Deuteronomy 26

And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;

1One day you will come into the land the LORD your God is giving you. You will take it and live there.

2That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name there.

2Then take some of the first food your fields grow. Put it in a basket. Carry it to the place the LORD your God picks for himself.

3And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the LORD thy God, that I am come unto the country which the LORD sware unto our fathers for to give us.

3Go to the priest who is serving then. A priest helped people worship God. Say to him, "Today I tell the LORD your God that I have come into the land he promised our great-grandfathers."

4And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD thy God.

4The priest will take the basket from your hands. He will set it down in front of the altar of the LORD your God.

5And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

5Then say this to the LORD your God: "My father wandered from Aram and almost died. He went down to Egypt with only a few people. There his family grew into a big, strong nation.

NoteThe KJV says "A Syrian ready to perish was my father." It means an ancestor who moved from place to place with no home of his own, and who nearly starved.

6And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:

6But the people of Egypt were cruel to us. They hurt us and made us work very hard as slaves.

7And when we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, the LORD heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:

7So we cried out to the LORD, the God of our great-grandfathers. He heard us. He saw our pain, our hard work, and our trouble.

8And the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:

8Then the LORD brought us out of Egypt. He used his strong hand and his powerful arm. He did great and frightening things, with signs and wonders.

9And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.

9He brought us to this place. He gave us this land, a land full of milk and honey.

10And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:

10So now I have brought the first food from the land you gave me, LORD." Then set the basket down before the LORD your God and bow low to him.

11And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

11Then be glad about all the good things the LORD your God gave you and your family. Be glad along with the Levites, who helped at God's house, and with the foreigners living near you.

12When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

12Every third year you must set aside a tenth of all your crops. Give it to the Levites, the foreigners, children with no father, and women whose husbands have died. Then they can eat all they need in your towns.

13Then thou shalt say before the LORD thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them:

13Then say to the LORD your God: "I have taken the holy share out of my house. I gave it to the Levites, the foreigners, the children with no father, and the widows. I did just what you told me. I did not break your rules or forget them.

14I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the LORD my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.

14I did not eat any of it while I was sad about someone who died. I did not touch it when I was not clean. I did not give any of it to the dead. I listened to the LORD my God. I did everything he told me.

Note"Unclean" here does not mean dirty. It was a word for someone who could not join in worship for a while, usually after touching a dead body or being sick.

15Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

15Look down from heaven, your holy home. Bless your people Israel. Bless the land you gave us, just as you promised our great-grandfathers. It is a land full of milk and honey."

16This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

16Today the LORD your God tells you to obey these rules and laws. So keep them and do them with all your heart and all your life.

17Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:

17Today you have said out loud that the LORD is your God. You said you will live his way. You will keep his rules and laws, and listen to his voice.

18And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

18And today the LORD has said out loud that you are his people. You are his own special treasure, just as he promised. And you are to keep all his commands.

NoteThe KJV word "peculiar" did not mean odd or strange. It meant something you own yourself and treasure.

19And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the LORD thy God, as he hath spoken.

19He will lift you high above all the nations he made. People will praise you and honor your name. You will be a holy people, set apart for the LORD your God, just as he said.