Deuteronomy 17

1 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto Yahweh thy God a bullock or a sheep wherein is a blemish, any unseemly thing: for an abomination unto Yahweh thy God, it would be.

Thou shalt not sacrifice to the Lord thy God a sheep, or an ox, wherein there is blemish, or any fault: for that is an abomination to the Lord thy God.

2 When there shall be found in thy midst, within any of thy gates, which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, man or woman who doeth the thing which is wicked in the eyes of Yahweh thy God by transgressing his covenant;

When there shall be found among you within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God shall give thee, man or woman that do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, and transgress his covenant,

3 yea hath gone, and served other gods, and bowed down unto them, —whether unto the sun or unto the moon or unto any of the host of the heavens which I have not commanded;

So as to go and serve strange gods, and adore them, the sun and the moon. and all the host of heaven, which I have not commanded:

4 and it shall be told thee and thou shalt hear, —and shalt enquire diligently, and lo! true—certain, is the report, this abominable thing hath been done in Israel,

And this is told thee, and hearing it thou hast inquired diligently, and found it to be true, and that the abomination is committed in Israel:

5 then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman who hath done this wicked thing, within thy gates—the man, or the woman, —and shalt stone them with stones that they die.

Thou shalt bring forth the man or the woman, who have committed that most wicked thing, to the gates of thy city, and they shall be stoned.

6 At the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death, —he shall not be put to death at the mouth of one witness.

By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he die that is to be slain. Let no man be put to death, when only one beareth witness against him.

7 The hand of the witnesses, shall be upon him first to put him to death, and the hand of all the people, afterwards, —so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of thy midst.

The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to kill him, and afterwards the hands of the rest of the people: that thou mayst take away the evil out of the midst of thee.

8 When any matter of judgment, shall be too difficult for thee—between blood and blood between plea and plea or between stroke and stroke, matters of contention within thy gates, then shalt thou arise and go up unto the place which Yahweh thy God shall choose;

If thou perceive that there be among you a hard and doubtful matter in judgment between blood and blood, cause and cause, leprosy and leprosy: and thou see that the words of the judges within thy gates do vary: arise, and go up to the place, which the Lord thy God shall choose.

9 and shalt come in unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge who shall be in those days, —and shalt enquire and they shall declare unto thee, the sentence of judgment;

And thou shalt come to the priests of the Levitical race, and to the judge, that shall be at that time: and thou shalt ask of them, and they shall shew thee the truth of the judgment.

10 and thou shalt do according to the sentence which they shall declare unto thee, out of that place, which Yahweh, shall choose, —yea thou shalt observe to do according to all which they shall direct thee:

And thou shalt do whatsoever they shall say, that preside in the place, which the Lord shall choose, and what they shall teach thee,

11 according to the direction wherewith they direct thee and after the judgment which they shall announce to thee, shalt thou do, —thou shalt not turn aside from the sentence which they shall declare unto thee to the right hand or to the left.

According to his law; and thou shalt follow their sentence: neither shalt thou decline to the right hand nor to the left hand.

12 And, the man who shall do presumptuously by not hearkening unto the priest that standeth to minister there to Yahweh thy God, or unto the judge, that man shall die, and so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of Israel.

But he that will be proud, and refuse to obey the commandment of the priest, who ministereth at that time to the Lord thy God, and the decree of the judge, that man shall die, and thou shalt take away the evil from Israel:

13 And, all the people, shall hear and fear, —and shall not act presumptuously any more.

And all the people hearing it shall fear, that no one afterwards swell with pride.

14 When thou shalt enter into the land which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, and shalt possess it and dwell therein, —and shalt say—I will set over me a king, like all the nations that are round about me,

When thou art come into the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee, and possessest it, and shalt say: I will set a king over me, as all nations have that are round about:

15 thou shalt, set, over thee as king, him whom Yahweh thy God shall choose, —out of the midst of thy brethren, shalt thou set over thee a king, thou mayest not appoint over thee a man that is a foreigner, who is not thy brother.

Thou shalt set him whom the Lord thy God shall choose out of the number of thy brethren. Thou mayst not make a man of another nation king, that is not thy brother.

16 Moreover he shall not multiply to himself horses, neither shall he cause the people to return to Egypt that he may multiply horses, —when, Yahweh, hath said unto you, Ye shall not again return this way any more.

And when he is made king, he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor lead back the people into Egypt, being lifted up with the number of his horsemen, especially since the Lord hath commanded you to return no more the same way.

17 Neither shall he multiply to himself wives, that his heart turn not aside, —nor silver and gold, shall he multiply to himself greatly.

He shall not have many wives, that may allure his mind, nor immense sums of silver and gold.

18 But it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, then shall he write for himself a copy of this law upon a scroll, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

But after he is raised to the throne of his kingdom, he shall copy out to himself the Deuteronomy of this law in a volume, taking the copy of the priests of the Levitical tribe,

19 so shall it be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life, —that he may learn to revere Yahweh his God, to observe all the words of this law and these statutes to do them:

And he shall have it with him, and shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and keep his words and ceremonies, that are commanded in the law;

20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren, and he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, —that he may prolong his days over his kingdom—he and his sons, in the midst of Israel.

And that his heart be not lifted up with pride over his brethren, nor decline to the right or to the left, that he and his sons may reign a long time over Israel.