Deuteronomy 26

1 Once you've entered the country that the Lord your God is giving you to own, and you take it over and settle there,

And it shall come to pass, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and thou hast taken possession of it, and dwellest therein:

2 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,

That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the soil, which thou shalt bring in from thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket; and thou shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God will choose to let his name dwell there.

3 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.”

And thou shalt come unto the priest that may be in those days, and thou shalt say unto him, I give thanks this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come into the land which the Lord swore unto our fathers to give to us.

4 The priest will take the basket from you and place it in front of the altar of the Lord your God.

And the priest shall take the basket out of thy hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.

5 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.

And thou shalt commence and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian, wandering about, was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a family few in number, and he became there a nation, great, mighty, and numerous.

6 But the Egyptians treated us very badly, oppressing us and forcing us to do hard labor.

And the Egyptians treated us ill, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard labor;

7 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.

And then we cried unto the Eternal, the God of our fathers; and the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our trouble, and our oppression;

8 The Lord led us out of Egypt with his great power and incredible strength and terrifying actions, signs and miracles.

And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror, and with signs, and with wonders;

9 He brought us here and gave us this country, a land flowing with milk and honey.

And he brought us unto this place, and gave unto us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10 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.

And now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruits of the soil, which thou hast given me, O Lord; and thou shalt set it down before the Lord thy God, and prostrate thyself before the Lord thy God;

11 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.

And thou shalt rejoice with every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thy house, thou, with the Levite, and the stranger that is in the midst of thee.

12 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.

When thou hast made an end of giving away all the tithe of thy produce in the third year, the year of the tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, and they have eaten it within thy gates, and are satisfied:

13 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.

Then shalt thou say before the Lord thy God, I have removed away the hallowed things out of the house, and I have also given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandment which thou hast commanded me; I have not deviated from thy commandments, and I have not forgotten;

14 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.

I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I removed away aught thereof in an unclean state, nor have I given aught thereof for the dead: I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, I have done all, just as thou hast commanded me.

15 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.”

Look down from the habitation of thy holiness, from the heavens, and bless thy people Israel, and the soil which thou hast given unto us, as thou hast sworn unto our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

16 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.

This day the Lord thy God commandeth thee to do these statutes and ordinances; and thou shalt keep and do them with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.

17 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.

Thou hast this day acknowledged the Lord, that he is thy God, and that thou wilt walk in his ways, and keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his ordinances, and hearken unto his voice;

18 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.

And the Lord hath acknowledged thee this day, that thou art unto him a peculiar people, as he hath spoken unto thee, and that thou shouldst keep all his commandments;

19 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.

So that he may set thee highest above all nations that he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honor; and that thou mayest be a holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.