Deuteronomy 17

1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto Yahweh thy God a bullock or a sheep wherein is a blemish, any unseemly thing: for an abomination unto Yahweh thy God, it would be.

“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 When there shall be found in thy midst, within any of thy gates, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, man or woman who doeth the thing which is wicked in the eyes of Yahweh thy God by 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 yea hath gone, and served other gods, and bowed down unto them, —whether unto the sun or unto the moon or unto any of the host of the heavens 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 shall be told thee and thou shalt hear, —and shalt enquire diligently, and lo! true—certain, is the report, this abominable thing hath been 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 shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman who hath done this wicked thing, within thy gates—the man, or the woman, —and shalt stone them with stones that they die.

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 that is to die be put to death, —he shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness.

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 upon him first to put him to death, and the hand of all the people, afterwards, —so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of thy midst.

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 When any matter of judgment, shall be too difficult for thee—between blood and blood between plea and plea or between stroke and stroke, matters of contention within thy gates, then shalt thou arise and go up unto the place which Yahweh thy 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 shalt come in unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge who shall be in those days, —and shalt enquire and they shall declare unto thee, 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 and thou shalt do according to the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, out of that place, which Yahweh, shall choose, —yea thou shalt observe to do according to all which they shall direct thee:

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 direction wherewith they direct thee and after the judgment which they shall announce to thee, shalt thou do, —thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee to the right hand or 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 And, the man who shall do presumptuously by not hearkening unto the priest that standeth to minister there to Yahweh thy God, or unto the judge, that man shall die, and so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of 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 And, all the people, shall hear and fear, —and shall not act presumptuously any more.

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

14 When thou shalt enter into the land which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, and shalt possess it and dwell therein, —and shalt say—I will set over me a king, like all the nations that are round about 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 thou shalt, set, over thee as king, him whom Yahweh thy God shall choose, —out of the midst of thy brethren, shalt thou set over thee a king, thou mayest not appoint over thee a man that is a foreigner, who is not thy 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 Moreover he shall not multiply to himself horses, neither shall he cause the people to return to Egypt that he may multiply horses, —when, Yahweh, hath said unto you, Ye shall not again return this way any more.

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 to himself wives, that his heart turn not aside, —nor silver and gold, shall he multiply to himself greatly.

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 But it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, then shall he write for himself a copy of this law upon a scroll, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

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 so shall it be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life, —that he may learn to revere Yahweh his God, to observe 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 may not be lifted up above his brethren, and he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, —that he may prolong his days over his kingdom—he and his sons, 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.”