Deuteronomy 17

1 You shall not sacrifice to Jehovah your God an ox, or a sheep, in which is a blemish, or anything evil; for that is an abomination to Jehovah your God.

“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.

2 If there is found in the midst of you, within any of your gates which Jehovah your God gives you, man or woman, who does that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah your God, in transgressing his covenant,

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,

3 and has gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;

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,

4 and it be told you, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire diligently; and look, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is done in Israel,

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—

5 then you shall bring forth that man or that woman, who has done this evil thing, to your gates, even the man or the woman; and you shall stone them to death with stones.

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.

6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he who is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

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;

7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from the midst of you.

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.

8 If there arises a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within your gates; then you shall arise, and go up to the place which Jehovah your God shall choose;

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,

9 and you shall come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days: and you shall inquire; and they shall show you the sentence of judgment.

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,

10 You shall do according to the tenor of the sentence which they shall show you from that place which Jehovah shall choose; and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you:

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.

11 according to the tenor of the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the sentence which they shall show you, to the right hand, nor to the left.

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.

12 The man who does presumptuously, in not listening to the priest who stands to minister there before Jehovah your God, or to the judge, even that man shall die: and you shall put away the evil from Israel.

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,

13 All the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

and all the people hear and fear, and do not presume anymore.

14 When you have come to the land which Jehovah your God gives you, and shall possess it, and shall dwell in it, and shall say, "I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me";

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—

15 you shall surely set him king over yourselves, whom Jehovah your God shall choose: one from among your brothers you shall set king over you; you may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.

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.

16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because Jehovah has said to you, "You shall not go back that way again."

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.

17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

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.

18 It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

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,

19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Jehovah his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them;

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,

20 that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he not turn aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.

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.”