< Deuteronomy 17 >
1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or lamb, whereon there is a blemish, any thing evil; for it is an abomination unto the Lord thy God.
You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a calf or a sheep, in which there is a blemish, [or] any evil thing; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God.
2 If there be found in the midst of thee, within any one of thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. a man or a woman, that doth the wickedness in the eyes of the Lord thy God, to transgress his covenant,
And if there should be found in any one of your cities, which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who shall do that which is evil before the Lord your God, so as to transgress his covenant,
3 And he hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have prohibited;
and they should go and serve other gods, and worship them, the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which he commanded you not to do,
4 And it be told thee, and thou hearest of it: then shalt thou inquire diligently; and, behold, if it be true, the thing is certain, such abomination hath been wrought in Israel:
and it be told you, and you shall have enquired diligently, and, behold, the thing really took place, this abomination has been done in Israel;
5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, who have committed this wicked thing, unto thy gates, the man or the woman, and thou shalt stone them with stones till they die.
then shall you bring out that man, or that woman, and you shall stone them with stones, and they shall die.
6 Upon the evidence of two witnesses, or of three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; he shall not be put to death upon the evidence of one witness.
He shall die on the testimony of two or three witnesses; a man who is put to death shall not be put to death for one witness.
7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and the hand of all the people at the last; and thou shalt put the evil away from the midst of thee.
And the hand of the witnesses shall be upon him amongst the first to put him to death, and the hand of the people at the last; so shall you remove the evil one from amongst yourselves.
8 If a matter be unknown to thee for decision, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between bodily injury and injury, [or] matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the place which the Lord thy God will choose;
And if a matter shall be too hard for you in judgement, between blood and blood, and between cause and cause, and between stroke and stroke, and between contradiction and contradiction, matters of judgement in your cities;
9 And thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge that may be in those days, and thou shalt inquire, and they shall inform thee of the sentence of the case;
then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God shall choose, and you shall come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days, and they shall search out [the matter] and report the judgement to you.
10 And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they may tell thee from that place which the Lord will choose, and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they may instruct thee;
And you shall act according to the thing which they shall report to you out of the place which the Lord your God shall choose, and you shall observe to do all whatever shall have been by law appointed to you.
11 In accordance with the instruction which they may instruct thee, and according to the decision which they may say unto thee, shalt thou do: thou shalt not depart from the sentence which they may tell thee, to the right, or to the left.
You shall do according to the law and to the judgement which they shall declare to you: you shall not swerve to the right hand or to the left from any sentence which they shall report to you.
12 And the man that will act presumptuously, so as not to hearken 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.
And the man whoever shall act in haughtiness, so as not to listen to the priest who stands to minister in the name of the Lord your God, or the judge who shall preside in those days, that man shall die, and you shall remove the evil one out of Israel.
13 And all the people shall hear, and be afraid, and not act presumptuously any more.
And all the people shall hear and fear, and shall no more commit impiety.
14 When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou hast taken possession of it, and dwellest therein, and thou sayest, I wish to set a king over me, like all the nations that are round about me:
And when you shall enter into the land which the Lord your God gives you, and shall inherit it and dwell in it, and shall say, I will set a ruler over me, as also the other nations round about me;
15 Then mayest thou indeed set a king over thee, the one whom the Lord thy God will choose; [but] from the midst of thy brethren shalt thou set a king over thee; thou mayest not set over thee a stranger, who is not thy brother.
you shall surely set over you the ruler whom the Lord God shall choose: of your brethren you shall set over you a ruler; you shall not have power to set over you a stranger, because he is not your brother.
16 Only he shall not acquire for himself many horses; so that he may not cause the people to return to Egypt, in order to acquire many horses; whereas the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth not return on that way any more.
For he shall not multiply to himself horses, and he shall by no means turn the people back to Egypt, lest he should multiply to himself horses; for the Lord said, You shall not any more turn back by that way.
17 Neither shall he take to himself many wives, that his heart may not turn away; nor shall he acquire for himself too much silver and gold.
And he shall not multiply to himself wives, lest his heart turn away; and he shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book out of [that which is] before the priests, the Levites;
And when he shall be established in his government, then shall he write for himself this repetition of the law into a book by the hands of the priests the Levites;
19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: in order that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them.
and it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord your God, and to keep all these commandments, and to observe these ordinances:
20 So that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and so that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right, or to the left: in order that he may live many days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.
that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, that he depart not from the commandments on the right hand or on the left; that he and his sons may reign long in his dominion amongst the children of Israel.