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.

`Thou dost not sacrifice to Jehovah thy God ox or sheep in which there is a blemish -- any evil thing; for it the abomination of Jehovah thy 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.

`When there is found in thy midst, in one of thy cities which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, a man or a woman who doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah thy God by 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 he doth go and serve other gods, and doth bow himself to them, and to the sun, or to the moon, or to any of the host of the heavens, 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 it hath been declared to thee, and thou hast heard, and hast searched diligently, and lo, truth; the thing is established; this abomination hath been 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 thou hast brought out that man, or that woman, who hath done this evil thing, unto thy gates -- the man or the woman -- and thou hast stoned them with stones, and they have died.

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.

By the mouth of two witnesses or of three witnesses is he who is dead put to death; he is not put to death by the mouth of one witness;

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 is on him, in the first place, to put him to death, and the hand of all the people last; and thou hast put away the evil thing out of thy midst.

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.

`When anything is too hard for thee for judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke -- matters of strife within thy gates -- then thou hast risen, and gone up unto the place on which Jehovah thy God doth fix,

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.

and hast come in unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge who is in those days, and hast inquired, and they have declared to thee the word of judgment,

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.

and thou hast done according to the tenor of the word which they declare to thee ( of that place which Jehovah doth choose; and thou hast observed to do according to all that they direct thee.

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 tenor of the law which they direct thee, and according to the judgment which they say to thee thou dost do; thou dost not turn aside from the word which they declare to thee, right or 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.

And the man who acteth with presumption, so as not to hearken unto the priest (who is standing to serve there Jehovah thy God), or unto the judge, even that man hath died, and thou hast put away the evil thing from Israel,

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

and all the people do hear and fear, and do not presume any more.

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 thou comest in unto the land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, and hast possessed it, and dwelt in it, and thou hast said, Let me set over me a king like all the nations which round about 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.

thou dost certainly set over thee a king on whom Jehovah doth fix; from the midst of thy brethren thou dost set over thee a king; thou art not able to set over thee a stranger, who is not thy 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 doth not multiply to himself horses, nor cause the people to turn back to Egypt, so as to multiply horses, seeing Jehovah hath said to you, Ye do not add to turn back in this way any more.

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.

And he doth not multiply to himself wives, and his heart doth not turn aside, and silver and gold he doth not multiply to himself -- exceedingly.

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.

`And it hath been, when he sitteth on the throne of his kingdom, that he hath written for himself the copy of this law, on a book, from 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.

and it hath been with him, and he hath read in it all days of his life, so that he doth learn to fear Jehovah 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.

so that his heart is not high above his brethren, and so as not to turn aside from the command, right or left, so that he prolongeth days over his kingdom, he and his sons, in the midst of Israel.