Deuteronomy 26

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

“And when you will have entered into the land which the Lord your God will give to you to possess, and when you will have obtained it and are living within 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 shall take the first of all your crops, and place them in a basket, and you shall travel to the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may be invoked there.

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.’

And you shall approach the priest who will be in those days, and you shall say to him: ‘I profess this day, before the Lord your God, that I have entered into the land about which he swore to our fathers that he would give it to 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.

And the priest, taking up the basket from your hand, shall 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 shall say, in the sight of the Lord your God: ‘The Syrian pursued my father, who descended into Egypt, and he sojourned there in a very small number, and he increased into a great and strong nation and into an innumerable multitude.

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

And the Egyptians afflicted us, and they persecuted us, imposing upon us the most grievous burdens.

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.

And we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers. He heard us, and he looked with favor upon our humiliation, and hardship, and distress.

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.

And he led us away from Egypt, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with a mighty terror, with signs and wonders.

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

And he led us into this place, and he delivered to us the 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 because of this, I now offer the first fruits of the land which the Lord has given to me.’ And you shall leave them in the sight of the Lord your God, and you shall adore the Lord your God.

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.

And you shall feast on all the good things which the Lord your God will give to you and to your house: you, and the Levite, and the new arrival who is with you.

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 will have completed the tithing of all your crops, in the third year of tithes, you shall give it to the Levite, and to the new arrival, and to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be satisfied.

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].

And you shall say, in the sight of the Lord your God: ‘I have taken what was sanctified from my house, and I have given it to the Levite, and to the new arrival, and to the orphan and the widow, just as you have commanded me. I have not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten your precepts.

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 from these things in my grief, nor have I separated them due to any kind of uncleanness, nor have I expended any of these things in funerals. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and I have done all things just as you have instructed 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 with favor from your sanctuary and from your lofty habitation amid the heavens, and bless your people Israel and the land which you have given to us, just 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].

Today the Lord your God has instructed you to carry out these commandments and judgments, and to keep and fulfill 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 chosen the Lord to be your God, so that you may walk in his ways, and keep his ceremonies and commandments and judgments, and obey his command.

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.

Today, the Lord has chosen you, so that you may be his particular people, just as he has spoken to you, and so that you may keep all his precepts,

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.”

and so that he may cause you to be more exalted than all the nations which he has created, for the sake of his own praise and name and glory, in order that you may be a holy people for the Lord your God, just as he has spoken.”