< Deuteronomy 26 >
1 And when thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God will give thee to possess, and hast conquered it, and dwellest in it:
Once you've entered the country that the Lord your God is giving you to own, and you take it over and settle there,
2 Thou shalt take the first of all thy fruits, and put then? in a basket, and shalt go to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, that his name may be invocated there:
take some of the firstfruits of all your crops produced by the land that the Lord your God is giving you and place them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose to live with you,
3 And thou shalt go to the priest that shall be in those days, and say to him: I profess this day before the Lord thy God, that I am come into the land, for which he swore to our fathers, that he would give it us.
and tell the priest in charge at the time, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I now live in the country that the Lord promised our forefathers to give us.”
4 And the priest taking the basket at thy hand, shall set it before the altar of the Lord thy God:
The priest will take the basket from you and place it in front of the altar of the Lord your God.
5 And thou shalt speak thus in the sight of the Lord thy God: The Syrian pursued my father, who went down into Egypt, and sojourned there in a very small number, and grew into a nation great and strong and of an infinite multitude.
Then this is what you are to publicly declare before the Lord your God, “My father was a Aramean who moved from place to place. There were only a few of them when he and his family went to live in Egypt. But they became a large and powerful nation.
6 And the Egyptians afflicted us, and persecuted us, laying on us most grievous burdens:
But the Egyptians treated us very badly, oppressing us and forcing us to do hard labor.
7 And we cried to the Lord God of our fathers: who heard us, and looked down upon our affliction, and labour, and distress:
We cried out for help to the Lord, the God of our forefathers; and the Lord answered us as he saw how much we were suffering, forced to work so hard in such cruelty.
8 And brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand, and a stretched out arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders:
The Lord led us out of Egypt with his great power and incredible strength and terrifying actions, signs and miracles.
9 And brought us into this place, and gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.
He brought us here and gave us this country, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10 And therefore now I offer the firstfruits of the land which the Lord hath given me. And thou shalt leave them in the sight of the ford thy God, adoring the Lord thy God.
Look, Lord! I have brought you the firstfruits of the land that you have given me.” You shall place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down in worship before him.
11 And thou shalt feast in all the good things which the Lord thy God hath given thee, and thy house, thou and the Levite, and the stranger that is with thee.
Then you, the Levites, and the foreigners who live with you are to celebrate all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your family.
12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all thy fruits, in the third year of tithes thou shalt give it to the Levite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled:
Once you've finished storing up a tenth of all your crops in the third year, (the year of the tithe), you shall give it to the Levites, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows, so they will have enough to eat in your towns.
13 And thou shalt speak thus in the sight of the Lord thy God: I have taken that which was sanctified out of my house, and I have given it to the Levite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, as thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments nor forgotten thy precepts.
Then you are to make this declaration in the presence of the Lord your God: “I have brought the holy tithe and I have given it to the Levite, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows as you have ordered me to do. I have not broken or forgotten your commandments.
14 I have not eaten of them is my mourning, nor separated them for any uncleanness, nor spent any thing of them in funerals. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done all things as thou hast commanded me.
I have not eaten any of the holy tithe while in mourning, or taken any of it while I was unclean, or used any of it as an offering for the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God. I have done everything you ordered me to do.
15 Look from thy sanctuary, and thy high habitation of heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou didst swear to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.
Please look down from your home in heaven, and bless your people the Israelites and the country you have given us as you promised our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.”
16 This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these commandments and judgments: and to keep and fulfill them with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.
Today the Lord your God orders you to carry out these rules and regulations. Make sure you follow them with all your mind and with all your being.
17 Thou hast chosen the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways and keep his ceremonies, and precepts, and judgments, and obey his command.
Today you have publicly declared that the Lord is your God and that you will follow his ways, keep rules and commandments and regulations, and obey what he says.
18 And the Lord hath chosen thee this day, to be his peculiar people, as he hath spoken to thee, and to keep all his commandments:
Today the Lord has announced that you are a special people who belong to him as he promised. He has announced that you are to keep all his commandments.
19 And to make thee higher than all nations which he hath created, to his own praise, and name, and glory: that thou mayst be a holy people of the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.
He has announced that he will give you greater praise and reputation and honor than any other nation he has made. He has announced that you will be a holy people to the Lord your God, as he promised.