Deuteronomy 17

1 Thou shall not sacrifice to Jehovah thy God an ox, or a sheep, in which is a blemish or anything bad, for that is an abomination to Jehovah thy God.

Don't sacrifice to the Lord your God cattle or a sheep that has a defect or has something seriously wrong, for that is offensive to the Lord your God.

2 If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which Jehovah thy God gives thee, man or woman, who does that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, in transgressing his covenant,

There may be a report that one of you, whether a man or a woman, living in a town that the Lord your God gave you, has been found to be sinning in the sight of the Lord your God by breaking the Lord's agreement.

3 and has gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded,

This person has done this by going to worship other gods, bowing down to them—or to the sun, moon, or any of the stars of heaven—which I have ordered you not to do.

4 and it be told thee, and thou have heard of it, then shall thou inquire diligently. And, behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel,

If you hear such a report, you need to make a full investigation. If you find out that the report is true, and that such an awful sin has been committed in Israel,

5 then thou shall bring forth that man or that woman, who has done this evil thing, to thy gates, even the man or the woman, and thou shall stone them to death with stones.

you must have the man or woman who has committed this terrible act taken outside the town and stoned to death.

6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he who is to die be put to death. He shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness.

That person is to be executed based on the evidence given by two or three witnesses. No one shall be executed on the evidence given by a single witness.

7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So thou shall put away the evil from the midst of thee.

The witnesses must act first in executing the person, and then the rest of those who are present. You must eliminate the evil from among you.

8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates, then thou shall arise, and get thee up to the place which Jehovah thy God shall choose.

If there's a case before your town court that is too problematic for you to settle, whether the argument is over murder or manslaughter, one legal decision against another, or different degrees of assault, you must take the issue to the place the Lord your God will choose.

9 And thou shall come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days, and thou shall inquire. And they shall show thee the sentence of judgment.

Go to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge in charge. Present the case to them, and they will give you their decision.

10 And thou shall do according to the tenor of the sentence which they shall show thee from that place which Jehovah shall choose. And thou shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach thee,

You must abide by the decision they give you there at the place the Lord will choose. Make sure you do everything they tell you to do,

11 according to the tenor of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shall do. Thou shall not turn aside from the sentence, which they shall show thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.

in accordance with the legal instructions they give you and the verdict they delivered. Don't deviate from the decision they give you.

12 And the man who does presumptuously, in not hearkening to the priest who stands to minister there before Jehovah thy God, or to the judge, even that man shall die, and thou shall put away the evil from Israel.

Anyone who treats with contempt either the priest (who ministers before the Lord your God) or the judge, must be executed. You must eliminate this evil from Israel.

13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

Then everyone else will hear about it and be afraid, and won't act with contempt in the future.

14 When thou have come to the land which Jehovah thy God gives thee, and shall possess it, and shall dwell in it, and shall say, I will set a king over me like all the nations that are round about me,

After you've entered the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken it over and settled in it, and you decide, “Let's have a king to rule over us like all the other nations around us do,”

15 thou shall surely set him king over thee whom Jehovah thy God shall choose. Thou shall set a king over thee from among thy brothers. Thou may not put a foreigner over thee who is not thy brother.

you can have a king but only one chosen by the Lord your God. He must be an Israelite. You must not have a king who is a foreigner; someone who is not an Israelite.

16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses, inasmuch as Jehovah has said to you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.

Your king must not have large numbers of horses, or send his men to Egypt to buy more horses, because the Lord has declared, “You must never to return there again.”

17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away. Neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

He must not have many wives, so they don't lead him away from following the Lord. He must not have large quantities of silver and gold.

18 And it shall be, when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for him a copy of this law in a book, out of it before the priests the Levites,

Once he is king and sits on his royal throne, he must make a copy for himself of these instructions, writing them on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

19 and it shall be with him. And he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them,

He is to keep it with him, and he is to read from it each day throughout his life, so he may learn to respect the Lord his God by being careful to follow every word of these instructions and regulations.

20 that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers, 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 sons, in the midst of Israel.

Then he won't think more of himself than his fellow Israelites, and he won't deviate from the commandments, so that he and his sons may have long reigns over the kingdom of Israel.