Deuteronomy 17

1 “You do not sacrifice to your God YHWH ox or sheep in which there is a blemish—any bad thing; for it [is] an abomination [to] your God YHWH.

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 When there is found in your midst, in one of your cities which your God YHWH is giving to you, a man or a woman who does evil in the eyes of your God YHWH by 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 he goes and serves other gods, and bows himself to them, and to the sun, or to the moon, or to any of the host of the heavens, 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 has been declared to you, and you have heard, and have searched diligently, and behold, [if] truth, the thing is established; this abomination has been done 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 you have brought out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing, to your gates—the man or the woman—and you have stoned them with stones, and they have died.

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

6 By the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses is he who is being put to death put to death; he is not put to death by 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 is on him in the first place to put him to death, and the hand of all the people last; and you have put away evil out of your midst.

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 When anything is too hard for you for judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke—matters of strife within your gates—then you have risen and gone up to the place on which your God YHWH fixes,

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 have come to the priests, the Levites, and to the judge who is in those days, and have inquired, and they have declared the word of judgment to you,

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 you have done according to the tenor of the word which they declare to you ([they] of that place which YHWH chooses); and you have observed to do according to all that they direct you.

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 direct you, and according to the judgment which they say to you, you do; you do not turn aside from the word which they declare to you [to] the right or 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 acts with presumption, so as not to listen to the priest (who is standing to serve your God YHWH there), or to the judge, even that man has died, and you have put away 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 hear and fear, and do not presume anymore.

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

14 When you come into the land which your God YHWH is giving to you, and have possessed it, and dwelt in it, and you have said, Let me set a king over me like all the nations which [are] around 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 you certainly set a king over you on whom YHWH fixes; you set a king over you from the midst of your brothers; you are not able to set a stranger over you, who is not your 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 does not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, so as to multiply horses, seeing YHWH has said to you, You do not add to return in this way anymore.

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 And he does not multiply wives for himself, and his heart does not turn aside, and he does not exceedingly multiply silver and gold for himself.

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 has been, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he has written a copy of this law for himself, on a scroll, from [that] 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 has been with him, and he has read in it all [the] days of his life, so that he learns to fear his God YHWH, 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 so that his heart is not high above his brothers, and so as not to turn aside from the command [to] the right or left, so that he prolongs days over 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.