Deuteronomy 17

1 “Do not sacrifice to Yahweh our God any cattle or sheep or goats that have any defects, because Yahweh hates that kind of gift.”

Thou shalt offer vnto the Lord thy God no bullocke nor sheepe wherein is blemish or any euill fauoured thing: for that is an abomination vnto the Lord thy God.

2 “When you are living in any of the towns [in the land] that Yahweh our God is giving to you, suppose you hear that there is some man or woman who sins by disobeying the agreement that Yahweh has made with you.

If there be founde among you in any of thy cities, which the Lord thy God giueth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickednes in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his couenant,

3 Suppose someone tells you that that person has worshiped and served other gods, or the sun, or the moon, or the stars.

And hath gone and serued other gods, and worshipped them: as the sunne, or the moone, or any of the hoste of heauen, which I haue not commanded,

4 If you hear that some person has been doing that, you must investigate it thoroughly. If [you find out that] it is true that this detestable thing has happened in Israel,

And it be tolde vnto thee, and thou hast heard it, then shalt thou inquire diligently: and if it be true, and the thing certaine, that such abomination is wrought in Israel,

5 you must take outside the town the man or woman who has done it. Then you must kill that person by throwing stones at him or her.

Then shalt thou bring foorth that man, or that woman (which haue committed that wicked thing) vnto thy gates, whether it be man or woman, and shalt stone them with stones, til they die.

6 But you are allowed to execute such people only if at least two witnesses testify that they saw them [doing that]. They must not be executed if there is only one witness.

At the mouth of two or three witnesses shall he that is woorthie of death, die: but at the mouth of one witnesse, he shall not die.

7 The (witnesses/ones who saw them doing it) must be the first ones to throw stones at them. Then the other people [MTY] [should throw stones at them]. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice among you.”

The handes of the witnesses shall be first vpon him, to kill him: and afterward the hands of all the people: so thou shalt take the wicked away from among you.

8 “Sometimes it will be very difficult for a judge to decide what really happened. He might be trying to decide whether, when someone injured or killed another person, he did it accidentally or deliberately. Or he might be trying to decide if some person is suing another person unfairly. If in some town it is very difficult to know what really happened, with the result that the judge cannot decide it, you should go to the place that Yahweh our God has chosen for you [to worship him].

If there rise a matter too harde for thee in iudgement betweene blood and blood, betweene plea and plea, betweene plague and plague, in the matters of controuersie within thy gates, then shalt thou arise, and goe vp vnto the place which the Lord thy God shall chuse,

9 There you should present the case to the descendants of Levi who are the priests, and to the judge who is serving at that time, and they should decide what should be done.

And thou shalt come vnto the Priestes of the Leuites, and vnto the iudge that shall be in those daies, and aske, and they shall shewe thee the sentence of iudgement,

10 After they make their decision, you must do what they tell you to do.

And thou shalt do according to that thing which they of that place (which the Lord hath chosen) shewe thee, and thou shalt obserue to doe according to all that they informe thee.

11 Accept what they have decided, and do what they say that you should do. Do not try to change in any way what they have decided [IDM].

According to the Lawe, which they shall teach thee, and according to the iudgement which they shall tell thee, shalt thou doe: thou shalt not decline from the thing which they shall shew thee, neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

12 You must execute anyone who proudly/arrogantly disobeys the judge or the priest who stands there in the presence of Yahweh [and decides what should be done]. By doing that, you will get rid of evil practices among you.

And that man that wil doe presumptuously, not hearkening vnto the Priest (that standeth before the Lord thy God to minister there) or vnto the iudge, that man shall die, and thou shalt take away euill from Israel.

13 Then [after that person is executed], all the people will hear about it, and they will be afraid, and none of them will act that way any more.”

So all the people shall heare and feare, and doe no more presumptuously.

14 “[I know that] after you have occupied the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, and you are living there, you will say, ‘We should have a king to rule over us, like the kings that other nations around us have.’

Whe thou shalt come vnto ye land which the Lord thy God giueth thee, and shalt possesse it, and dwell therein, if thou say, I will set a King ouer me, like as all the nations that are about me,

15 Yahweh our God will permit you to have a king, but be sure that you appoint someone whom he has chosen. That man must be an Israeli; you must not appoint someone who is a foreigner to be your king.

Then thou shalt make him King ouer thee, whome the Lord thy God shall chuse: from among thy brethren shalt thou make a King ouer thee: thou shalt not set a stranger ouer thee, which is not thy brother.

16 [After he becomes the king], he should not acquire a large number of horses for himself. He should not send people to Egypt to buy horses for him, because Yahweh said to you, ‘Never return to Egypt [for anything’]!

In any wise he shall not prepare him many horses, nor bring the people againe to Egypt, for to encrease the number of horses, seeing the Lord hath sayd vnto you, Ye shall henceforth goe no more againe that way.

17 And he must not have a lot of wives, because if he did that, they would turn him [SYN] away from [worshiping only] Yahweh. And he must not acquire a lot of silver and gold.

Neither shall hee take him many wiues, lest his heart turne away, neither shall he gather him much siluer and golde.

18 “When he becomes your king, he must [appoint someone to] copy these laws. He must copy them from the scroll that is kept by the priests who are descended from Levi.

And when he shall sit vpon the throne of his kingdo, then shall he write him this Law repeted in a booke, by the Priests of the Leuites.

19 He must keep this new scroll near him and read from it every day of his life, in order that he may learn to revere Yahweh, and to faithfully obey [DOU] all the rules and regulations [that are written] in these laws.

And it shall be with him, and he shall reade therein all daies of his life, that he may learne to feare the Lord his God, and to keepe all ye words of this Lawe, and these ordinances for to doe them:

20 If he does that, he [SYN] will not think that he is (better/more important) than [IDM] his fellow Israelis, and he will completely obey [LIT] Yahweh’s commands. As a result, he and his descendants will rule as kings in Israel for many years.”

That his heart be not lifted vp aboue his brethren, and that he turne not from the commandement, to the right hand or to the left, but that he may prolong his daies in his kingdom, he, and his sonnes in the middes of Israel.