Deuteronomy 26

1 “After you occupy the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, and you (have settled/are living) there,

When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it,

2 [each of] you must take some of the first crops that you harvest, put them in a basket, and take them to the place that Yahweh will have chosen for you to worship [MTY] there.

you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name,

3 Go to the Supreme Priest who is serving at that time and say to him, ‘[By giving you this first part of my harvest] today, I am declaring to Yahweh our God that I have [picked it in] the land that he vowed to our ancestors to give to us.’

to the priest who is serving at that time, and say to him, “I declare today to the LORD your God that I have entered the land that the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.”

4 Then the priest must take the basket of food from your hand and put it on the altar where sacrifices are offered to Yahweh our God.

Then the priest shall take the basket from your hands and place it before the altar of the LORD your God,

5 Then in Yahweh’s presence you must say this: ‘My ancestor [Jacob] was a man from Aram/Syria who was continually wandering [from one place to another]. He took his family to Egypt. They were a small group [when they went there], but they lived there and their descendants became a very large/populous [DOU] and powerful nation.

and you are to declare before the LORD your God, “My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt few in number and lived there and became a great nation, mighty and numerous.

6 Then the people of Egypt treated them very harshly [DOU], and they forced them to become their slaves and to work very hard.

But the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, putting us to hard labor.

7 Then our ancestors cried out to you, Yahweh our God, and you heard them. You saw that they were suffering, and that they were forced to work very hard, and were being oppressed.

So we called out to the LORD, the God of our fathers; and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, toil, and oppression.

8 Then by your great power [MTY] and by performing many kinds of miracles [DOU], and other terrifying things, you brought them out of Egypt.

Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, signs, and wonders.

9 You brought us to this land and gave it to us, a land that is very fertile [IDM].

And He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10 So now, Yahweh, I have brought to you the first part of the harvest from the land that I received.’ Then you must set the basket down in Yahweh’s presence and worship him there.

And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land that You, O LORD, have given me.” Then you are to place the basket before the LORD your God and bow down before Him.

11 And you must celebrate [by eating a meal together to thank] Yahweh our God for all the good things that he has given to you and to your family. And you must invite the descendants of Levi and the foreigners who are living among you to also rejoice [and eat] with you.

So you shall rejoice—you, the Levite, and the foreigner dwelling among you—in all the good things the LORD your God has given to you and your household.

12 Every third year, you must bring to the descendants of Levi and to the foreigners [who are living among you] and the orphans and the widows (a tithe/10 percent) of your crops, in order that in every town they will have plenty to eat.

When you have finished laying aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat and be filled within your gates.

13 Then you must say to Yahweh, ‘I have brought to you, from my house, all of the sacred tithe [from my harvest this year]. I am giving it to the descendants of Levi, to the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows, as you commanded us to do. I have not disobeyed any of your commands [about the tithes], and I have not forgotten any of your commands [about tithes].

Then you shall declare in the presence of the LORD your God, “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all the commandments You have given me. I have not transgressed or forgotten Your commandments.

14 [I declare that] I have not eaten any food from the tithe while I was mourning [for someone who died]. And I have not touched any of it while I was unacceptable to you; I have not offered any of it to [spirits of] dead people. Yahweh, I have obeyed you and done everything that you have commanded us [concerning the tithe].

I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while in mourning, or removed any of it while unclean, or offered any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the LORD my God; I have done everything You commanded me.

15 So [please] look down from your holy place in heaven, and bless us, your Israeli people. Also bless this very fertile [IDM] land which you have given to us, which is what you promised our ancestors that you would do.’

Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land You have given us as You swore to our fathers—a land flowing with milk and honey.”

16 Today Yahweh our God is commanding you to obey all these rules and regulations. So obey them faithfully, with your entire inner being [DOU].

The LORD your God commands you this day to follow these statutes and ordinances. You must be careful to follow them with all your heart and with all your soul.

17 Today you have declared that Yahweh is your God, and that you will conduct your lives as he wants you to do, and that you will obey all his commands and rules and regulations, and that you will do all that he tells you to do.

Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.

18 And today Yahweh has declared that you are his people, which is what he promised that you would be, and he commands you to obey all his commands.

And today the LORD has proclaimed that you are His people and treasured possession as He promised, that you are to keep all His commandments,

19 If you do that, he will cause you to become greater than any other nation that he has established, and he will enable you to praise him and honor him [DOU]. You will truly belong to Yahweh our God, which is what he has promised.”

that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.