Deuteronomy 17

Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God.

1Do not give the LORD your God an ox or a sheep that is hurt. Do not give one with anything wrong with it. God hates a gift like that.

NoteThe old word "evilfavouredness" does not mean the animal is bad or ugly on purpose. It means the animal has a serious flaw, like a hurt leg or a sickness.

2If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,

2Someone in one of your towns may do a very bad thing. A man or a woman may break the promise God made with you.

3And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;

3That person may go and serve other gods and bow down to them. Or they may bow to the sun, the moon, or the stars. God has told you never to do that.

4And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:

4Someone may tell you about it, and you will hear the news. You must check it out carefully. The story may turn out to be true. Then this bad thing really did happen in Israel.

5Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

5Take that man or that woman out to the town gate. Then throw stones at that person until they die.

NoteThe town gate was the open space where people met. Public matters were settled there, in front of everyone.

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

6Two or three people must have seen it and say what they saw. Then the guilty person may be put to death. One person's word alone is never enough.

7The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.

7The people who saw it must throw the first stones. Then all the others throw stones too. This is how you take evil out from among you.

8If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose;

8Some cases will be too hard for you to decide. They may be about killing, or about a fight over money, or about hurting someone. Then go up to the place the LORD your God chooses.

9And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:

9Go to the priests from the family of Levi, the men who serve God. Go also to the judge who is in charge at that time. Ask them, and they will tell you what is right.

10And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:

10Do what they tell you at the place the LORD chooses. Be careful to do everything they say.

11According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.

11They will teach you what the law says and give you their answer. Do just what they say. Do not turn away from it at all.

12And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.

12A man may act proud and refuse to listen. He may not obey the priest who serves the LORD your God there, or the judge. That man must die. That is how you take evil out of Israel.

13And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

13Then all the people will hear about it and be afraid. And no one will act so proud again.

14When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;

14One day you will come into the land the LORD your God is giving you. You will take it and live there. Then you may say, "We want a king, like the nations around us."

15Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.

15Be sure to make the man the LORD your God picks your king. He must be one of your own people. Do not pick a stranger from another nation.

16But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.

16The king must not gather up many horses for himself. He must not send people back to Egypt to get more horses. The LORD told you never to go back that way.

17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

17The king must not have many wives. If he does, his heart will turn away from God. He must not pile up silver and gold either.

18And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

18When he sits on his throne as king, he must write out a copy of this law. He must copy it from the one the priests keep.

NoteA "book" back then was a scroll, a long roll of paper wound up. The king had to copy the law out by hand.

19And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:

19He must keep that copy with him and read it every day of his life. Then he will learn to honor the LORD his God. He will learn to obey all these words and rules.

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

20Then he will not think he is better than his own people. He will not turn away from God's commands at all. And he and his sons will rule Israel for many years.