Deuteronomy 17
1 You must not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep in which is any blemish or anything bad, for that would be an abomination to Yahweh your God.
No ox or sheep which has a mark on it or is damaged in any way may be offered to the Lord your God: for that is disgusting to the Lord your God.
2 If there is found among you, within any of your city gates that Yahweh your God is giving you, any man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God and transgresses his covenant,
If there is any man or woman among you, in any of the towns which the Lord your God gives you, who does evil in the eyes of the Lord your God, sinning against his agreement,
3 anyone who has gone and worshiped other gods and bowed down to them, either the sun, the moon, or any of the host of heaven—nothing that I have commanded—
By becoming a servant of other gods and worshipping them or the sun or the moon or all the stars of heaven, against my orders;
4 and if you are told about this, or if you have heard of it, then you must make a careful investigation. If it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, this is what you should do.
If word of this comes to your ears, then let this thing be looked into with care, and if there is no doubt that it is true, and such evil has been done in Israel;
5 You must bring that man or woman, who has done this evil thing, to your city gates, that very man or woman, and you must stone that person to death.
Then you are to take the man or woman who has done the evil to the public place of your town, and they are to be stoned with stones till they are dead.
6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, will he who must die be put to death; but at the mouth of only one witness he must not be put to death.
On the word of two or three witnesses, a man may be given the punishment of death; but he is not to be put to death on the word of one witness.
7 The hand of the witnesses must be the first to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people; and you will remove the evil from among you.
The hands of the witnesses will be the first to put him to death, and after them the hands of all the people. So you are to put away the evil from among you.
8 If a matter arises that is too hard for you to judge—perhaps a question of murder or accidental death, of one person's right and another person's right, or a question of one kind of harm done, or another kind of matter, matters of controversy within your city gates—then you must go up to the place that Yahweh your God will choose as his sanctuary.
If you are not able to give a decision as to who is responsible for a death, or who is right in a cause, or who gave the first blow in a fight, and there is a division of opinion about it in your town: then go to the place marked out by the Lord your God;
9 You must go to the priests, the descendants of Levi, and to the judge who will be serving at that time; you will seek their advice, and they will give you the verdict.
And come before the priests, the Levites, or before him who is judge at the time: and they will go into the question and give you a decision:
10 You must follow the law given to you at the place Yahweh will choose as his sanctuary. You will be careful to do everything that they direct you to do.
And you are to be guided by the decision they give in the place named by the Lord, and do whatever they say:
11 Follow the law they teach you, and do according to the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right hand or to the left.
Acting in agreement with their teaching and the decision they give: not turning to one side or the other from the word they have given you.
12 Anyone who acts arrogantly, in not listening to the priest who is standing to serve before Yahweh your God, or in not listening to the judge—that man will die; you will put away the evil from Israel.
And any man who, in his pride, will not give ear to the priest whose place is there before the Lord your God, or to the judge, is to be put to death: you are to put away the evil from Israel.
13 All the people must hear and fear, and act arrogantly no more.
And all the people, hearing of it, will be full of fear and put away their pride.
14 When you have come to the land that Yahweh your God gives you, and when you take possession of it and begin to live in it, and then you say, 'I will set a king over myself, like all the nations that are round about me,'
When you have come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken it for a heritage and are living in it, if it is your desire to have a king over you, like the other nations round about you;
15 then you must surely set as king over yourself someone whom Yahweh your God will choose. You must set as king over yourself someone from among your brothers. You may not put a foreigner, who is not your brother, over yourself.
Then see that you take as your king the man named by the Lord your God: let your king be one of your countrymen, not a man of another nation who is not one of yourselves.
16 But he must not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt so that he may multiply horses, for Yahweh had said to you, 'You will never return that way again.'
And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way.
17 He must not take many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
And he is not to have a great number of wives, for fear that his heart may be turned away; or great wealth of silver and gold.
18 When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he must write for himself in a scroll a copy of this law, from the law that is before the priests, who are Levites.
And when he has taken his place on the seat of his kingdom, he is to make in a book a copy of this law, from that which the priests, the Levites, have in their care:
19 The scroll must be with him, and he must read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to honor Yahweh his God, so as to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to observe them.
And it is to be with him for his reading all the days of his life, so that he may be trained in the fear of the Lord his God to keep and do all the words of this teaching and these laws:
20 He must do this so that his heart is not lifted up above his brothers, and so that he does not turn away from the commandments, to the right hand or to the left; for the purpose that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, among Israel.
So that his heart may not be lifted up over his countrymen, and he may not be turned away from the orders, to one side or the other: but that his life and the lives of his children may be long in his kingdom in Israel.
