Deuteronomy 17

1 Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him.

2 If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant,3 and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars in the sky,4 and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,5 take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.6 On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.7 The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.

Law Courts

8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose.9 Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.10 You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do.11 Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.12 Anyone who shows contempt for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering there to the Lord your God is to be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.

The King

14 When you enter the land 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 be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite.16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, "You are not to go back that way again."17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests.19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

DEUTERONOMY 17

Sacrifices That Have //Something Wrong //with Them

Moses said to Israel:

1 If an ox or a sheep has something wrong with it, don't offer it as a sacrifice to the [Lord] your God—he will be disgusted!

Put To Death People //Who Worship Idols

Moses said to Israel:

5-7 t But you will need two or three witnesses—one witness isn't enough to prove a person guilty.
Get rid of those who are guilty of such evil. Take them outside your town gates and everyone must stone them to death. But the witnesses must be the first to throw stones.

Difficult Cases

Moses said to Israel:

8-12 It may be difficult to find out the truth in some legal cases in your town. You may not be able to decide if someone was killed accidentally or murdered. Or you may not be able to tell whether an injury or some property damage was done by accident or on purpose. If the case is too difficult, take it to the court at the place where the [Lord] your God chooses to be worshiped.
This court will be made up of one judge and several priestst who serve at the [Lord]'s altar. They will explain the law to you and give you their decision about the case. Do exactly what they tell you, or you will be put to death.

13 When other Israelites hear about it, they will be afraid and obey the decisions of the court.

The King

Moses said:

14  t People of Israel, after you capture the land the [Lord] your God is giving you, and after you settle on it, you will say, “We want a king, just like the nations around us.”

15 Go ahead and appoint a king, but make sure that he is an Israelite and that he is the one the [Lord] has chosen.
16  t The king should not have many horses, especially those from Egypt. The [Lord] has said never to go back there again.

17 t And the king must not have a lot of wives—they might tempt him to be unfaithful to the [Lord].t Finally, the king must not try to get huge amounts of silver and gold.
18 The official copy of God's lawst will be kept by the priests of the Levi tribe. So, as soon as anyone becomes king, he must go to the priests and write out a copy of these laws while they watch. 19 Each day the king must read and obey these laws, so that he will learn to worship the [Lord] with fear and trembling

20 and not think that he's better than everyone else.
If the king completely obeys the [Lord]'s commands, he and his descendants will rule Israel for many years.