Deuteronomy 12:1-26:19
Yahweh’s Chosen Place of Worship
“These are the statutes and the judgments which you shall be careful to do in the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess aall the days you live on the earth. 2 You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the ahigh mountains and on the hills and under every green tree. 3 aAnd you shall tear down their altars and shatter their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut the graven images of their gods in pieces and bdestroy their name from that place. 4 You shall not do thus toward Yahweh your God. 5 aBut you shall seek Yahweh at the place which Yahweh your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. 6 And there you shall bring your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, ayour tithes, the contribution of your hand, your votive offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herd and of your flock. 7 There also you and your households shall eat before Yahweh your God, and abe glad in all that you send forth your hand to do, in which Yahweh your God has blessed you.
8 “You shall not do at all what we are doing here today, aevery man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; 9 for you have not as yet come to athe resting place and the binheritance which Yahweh your God is giving you. 10 Now you will cross the Jordan and live in the land which Yahweh your God is giving you to inherit. And aHe will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security. 11 aThen it will be that the place in which Yahweh your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I am commanding you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to Yahweh. 12 And you shall abe glad before Yahweh your God, you and your sons and daughters, your male and female slaves, and the bLevite who is within your gates, since che has no portion or inheritance with you.
13 “aBeware, lest you offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, 14 but in the place which Yahweh chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.
15 “aHowever, you may sacrifice and eat meat within any of your gates, whatever you desire, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, as of bthe gazelle and the deer. 16 aOnly you shall not eat the blood; byou are to pour it out on the ground like water. 17 aYou are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewill offerings, or the contribution of your hand. 18 But ayou shall eat them before Yahweh your God in bthe place which Yahweh your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, and your male and female slaves, and the cLevite who is within your gates; and you shall dbe glad before Yahweh your God in all that you send forth your hand to do. 19 aBeware lest you forsake the Levite all your days upon your land.
20 “When Yahweh your God enlarges your territory aas He has promised you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ because you desire to eat meat, then you may eat meat, whatever you desire. 21 If the place where Yahweh your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you, then you may sacrifice of your herd and flock which Yahweh has given you, as I have commanded you; and you may eat within your gates whatever you desire. 22 Just as a gazelle or a deer is eaten, so you will eat it; the unclean and the clean alike may eat of it. 23 Only be strong in yourselves anot to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh. 24 You shall not eat it; you shall pour it out on the ground like water. 25 You shall not eat it, so that ait may be well with you and your sons after you, for byou will be doing what is right in the sight of Yahweh. 26 aOnly your holy things which you may have and your votive offerings, you shall take and go to the place which Yahweh chooses. 27 And ayou shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, on the altar of Yahweh your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of Yahweh your God, and byou shall eat the flesh.
28 “Be careful to listen to all these words which I command you, so that ait may be well with you and your sons after you forever, for you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of Yahweh your God.
29 “When aYahweh your God cuts off before you the nations which you are going in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and inhabit their land, 30 beware lest you be ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed before you, and lest you inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How do these nations serve their gods, that I also may do likewise?’ 31 aYou shall not do thus toward Yahweh your God, for every abominable act which Yahweh hates they have done for their gods; for bthey even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods.
32 “aWhatever I am commanding you, you shall be careful to do; byou shall not add to nor take away from it.
Stone Those Who Prophesy Against Yahweh
“aIf a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘aLet us walk after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is atesting you to find out if byou love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 aYou shall walk after Yahweh your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and bcling to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be aput to death because he has counseled rebellion against Yahweh your God who brought you from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, bto drive you from the way in which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk. cSo you shall purge the evil from among you.
6 “aIf your brother, your mother’s son, or your son or daughter, or the wife you cherish, or your friend who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, ‘bLet us go and serve other gods’ (whom neither you nor your fathers have known, 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near you or far from you, from one end of the earth to the other end), 8 ayou shall not be willing to accept him or listen to him; band your eye shall not pity him; and you shall not spare him or conceal him. 9 aBut you shall surely kill him; byour hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. 10 So you shall stone him to death because he has sought ato drive you from Yahweh your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 11 Thus aall Israel will hear and be afraid and will never again do such an evil thing among you.
12 “If you hear in one of your cities, which Yahweh your God is giving you to live in, anyone saying that 13 some vile men have gone out from among you and have driven the inhabitants of their city astray, saying, ‘aLet us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not known), 14 then you shall inquire and search out and ask thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the matter is confirmed, that this abomination has been done among you, 15 ayou shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, devoting it to destruction and all that is in it and its cattle with the edge of the sword. 16 aThen you shall gather all its spoil into the middle of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh your God; and it shall be a bruin forever. It shall never be rebuilt. 17 Now nothing from that which is devoted to destruction shall cling to your hand, in order that Yahweh may turn from aHis burning anger and bgrant compassion to you and show compassion to you and cmake you multiply, just das He has sworn to your fathers, 18 if you will listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, keeping all His commandments which I am commanding you today, and doing what is right in the sight of Yahweh your God.
Clean and Unclean Animals
“You are athe sons of Yahweh your God; byou shall not gash yourselves nor shave your forehead for the sake of the dead. 2 For you are aa holy people to Yahweh your God, and Yahweh has chosen you to be a bpeople for His treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
3 “aYou shall not eat any abominable thing. 4 aThese are the animals which you may eat: the ox, the sheep, the goat, 5 the deer, the gazelle, the roebuck, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 6 And any animal that divides the hoof and has the hoof split in two and chews the cud, among the animals, that one you may eat. 7 Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these among those which chew the cud or among those that divide the hoof in two: the camel and the rabbit and the shaphan, for though they chew the cud, they do not divide the hoof; they are unclean for you. 8 And the pig, because it divides the hoof but does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you. You shall not eat any of their flesh nor touch their carcasses.
9 “These you may eat of all that are in water: anything that has fins and scales you may eat, 10 but anything that does not have fins and scales you shall not eat; it is unclean for you.
11 “You may eat any clean bird. 12 But athese are the ones which you shall not eat: the eagle and the vulture and the buzzard, 13 and the red kite, the falcon, and the kite in their kinds, 14 and every raven in its kind, 15 and the ostrich, the owl, the gull, and the hawk in their kinds, 16 the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, 17 the pelican, the carrion vulture, the cormorant, 18 the stork, and the heron in their kinds, and the hoopoe and the bat. 19 And all the teeming life with wings are unclean to you; they shall not be eaten. 20 You may eat any clean bird.
21 “aYou shall not eat anything which dies of itself. You may give it to the sojourner who is within your gates, so that he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner, for you are ba holy people to Yahweh your God. cYou shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.
22 “You ashall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. 23 And you shall eat in the presence of Yahweh your God, aat the place where He chooses for His name to dwell, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may blearn to fear Yahweh your God all your days. 24 And if the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where Yahweh your God chooses ato set His name is too far away from you when Yahweh your God blesses you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which Yahweh your God chooses. 26 And you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink or whatever your heart desires; and athere you shall eat in the presence of Yahweh your God and be glad, you and your household. 27 Also you shall not forsake athe Levite who is within your gates, bfor he has no portion or inheritance among you.
28 “aAt the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year and shall deposit it within your gates. 29 And the Levite, abecause he has no portion or inheritance among you, and bthe sojourner, the orphan, and the widow who are within your gates, shall come and ceat and be satisfied, in order that dYahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
Remission of Debt Every Seven Years
“aAt the end of every seven years you shall grant a remission of debts. 2 And this is the manner of remission: every creditor shall release what he has loaned to his neighbor; he shall not exact it of his neighbor and his brother because the remission from Yahweh has been proclaimed. 3 aFrom a foreigner you may exact it, but your hand shall release whatever of yours is with your brother. 4 However, there will be no needy one among you, since aYahweh will surely bless you in the land which Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, 5 if only you listen obediently to the voice of Yahweh your God, to be careful to do all this commandment which I am commanding you today. 6 aFor Yahweh your God will bless you as He has promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.
7 “If there is aa needy one among you, one of your brothers, in any of your gates of the towns in your land which Yahweh your God is giving you, byou shall not harden your heart nor close your hand from your needy brother; 8 but ayou shall freely open your hand to him and shall generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks. 9 Beware lest there be a vile thought in your heart, saying, ‘aThe seventh year, the year of the remission of debts, is near,’ and byour eye is hostile toward your needy brother, and you give him nothing; then he cmay cry to Yahweh against you, and it will be a sin in you. 10 You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because afor this thing Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you send forth your hand to do. 11 aFor the needy will never cease to be in the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your afflicted and needy in your land.’
12 “aIf your brother, a Hebrew man or woman, is sold to you, then he shall serve you six years, but in the seventh year you shall let him go to be free from you. 13 When you let him go to be free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him generously from your flock and from your threshing floor and from your wine vat; you shall give to him as Yahweh your God has blessed you. 15 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you this today. 16 And it will be that, aif he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he fares well with you; 17 then you shall take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also you shall do likewise to your maidservant.
18 “It shall not seem hard in your sight when you let him go to be free from you, for he has given you six years with double the service of a hired man; so Yahweh your God will bless you in whatever you do.
19 “aYou shall set apart as holy to Yahweh your God all the firstborn males that are born of your herd and of your flock; you shall not work with the firstborn of your herd nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 aYou and your household shall eat it every year before Yahweh your God in the place which Yahweh chooses. 21 aBut if it has any defect, such as lameness or blindness, or any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God. 22 You shall eat it within your gates; athe unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as aa gazelle or a deer. 23 Only ayou shall not eat its blood; you are to pour it out on the ground like water.
The Passover
“Keep athe month of Abib and bcelebrate the Passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall sacrifice the Passover to Yahweh your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where Yahweh chooses for His name to dwell. 3 aYou shall not eat leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), so that you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt ball the days of your life. 4 For seven days no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory, and anone of the flesh which you sacrifice on the evening of the first day shall remain overnight until morning. 5 You are not allowed to sacrifice the Passover in any of your gates of the towns which Yahweh your God is giving you; 6 but aat the place where Yahweh your God chooses for His name to dwell, there you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the appointed time that you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall acook and eat it in the place which Yahweh your God chooses. In the morning you are to return to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and aon the seventh day there shall be ba solemn assembly to Yahweh your God; you shall do no work on it.
The Feast of Weeks
9 “aYou shall count seven weeks for yourself; you shall begin to count seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to Yahweh your God with a tribute of a freewill offering of your hand, which you shall give just as Yahweh your God blesses you; 11 and you shall abe glad before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female slaves and bthe Levite who is within your gates and cthe sojourner and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst, in the place where Yahweh your God chooses for His name to dwell. 12 aAnd you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
The Feast of Booths
13 “aYou shall celebrate the Feast of Booths seven days after you have gathered in from your threshing floor and your wine vat; 14 and you shall abe glad in your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your male and female slaves and the Levite and the sojourner and the orphan and the widow who are within your gates. 15 Seven days you shall celebrate a feast to Yahweh your God in the place which Yahweh chooses, because Yahweh your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether glad.
16 “aThree times in a year all your males shall appear before Yahweh your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and bthey shall not appear before Yahweh empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of Yahweh your God which He has given you.
Do Not Distort Justice
18 “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your gates of the towns which Yahweh your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 aYou shall not distort justice; byou shall not be partial, and cyou shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and perverts the words of the righteous. 20 Righteousness! Righteousness, you shall pursue, that ayou may live and possess the land which Yahweh your God is giving you.
21 “aYou shall not plant for yourself an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Yahweh your God, which you shall make for yourself. 22 aAnd you shall not set up for yourself a sacred pillar which Yahweh your God hates. “aYou shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep which has a defect or any blemish, for that is an abominable thing to Yahweh your God.
2 “aIf there is found in your midst, in any of your gates of the towns which Yahweh your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God, by trespassing against His covenant, 3 and has gone and aserved other gods and worshiped them, bor the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly host, cwhich I have not commanded, 4 and if it is told to you and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire thoroughly. Behold, if it is true and the matter is confirmed that this abomination has been done in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil deed to your gates, that is, the man or the woman, and ayou shall stone them, and they will die. 6 aOn the mouth of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the mouth of one witness. 7 aThe hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. bSo you shall purge the evil from your midst.
Judging Cases
8 “aIf any case is too difficult for you to judge, between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another, being cases of dispute in your gates, then you shall arise and go up to bthe place which Yahweh your God chooses. 9 So you shall come to athe Levitical priest or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them, and they will declare to you the judgment in the case. 10 And you shall do according to the terms of the judgment which they declare to you from that place which Yahweh chooses; and you shall be careful to do according to all that they teach you. 11 aAccording to the terms of the law which they teach you, and according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12 And the man who acts apresumptuously by not listening to the priest who stands there to minister to Yahweh your God, or to the judge, that man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid and will not act apresumptuously again.
Statutes for the King
14 “When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and you apossess it and live in it, and you say, ‘bI will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you whom Yahweh your God chooses, one afrom among your brothers you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your brother. 16 aMoreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he bcause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. cYahweh has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 aAnd he shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.
18 “Now it will be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll ain the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it aall the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to carefully observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers aand that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his sons in the midst of Israel.
The Portion of the Levites
“aThe Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat of the offerings to Yahweh by fire and of His inheritance. 2 aAnd they shall have no inheritance among their brothers; Yahweh is their inheritance, as He promised them.
3 “aNow this shall be the legal judgment for the priests taken from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder and the two cheeks and the stomach. 4 You shall give him the afirst fruits of your grain, your new wine and your oil and the first shearing of your sheep. 5 aFor Yahweh your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to bstand to minister in the name of Yahweh all the days.
6 “Now if a Levite comes from any of your gates of the towns throughout Israel where he asojourns and comes whenever he desires to the place which Yahweh chooses, 7 then he shall minister in the name of Yahweh his God like all his brothers the Levites who stand there before Yahweh. 8 aThey shall eat equal portions, except what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.
Do Not Imitate Abominations
9 “When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, you shall not learn to aimitate the abominations of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone awho makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one bwho practices soothsaying or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer, 11 or one who is an enchanter aor a medium or a spiritist or one who inquires of the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh; and abecause of these abominations Yahweh your God will dispossess them from before you. 13 aYou shall be blameless before Yahweh your God. 14 For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who apractice soothsaying and to diviners, but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do so.
Yahweh Will Raise Up a Prophet
15 “aYahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers; you shall listen to him. 16 This is aaccording to all that you asked of Yahweh your God in Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of Yahweh my God; let me not see this great fire anymore, or I will die.’ 17 aAnd Yahweh said to me, ‘They have spoken well. 18 I will raise up a prophet from among their brothers like you, and aI will put My words in his mouth, and bhe shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 aAnd it will be that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him. 20 But the prophet who speaks a word apresumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or bwhich he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ 21 Now you may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?’ 22 aWhen a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it bpresumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Statutes About Cities of Refuge
“aWhen Yahweh your God cuts off the nations, whose land Yahweh your God gives you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2 ayou shall set apart three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which Yahweh your God gives you to possess. 3 You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which Yahweh your God will give you to inherit, so that any manslayer may flee there.
4 “aNow this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he strikes down his friend without premeditation, not hating him previously— 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live; 6 lest the avenger of blood pursue the manslayer when his heart is angry, and overtake him, because the way is long, and strike down his life, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated him previously. 7 Therefore, I am commanding you, saying, ‘You shall set apart three cities for yourself.’
8 “Now if Yahweh your God aenlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which He promised to give to your fathers— 9 if you be careful to do all this commandment which I am commanding you today, ato love Yahweh your God and to walk in His ways all your days—bthen you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10 So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance, and abloodguiltiness be on you.
11 “But aif there is a man who hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him and strikes down his life so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there and give him over into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die. 13 aYou shall not pity him, but byou shall purge the blood of the innocent from Israel, that it may go well with you.
Statutes About Boundaries and Witnesses
14 “aYou shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that Yahweh your God gives you to possess.
15 “aA single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; at the mouth of two or three witnesses a matter shall be established. 16 aIf a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of wrongdoing, 17 then both the men who have the dispute shall stand abefore Yahweh, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18 And the judges ashall inquire thoroughly, and behold, if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely, 19 then ayou shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you. 20 aAnd the rest will hear and be afraid and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21 Thus ayour eye shall not show pity: blife for life, ceye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Statutes About Warfare
“If you go out to battle against your enemies and see ahorses and chariots and people more numerous than you, bdo not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. 2 Now it will be, when you are drawing near to the battle, the priest shall approach and speak to the people. 3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, you are drawing near to the battle against your enemies today. Do not let your heart be faint. aDo not be afraid, nor be alarmed, nor be in dread before them, 4 for Yahweh your God ais the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ 5 The officers also shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Who is the man that has built a new house and has not adedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. 6 Who is the man that has planted a vineyard and has not begun to use its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man begin to use its fruit. 7 aAnd who is the man that is engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.’ 8 Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, ‘aWho is the man that is afraid and whose heart is faint? Let him go and return to his house, so that he might not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart.’ 9 Now it will be that when the officers have finished speaking to the people, they shall appoint commanders of armies at the head of the people.
10 “If you come near a city to fight against it, you shall call for terms of peace. 11 Now it will be that if it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your aforced labor and shall serve you. 12 However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 And Yahweh your God shall give it into your hand, aand you shall strike all the males in it with the edge of the sword. 14 Only the women and the little ones and athe animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and you shall consume the spoil of your enemies which Yahweh your God has given you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby. 16 aOnly in the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 But you shall devote them to destruction, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as Yahweh your God has commanded you, 18 so that they may not teach you to do aaccording to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, so that you would bsin against Yahweh your God.
19 “If you besiege a city for many days, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you? 20 Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you shall destroy and cut down, that you may build siegeworks against the city that is making war with you until it falls.
Atonement for Innocent Blood
“If a slain person is found fallen in the open country in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one. 3 And it shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke; 4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then athe priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for Yahweh your God has chosen them to minister for Him and to bless in the name of Yahweh; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them. 6 And all the elders of that city who are nearest to the slain man shall awash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7 and they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 8 Atone for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O Yahweh, and do not place the guilt of ainnocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the bloodguiltiness shall be atoned for them. 9 aSo you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of Yahweh.
Statutes About Domestic Relations
10 “If you go out to battle against your enemies, and aYahweh your God gives them over into your hands and you take them away captive, 11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman and set your affection on her and would take her as a wife for yourself, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall ashave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall also remove the clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house and aweep for her father and mother a full month; and after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 And it will be that, if you do not desire her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; but you shall certainly not sell her for money; you shall not mistreat her because you have ahumbled her.
15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and athe other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the firstborn before the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn. 17 But he shall recognize the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the afirst of his vigor; bthe legal judgment for the firstborn belongs to him.
18 “If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will anot obey his father or his mother, and when they discipline him, he will not even listen to them, 19 then his father and mother shall seize him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. 20 Then they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not listen to our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 aThen all the men of his city shall stone him, and he will die; so byou shall purge the evil from your midst, and call Israel will hear of it and fear.
A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed
22 “And if a man has committed a sin, athe judgment of which is death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 ahis corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (because bcursed of God is he who is hanged), so that you cdo not make unclean your land which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance.
Various Statutes
“aYou shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep straying away and ignore them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother. 2 And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother searches for it; then you shall give it back to him. 3 Thus you shall do with his donkey, and you shall do likewise with his garment, and you shall do likewise with anything lost by your brother, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to ignore them. 4 You shall not see your brother’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the way and ignore them; you shall certainly help him to raise them up.
5 “A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
6 “If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, ayou shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, ain order that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.
8 “When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone falls from it.
9 “aYou shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the increase of the vineyard become defiled.
10 “aYou shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
11 “aYou shall not wear a material mixed of wool and flax together.
12 “aYou shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.
Statutes About Sexual Immorality
13 “aIf any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then turns against her, 14 and charges her with shameful deeds and brings forth against her a bad name and says, ‘I took this woman, but when I came near her, I did not find her a virgin,’ 15 then the girl’s father and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of the girl’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 Then the girl’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he turned against her; 17 and behold, he has charged her with shameful deeds, saying, “I did not find your daughter a virgin.” But this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city. 18 So athe elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him, 19 and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give it to the girl’s father because he brought forth a bad name against a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he cannot divorce her all his days.
20 “But if this acharge is true, that the girl was not found a virgin, 21 then they shall bring out the girl to the doorway of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her, and she will die because she has acommitted a disgraceful act in Israel by playing the harlot in her father’s house; thus byou shall purge the evil from among you.
22 “aIf a man is found lying with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.
23 “aIf there is a girl who is a virgin engaged to a man, and another man finds her in the city and lies with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them, and they will die; the girl, because she did not cry out in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.
25 “But if in the field the man finds the girl who is engaged, and the man forces her and lies with her, then only the man who lies with her shall die. 26 But you shall do nothing to the girl; there is no sin in the girl worthy of death, for just as a man rises against his neighbor and murders him, so is this case. 27 When he found her in the field, the engaged girl cried out, but there was no one to save her.
28 “aIf a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not engaged, and seizes her and lies with her and they are found, 29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife because he has violated her; he cannot divorce her all his days.
30 “aA man shall not take his father’s wife so that he will not uncover his father’s skirt.
Those Who May Not Enter the Assembly
“aNo one who is emasculated or has his male organ cut off shall enter the assembly of Yahweh. 2 No one of illegitimate birth shall enter the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation, none of his seed shall enter the assembly of Yahweh. 3 aNo Ammonite or Moabite shall enter the assembly of Yahweh; even to the tenth generation, none of their seed shall ever enter the assembly of Yahweh, 4 abecause they did not meet you with food and water on the way when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you bBalaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you. 5 Nevertheless, Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but Yahweh your God aturned the curse into a blessing for you because Yahweh your God bloves you. 6 aYou shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.
7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for ahe is your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian, bfor you were a sojourner in his land. 8 The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the assembly of Yahweh.
9 “When you go out as an army against your enemies, you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.
10 “aIf there is among you any man who is unclean because of a nocturnal emission, then he must go outside the camp; he may not reenter the camp. 11 But it shall be when evening approaches, he shall bathe himself with water, and at sundown he may reenter the camp.
12 “You shall also have a place outside the camp and go out there, 13 and you shall have a spade among your tools, and it shall be when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and shall turn to cover up your excrement. 14 Since aYahweh your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to give your enemies over to you, therefore your camp must be bholy; and He must not see anything indecent among you, or He will turn away from you.
15 “aYou shall not hand over to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you. 16 He shall live with you in your midst, in the place which he shall choose in one of your gates of the towns where it pleases him; ayou shall not mistreat him.
17 “aNone of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, bnor shall any of the sons of Israel be a cult prostitute. 18 You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a adog into the house of Yahweh your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to Yahweh your God.
19 “aYou shall not charge interest to your brother: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned at interest. 20 aYou may charge interest to a foreigner, but to your brother you shall not charge interest, so that bYahweh your God may bless you in all that you send forth your hand to do in the land which you are about to enter to possess.
21 “aWhen you make a vow to Yahweh your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you; and it will be a sin in you. 22 However, if you refrain from vowing, it will not be a sin in you. 23 You shall be careful and do what goes out from your lips, just as you have voluntarily vowed to Yahweh your God that which you spoke with your mouth.
24 “When you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, then you may eat grapes until you are fully satisfied, but you shall not put any in your basket.
25 “aWhen you enter your neighbor’s standing grain, then you may pluck the heads with your hand, but you shall not wield a sickle in your neighbor’s standing grain.
Statutes About Divorce
“If a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some aindecency in her, and bhe writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out from his house, 2 and she goes out of his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife, 3 and if the latter husband turns against her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife, 4 then her aformer husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her again to be his wife, since she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before Yahweh, and you shall not bring sin on the land which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance.
5 “aWhen a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army nor be charged with any duty; he shall be free at home one year and shall bgive gladness to his wife whom he has taken.
Remember You Were Slaves in Egypt
6 “No one shall take a handmill or an upper millstone in pledge, for he would be taking a life in pledge.
7 “aIf a man is caught kidnapping any of his brothers of the sons of Israel, and he mistreats him or sells him, then that thief shall die; so you shall purge the evil from among you.
8 “aTake care against an infection of leprosy, to be very careful and to do according to all that the Levitical priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do. 9 Remember what Yahweh your God did ato Miriam on the way as you came out of Egypt.
10 “aWhen you make your neighbor a loan of any sort, you shall not enter his house to take his deposit. 11 You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you make the loan shall bring the deposit out to you. 12 Now if he is an afflicted man, you shall not sleep with his deposit. 13 aWhen the sun goes down you shall surely return the deposit to him, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you; and bit will be righteousness for you before Yahweh your God.
14 “aYou shall not oppress a hired person who is afflicted and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of your sojourners who is in your land within your gates. 15 aYou shall give him his wages on his day before the sun goes down, for he is afflicted and sets his soul on it, so that bhe will not cry against you to Yahweh and it become sin in you.
16 “aFathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; each shall be put to death for his own sin.
17 “aYou shall not pervert the justice due a sojourner or an orphan, nor btake a widow’s garment in pledge. 18 But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and that Yahweh your God redeemed you from there; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing.
19 “aWhen you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be bfor the sojourner, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that Yahweh your God cmay bless you in all the work of your hands. 20 aWhen you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs after you finish; it shall be bfor the sojourner, for the orphan, and for the widow.
21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it after you finish; it shall be for the sojourner, for the orphan, and for the widow. 22 And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this thing. “aIf there is a dispute between men and they go to court for judgment, and the judges judge their case, band they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, 2 then it shall be if the wicked man adeserves to be struck, the judge shall then make him lie down and be struck in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt. 3 aHe may strike him forty times but no more, lest he strike him with many more stripes than these and your brother be bdishonored in your eyes.
4 “aYou shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing.
5 “If brothers live together and one of them dies and has no son, then the wife of the one who died shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. aHer husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her to himself as wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And it will be that the firstborn whom she bears shall assume the name of his dead brother, so that ahis name will not be blotted out from Israel. 7 aBut if the man does not desire to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he stands and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’ 9 athen his brother’s wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders and pull his sandal off his foot and bspit in his face; and she shall answer and say, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And in Israel his name shall be called, ‘The house of him whose sandal is removed.’
11 “If two men, a man and his brother, are struggling together, and the wife of one comes near to deliver her husband from the hand of the one who is striking him, and she puts out her hand and seizes his genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; ayou shall not show pity.
13 “aYou shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. 15 You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, athat your days may be prolonged in the land which Yahweh your God gives you. 16 For aeveryone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly, is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
17 “aRemember what Amalek did to you along the way when you came out from Egypt, 18 how he met you along the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear, but you were faint and weary; and he adid not fear God. 19 Therefore it will be, when Yahweh your God has given you arest from all your surrounding enemies, in the land which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.
Bringing First Fruits and Tithes
“Then it will be, when you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you as an inheritance and you possess it and live in it, 2 that you shall take some of athe first of all the fruit of the ground which you bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and bgo to the place where Yahweh your God chooses for His name to dwell. 3 And you shall go to the priest who is in office in those days and say to him, ‘I declare this day to Yahweh my God that I have entered the land which Yahweh swore to our fathers to give us.’ 4 Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it down before the altar of Yahweh your God. 5 And you shall answer and say before Yahweh your God, ‘aMy father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and sojourned there, bfew in number; but there he became a cgreat, mighty, and populous nation. 6 And the aEgyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us and imposed hard slave labor on us. 7 Then awe cried out to Yahweh, the God of our fathers, and Yahweh heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; 8 aand Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; 9 and He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, aa land flowing with milk and honey. 10 So now behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground awhich You, O Yahweh, have given me.’ And you shall set it down before Yahweh your God and worship before Yahweh your God; 11 and you and athe Levite and the sojourner who is among you shall bbe glad in all the good which Yahweh your God has given you and your household.
12 “aWhen you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the orphan, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates and be satisfied. 13 Then you shall say before Yahweh your God, ‘I have purged the sacred portion from my house, and I also have given it to the Levite and the sojourner, the orphan and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; aI have not trespassed against or forgotten any of Your commandments. 14 I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I purged any of it while I was unclean, nor have I given any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have done according to all that You have commanded me. 15 aLook down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the ground which You have given to us, ba land flowing with milk and honey, as You swore to our fathers.’
16 “This day Yahweh your God commands you to do these statutes and judgments. You shall therefore be careful to do them awith all your heart and with all your soul. 17 aYou have today declared Yahweh to be your God, and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and listen to His voice. 18 And Yahweh has today declared you to be aHis people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; 19 and that He will aset you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, a name, and beauty; and that you shall be ba holy people to Yahweh your God, as He has spoken.”
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