deuteronomy 17
17
1Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God an ox, or a sheep, wherein is a blemish, or any evil-favouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. 2If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, 3and hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; 4and it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, then shalt thou inquire diligently, and, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel; 5then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have done this evil thing, unto thy gates, even the man or the woman; and thou shalt stone them with stones, that they die. 6At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. 7The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
8If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgement, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; 9and thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days: and thou shalt inquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgement: 10and thou shalt do according to the tenor of the sentence, which they shall shew thee from that place which the LORD shall choose; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they shall teach thee: 11according to the tenor of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgement which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. 12And the man that doeth presumptuously, in not hearkening unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. 13And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
14When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein; and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are round about me; 15thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee, which is not thy brother. 16Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. 17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 18And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: 20that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.
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Deuteronomy 17: RV1885
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maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Deuteronomy 17
17
1“Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God cattle or sheep that have any defects; the LORD hates this.
2“Suppose you hear that in one of your towns some man or woman has sinned against the LORD and broken his covenant 3#Ex 22.20by worshipping and serving other gods or the sun or the moon or the stars, contrary to the LORD's command. 4If you hear such a report, then investigate it thoroughly. If it is true that this evil thing has happened in Israel, 5then take that person outside the town and stone him to death. 6#Num 35.30; Deut 19.15; Mt 18.16; 2 Cor 13.1; 1 Tim 5.19; Heb 10.28However, he may be put to death only if two or more witnesses testify against him; he is not to be put to death if there is only one witness. 7#1 Cor 5.12–13The witnesses are to throw the first stones, and then the rest of the people are to stone that person; in this way you will get rid of this evil.
8“It may be that some cases will be too difficult for the local judges to decide, such as certain cases of property rights or of bodily injury or those cases that involve a distinction between murder and manslaughter. When this happens, go to the one place of worship chosen by the LORD your God, 9and present your case to the levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time, and let them decide the case. 10They will give their decision, and you are to do exactly as they tell you. 11Accept their verdict and follow their instructions in every detail. 12Anyone who dares to disobey either the judge or the priest on duty is to be put to death; in this way you will remove this evil from Israel. 13Then everyone will hear of it and be afraid, and no one else will dare to act in such a way.
Instructions Concerning a King
14 #
1 Sam 8.5
“After you have taken possession of the land that the LORD your God is going to give you and have settled there, then you will decide you need a king like all the nations round you. 15Make sure that the man you choose to be king is the one whom the LORD has chosen. He must be one of your own people; do not make a foreigner your king. 16#1 Kgs 10.28; 2 Chr 1.16; 9.28The king is not to have a large number of horses for his army, and he is not to send people to Egypt to buy horses,#17.16 to buy horses; or in exchange for horses. because the LORD has said that his people are never to return there. 17#1 Kgs 10.14–22, 27; 11.1–8; 2 Chr 1.15; 9.27The king is not to have many wives, because this would make him turn away from the LORD; and he is not to make himself rich with silver and gold. 18When he becomes king, he is to have a copy of the book of God's laws and teachings made from the original copy kept by the levitical priests. 19He is to keep this book near him and read from it all his life, so that he will learn to honour the LORD and to obey faithfully everything that is commanded in it. 20This will keep him from thinking that he is better than his fellow-Israelites and from disobeying the LORD's commands in any way. Then he will reign for many years, and his descendants will rule Israel for many generations.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.