1 “ Do not give to the Lord your God a bull or a sheep which is not perfect. For that is a hated thing to the Lord your God.

You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox, or a sheep, in which is a defect, or anything evil; for that is an abomination to Yahweh your God.

2 “ You may find among you, within any of your towns the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who does what is sinful in the eyes of the Lord your God by sinning against the Lord’s agreement.

If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight, in transgressing his covenant,

3 I f he has served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon or the stars, which I have told him not to worship,

and has gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded;

4 a nd if someone told you about this, then you should do your best to find out if it is true. If it is true that this hated thing has been done in Israel,

and you are told, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is done in Israel,

5 t hen bring that man or woman who has done this sinful act to your gates, and kill the man or woman with stones.

then you shall bring out that man or that woman, who has done this evil thing, to your gates, even that same man or woman; and you shall stone them to death with stones.

6 I f two or three people tell what they know against this person, he who is to die must be put to death. But he should not be put to death if only one person speaks against him.

At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

7 T hose who speak against him should be first to put him to death. And then all the people should join them. You must get rid of all sin from among you.

The hand of the witnesses shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall remove the evil from among you.

8 “ There may be a problem too hard for you to decide, between two kinds of killing, between two kinds of questions about the law, between two kinds of hurting, problems argued about in your courts. Then get up and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses.

If there arises a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within your gates; then you shall arise, and go up to the place which Yahweh your God chooses.

9 G o to the Levite religious leader or the judge who is at work at that time. Ask them, and they will tell you what they decide.

You shall come to the priests who are Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days. You shall inquire, and they shall give you the verdict.

10 T hen do what should be done by what they tell you they have decided at that place which the Lord chooses. Be careful to do all they tell you.

You shall do according to the decisions of the verdict which they shall give you from that place which Yahweh chooses. You shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you:

11 D o what they teach you about the Law and about what they decide. Do not turn aside from what they tell you to do, to the right or to the left.

according to the decisions of the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the sentence which they shall show you, to the right hand, nor to the left.

12 T he man must die who does foolish things and will not listen to the judge or the religious leader who serves the Lord your God. You must get rid of sin from Israel.

The man who does presumptuously, in not listening to the priest who stands to minister there before Yahweh your God, or to the judge, even that man shall die. You shall put away the evil from Israel.

13 T hen all the people will hear and be afraid. They will not act in a foolish way again. A King

All the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

14 “ When you go into the land the Lord your God gives you, and own it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will have a king rule over me like all the nations around me,’

When you have come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and possess it, and dwell in it, and say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me”;

15 t hen you will set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. Set a king over you from among your brothers. Do not give a stranger power over you if he is not your brother.

you shall surely set him king over yourselves, whom Yahweh your God chooses. You shall set as king over you one from among your brothers. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.

16 H e must not take many horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get many horses. Because the Lord has told you, ‘You must never again return that way.’

Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because Yahweh has said to you, “You shall not go back that way again.”

17 H e must not take many wives for himself or his heart may turn away. And he must not gather much silver and gold for himself.

He shall not multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away. He shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

18 “ When he sits on the throne of his nation, he should write this Law for himself in a book in front of the Levite religious leaders.

It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites.

19 I t should be kept with him and he should read it all the days of his life. Then he will learn to fear the Lord his God, by being careful to obey all the words of these Laws.

It shall be with him, and he shall read from it all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them;

20 A nd he will not think he is better than his brothers. He will not turn aside from the Law, to the right or to the left, so that he and his children may live long in his nation in Israel.

that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he not turn 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 middle of Israel.