Deuteronomy 26

1 Now when you have come into the land which the Lord is giving you for your heritage, and you have made it yours and are living in it;

When you have come into the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, and when you possess it and live in it,

2 You are to take a part of the first-fruits of the earth, which you get from the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket, and go to the place marked out by the Lord your God, as the resting-place of his name.

then you must take some of the first of all the harvest of the land that you have brought in from the land that Yahweh your God is giving you. You must put it in a basket and go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose as his sanctuary.

3 And you are to come to him who is priest at that time, and say to him, I give witness today before the Lord your God, that I have come into the land which the Lord made an oath to our fathers to give us.

You must go to the priest who will be serving in those days and say to him, 'I acknowledge today to Yahweh your God that I have come to the land that Yahweh swore to our ancestors to give us.'

4 Then the priest will take the basket from your hand and put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God.

The priest must take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of Yahweh your God.

5 And these are the words which you will say before the Lord your God: My father was a wandering Aramaean, and he went down with a small number of people into Egypt; there he became a great and strong nation:

You must say before Yahweh your God, 'My ancestor was a wandering Aramean. He went down into Egypt and stayed there, and his people were few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation.

6 And the Egyptians were cruel to us, crushing us under a hard yoke:

The Egyptians treated us badly and afflicted us. They made us do the work of slaves.

7 And our cry went up to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord's ear was open to the voice of our cry, and his eyes took note of our grief and the crushing weight of our work:

We cried out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and he heard our voice and saw our affliction, our labor, and our oppression.

8 And the Lord took us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm, with works of power and signs and wonders:

Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great fearsomeness, with signs, and with wonders;

9 And he has been our guide to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

and he has brought us to this place and has given us this land, a land that flows with milk and honey.

10 So now, I have come here with the first of the fruits of the earth which you, O Lord, have given me. Then you will put it down before the Lord your God and give him worship:

Now look, I have brought the first of the harvest of the land that you, Yahweh, have given me.' You must set it down before Yahweh your God and worship before him;

11 And you will have joy in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and to your family; and the Levite, and the man from a strange land who is with you, will take part in your joy.

and you must rejoice in all the good that Yahweh your God has done for you, for your house—you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is among you.

12 When you have taken out a tenth from the tenth of all your produce in the third year, which is the year when this has to be done, give it to the Levite, and the man from a strange land, and the child without a father, and the widow, so that they may have food in your towns and be full;

When you have finished giving all the tithe of your harvest in the third year, that is, the year of tithing, then you must give it to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, so that they may eat within your city gates and be filled.

13 And say before the Lord your God, I have taken all the holy things out of my house and have given them to the Levite, and the man from a strange land, and him who has no father, and the widow, as you have given me orders: I have kept in mind all your orders, in nothing have I gone against them:

You must say before Yahweh your God, 'I have brought out of my house the things that belong to Yahweh, and have given them to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandments that you have given me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

14 No part of these things has been used for food in a time of weeping, or put away when I was unclean, or given for the dead: I have given ear to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done all you have given me orders to do.

I have not eaten any of it in my mourning, nor have I put it somewhere else when I was impure, nor have I given any of it in honor of the dead. I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have obeyed everything you have commanded me to do.

15 So, looking down from your holy place in heaven, send your blessing on your people Israel and on the land which you have given us, as you said in your oath to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Look down from the holy place where you live, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the land that you have given us, as you had sworn to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.'

16 Today the Lord your God gives you orders to keep all these laws and decisions: so then keep and do them with all your heart and all your soul.

Today Yahweh your God is commanding you to obey these statutes and decrees; you will therefore keep them and do them with all your heart and with all your soul.

17 Today you have given witness that the Lord is your God, and that you will go in his ways and keep his laws and his orders and his decisions and give ear to his voice:

You have declared today that Yahweh is your God, and that you will walk in his ways and keep his statutes, his commandments, and his decrees, and that you will listen to his voice.

18 And the Lord has made it clear this day that you are a special people to him, as he gave you his word; and that you are to keep all his orders;

Today Yahweh has declared that you are a people who are his own possession, as he had promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments,

19 And that he will make you high over all the nations he has made, in praise, in name, and in honour, and that you are to be a holy people to the Lord your God as he has said.

and he will set you high above all the other nations that he has made, and you will receive praise, fame, and honor. You will be a people that is set apart to Yahweh your God, just as he said.”