DeuteronomyChapter 17

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¹Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep that has something wrong with it or has any serious flaw. That would be disgusting to the LORD your God. ²A man or woman among you may be found doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God. It may be in one of the towns the LORD your God gives you. That person may be breaking his covenant. ³That person may have gone to worship other gods and bow down to them. Or they may bow down to the sun or the moon or any of the stars in the sky. I have forbidden this. ⁴Someone may tell you about it, and you hear about it. Then you must look into it carefully. The report may be true. This disgusting thing may really have happened in Israel. ⁵If so, bring the man or woman who did this evil thing out to your town gates. Then stone that person to death. ⁶A person may be put to death only if two or three witnesses speak against him. No one may be put to death if only one witness speaks against him. ⁷The witnesses must be the first to put him to death. After that, all the people must join in. So you must get rid of the evil among you. ⁸Some cases in your towns may be too hard for you to judge. They may be about killing, lawsuits, or attacks. If so, go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. ⁹Go to the priests, who are Levites, and to the judge who is in charge at that time. Ask them about the case. They will tell you their decision. ¹⁰You must follow the decision they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they tell you. ¹¹Do what the law they teach you says. Do what their decision says. Do not turn away from what they tell you, either to the right or to the left. ¹²But someone may proudly refuse to listen to the priest who serves the LORD your God there. Or he may refuse to listen to the judge. That man must be put to death. You must get rid of the evil in Israel. ¹³Then all the people will hear about it and be afraid. They will not act so proudly again. ¹⁴You will go into the land the LORD your God is giving you. You will take it over and settle there. Then you may say, "Let us put a king over us like all the nations around us." ¹⁵If so, be sure to make the king the one the LORD your God chooses. He must be one of your own people. Do not put a foreigner over you as king, someone who is not one of your brothers. ¹⁶But the king must not get many horses for himself. He must not send the people back to Egypt to get more horses. The LORD has told you, 'You must never go back that way again.' ¹⁷The king must not take many wives for himself. If he does, his heart will be led away. He must not pile up lots of silver and gold for himself. ¹⁸When he sits on his royal throne, he must write a copy of this law for himself on a scroll. He must do it in front of the priests, who are Levites. ¹⁹He must keep it with him and read from it all the days of his life. Then he will learn to fear the LORD his God. He will learn to carefully obey all the words of this law and these rules. ²⁰Then he will not think he is better than his fellow Israelites. He will not turn away from the commands, to the right or to the left. Then he and his sons will rule over his kingdom in Israel for many years.