Deuteronomy 17
Chapter 17
1 “Never sacrifice sick or defective cattle, sheep, or goats to the LORD your God, for he detests such gifts.
2 “When you begin living in the towns the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman among you might do evil in the sight of the LORD your God and violate the covenant.3 For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden.4 When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,5 then the man or woman who has committed such an evil act must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death.6 But never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses.
7 The witnesses must throw the first stones, and then all the people may join in. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you.
8 “Suppose a case arises in a local court that is too hard for you to decide—for instance, whether someone is guilty of murder or only of manslaughter, or a difficult lawsuit, or a case involving different kinds of assault. Take such legal cases to the place the LORD your God will choose,9 and present them to the Levitical priests or the judge on duty at that time. They will hear the case and declare the verdict.10 You must carry out the verdict they announce and the sentence they prescribe at the place the LORD chooses. You must do exactly what they say.11 After they have interpreted the law and declared their verdict, the sentence they impose must be fully executed; do not modify it in any way.12 Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must die. In this way you will purge the evil from Israel.
13 Then everyone else will hear about it and be afraid to act so arrogantly.
Guidelines for a King
14 “You are about to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’
15 If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the LORD your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner.
16 “The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the LORD has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’
17 The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the LORD. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
18 “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.19 He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees.
20 This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations 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:
2-3 t The [Lord] your God is giving you towns to live in. But later, a man or a woman in your town may start worshiping other gods, or even the sun, moon, or stars.t I have warned you not to worship other gods, because whoever worships them is disobeying the [Lord] and breaking the agreement he made with you. 4 So when you hear that someone in your town is committing this disgusting sin, you must carefully find out if that person really is guilty.
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.
