Deuteronomy 17

1 “Do not sacrifice to Yahweh our God any cattle or sheep or goats that have any defects, because Yahweh hates that kind of gift.”

You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God.

2 “When you are living in any of the towns [in the land] that Yahweh our God is giving to you, suppose you hear that there is some man or woman who sins by disobeying the agreement that Yahweh has made with you.

If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant

3 Suppose someone tells you that that person has worshiped and served other gods, or the sun, or the moon, or the stars.

and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—

4 If you hear that some person has been doing that, you must investigate it thoroughly. If [you find out that] it is true that this detestable thing has happened in Israel,

and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel,

5 you must take outside the town the man or woman who has done it. Then you must kill that person by throwing stones at him or her.

you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.

6 But you are allowed to execute such people only if at least two witnesses testify that they saw them [doing that]. They must not be executed if there is only one witness.

On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness.

7 The (witnesses/ones who saw them doing it) must be the first ones to throw stones at them. Then the other people [MTY] [should throw stones at them]. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice among you.”

The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.

8 “Sometimes it will be very difficult for a judge to decide what really happened. He might be trying to decide whether, when someone injured or killed another person, he did it accidentally or deliberately. Or he might be trying to decide if some person is suing another person unfairly. If in some town it is very difficult to know what really happened, with the result that the judge cannot decide it, you should go to the place that Yahweh our God has chosen for you [to worship him].

If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.

9 There you should present the case to the descendants of Levi who are the priests, and to the judge who is serving at that time, and they should decide what should be done.

You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.

10 After they make their decision, you must do what they tell you to do.

You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you,

11 Accept what they have decided, and do what they say that you should do. Do not try to change in any way what they have decided [IDM].

according to the terms of law they give and the verdict they proclaim. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from the decision they declare to you.

12 You must execute anyone who proudly/arrogantly disobeys the judge or the priest who stands there in the presence of Yahweh [and decides what should be done]. By doing that, you will get rid of evil practices among you.

But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.

13 Then [after that person is executed], all the people will hear about it, and they will be afraid, and none of them will act that way any more.”

Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will no longer behave arrogantly.

14 “[I know that] after you have occupied the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, and you are living there, you will say, ‘We should have a king to rule over us, like the kings that other nations around us have.’

When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”

15 Yahweh our God will permit you to have a king, but be sure that you appoint someone whom he has chosen. That man must be an Israeli; you must not appoint someone who is a foreigner to be your king.

you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.

16 [After he becomes the king], he should not acquire a large number of horses for himself. He should not send people to Egypt to buy horses for him, because Yahweh said to you, ‘Never return to Egypt [for anything’]!

But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’

17 And he must not have a lot of wives, because if he did that, they would turn him [SYN] away from [worshiping only] Yahweh. And he must not acquire a lot of silver and gold.

He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.

18 “When he becomes your king, he must [appoint someone to] copy these laws. He must copy them from the scroll that is kept by the priests who are descended from Levi.

When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

19 He must keep this new scroll near him and read from it every day of his life, in order that he may learn to revere Yahweh, and to faithfully obey [DOU] all the rules and regulations [that are written] in these laws.

It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes.

20 If he does that, he [SYN] will not think that he is (better/more important) than [IDM] his fellow Israelis, and he will completely obey [LIT] Yahweh’s commands. As a result, he and his descendants will rule as kings in Israel for many years.”

Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.