Deuteronomy 1; Deuteronomy 7; Deuteronomy 9; Deuteronomy 10; Deuteronomy 14; Deuteronomy 15; Deuteronomy 16; Deuteronomy 17; Deuteronomy 18; Deuteronomy 19; Deuteronomy 20; Deuteronomy 21; Deuteronomy 22; Deuteronomy 23; Deuteronomy 24; Deuteronomy 25; Deuteronomy 30

Deuteronomy 1

1 These [are] the words that Moses spoke to all [of] Israel {on the other side of} the Jordan in the desert, in the desert plateau opposite Suph, between Paran and between Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab.

2 It is [a journey of] {eleven days} from Herob {by the way of Mount Seir} up to Kadesh Barnea.

3 {And it was} in the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on [the] first [day] of the month, Moses spoke to the {Israelites} according to all that Yahweh had instructed him [to speak] to them.

4 [This happened] {after defeating} Sihon king of the Amorites, who [was] reigning in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who [was] reigning in Ashtaroth in Edrei.

5 On the other side of the Jordan in the land of Moab Moses began to explain this law, {saying}:

6 "Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, {saying}, 'You have stayed {long enough} at this mountain.

7 Turn [now] and {move on}, and go [into] the hill of the Amorites and to all [of] the neighboring regions in the Jordan {Valley} in the hill country and in the Negev and in the coastal area along the sea, [into] the land of the Canaanites and [into] the Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates.

8 Look, I have set the land {before you}; go and take possession of the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give [it] to them and to their offspring after them.'

9 "And I spoke to them at that time, {saying}, 'I am not able to bear you alone.

10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and look; you [are] today as the stars of the heaven {in number}.

11 Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, may he add to you as you are [now] a thousand times, and may he bless you just as he {promised you}.

12 How can I bear you {by myself}, your burden and your load and your strife?

13 Choose for yourselves {wise and discerning and knowledgeable men} for [each of] your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.'

14 "And you answered me, and you said, 'The thing you have said to do is good.'

15 And so I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and [then] I appointed them as leaders over you [as] commanders of [groups of] thousands and commanders of [groups of] hundreds and commanders of [groups of] fifties and commanders of [groups of] tens [as] officials for your tribes.

16 And at that time I instructed your judges, saying, '{hear out your fellow men}, and [then] judge fairly between a man and between his brother and between {his opponent who is a resident alien}.

17 You must not {be partial} {in your judgment}; hear [out] the small [person] as [also] the great [person]; {do not be intimidated by any person}, because the judgment [is] God's; and the case that is too difficult for you, bring [it] to me, and I will hear it [out].'

18 And so I instructed you at that time [concerning] all [of] the things that you should do.

19 "Then we set out from Horeb, and we went [through] the whole [of] that great and terrible desert that you saw [on] the way [to] the hill country of the Amorites as Yahweh our God had commanded us, and [so] we came up to Kadesh Barnea.

20 I said to you, '{You have reached} the hill country of the Amorites that Yahweh our God [is] giving to us.

21 See, Yahweh your God has set before you the land; go up and possess [it] as Yahweh the God of your ancestors said to you; do not fear and do not be dismayed.'

22 "Then all of you approached me, and [you] said, 'Let us send men {before us}, and let them explore the land for us, and let them bring back {a report} to us [concerning] the way that {we should take} [and concerning] the cities that we shall come to.'

23 The plan was good {in my opinion}, and [so] I took from [among] you twelve men, {one from each tribe}.

24 And they {set out} and {went up into the hill country}, and they went up to the wadi of Eschol, and they spied out [the land].

25 They took in their hands {some of the fruit} of the land, and they brought [it] down to us, and they brought to us back {a report}, and they said, 'The land that Yahweh our God [is] giving to us [is] good.'

26 But you were not willing to go up, and you rebelled against the {command} of Yahweh your God.

27 And you grumbled in your tents, and you said, 'Because of the hatred of Yahweh [toward] us he has brought us out from the land of Egypt to give us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.

28 Where [can] we go up? Our brothers have {made our hearts melt}, {saying}, "The people are greater and taller than we are, [and there are] great fortified cities [reaching] up to heaven, and we saw the sons of the Anakites [living] there." '

29 "And so I said to you, 'Do not be terrified, and do not fear them.

30 Yahweh your God, who is going {before you}, will himself fight for you, {just as} he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

31 and [just as he did] in the wilderness when you saw that Yahweh your God carried you, just as someone carries his son, all [along] the way [that] you traveled until {you reached} this place.'

32 But through all of this you did not trust in Yahweh your God,

33 {who goes} {before you} on your way, seeking a place for your encampment, in fire at night and in a cloud by day, to show you the way that {you should go}.

34 "Then Yahweh heard the sound of your words, and he was angry, and he swore, {saying},

35 'No one of these men of this evil generation will see the good land that I swore to give to your ancestors,

36 except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh; he himself shall see it, and to him I will give the land upon which he has trodden and to his sons because {he followed Yahweh unreservedly}.'

37 Even with me Yahweh was angry because of you, saying, 'Not even you shall enter there.

38 Joshua, the son of Nun, {your assistant}, will go there; encourage him because he will cause Israel to inherit it.

39 And your little children, who you thought shall become plunder, and your sons, who do not today know good or bad, shall themselves go there, and I will give it to them, and they shall take possession of it.

40 But you turn and set out [in the direction of] the wilderness by way of the {Red Sea}.'

41 "You replied and said to me, 'We have sinned against Yahweh, [and now] we will go up and fight according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us'; and [so] each man fastened on {his battle gear}, and you regarded [it] as easy to go up [into] the hill country.

42 So Yahweh said to me, 'Say to them, "You shall not go up, and you shall not fight because I am not in your midst; you will be defeated {before} your enemies." '

43 So I spoke to you, but you did not listen; you rebelled against the {command of Yahweh}; you behaved presumptuously, and you went up into the hill country.

44 The Amorites living in the hill country went out {to oppose you} and chased you as [a swarm of] wild honey bees do; and [so] they {beat} you down in Seir as far as Hormah.

45 So you returned and wept {before Yahweh}; but Yahweh did not listen to your voice and did not pay [any] attention to you.

46 You stayed in Kadesh many days; such were the days that you stayed [there].

Deuteronomy 7

1 "When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you [are] about to enter {into it} to take possession of it, and he drives out many nations {before you}, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations mightier and more numerous than you,

2 and Yahweh your God will give them {over to you} and you defeat them, you must {utterly destroy them}; you shall not make a covenant with them, and you shall not show mercy [to them].

3 And you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son; and you shall not take his daughter for your son.

4 For their sons and daughters will cause your son to turn away {from following me}, and [so] they will serve other gods, and {the anger of Yahweh would be kindled} against you, and he would quickly destroy you.

5 But this is what you must do to them: you shall break down their altars, and their stone pillars you shall smash, and their Asherah poles you shall hew down, and you shall burn their idols with fire.

6 For you [are] a holy people for Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be for him a people, a treasured possession from [among] all the peoples that [are] on the face of the earth.

7 "Yahweh loved you and chose you not {because of your great number} exceeding all [other] peoples, for you [are] fewer than all of the peoples,

8 but {because of} the love of Yahweh [for] you and because of his keeping [of] the sworn oath that he swore to your ancestors, Yahweh brought you [out] with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.

9 [So] know that Yahweh your God, he [is] God, the trustworthy God, maintaining his covenant and his loyal love with those who love him and with those who keep his commandments to a thousand generations,

10 but repaying those who hate him {in their own person} to destroy them; he is not slow with those who hate him {in their own person}; he repays them.

11 And [so] you shall keep the commandment and the rules and the regulations that I [am] commanding you {today} to observe them.

12 "{And then} because you listen [to] these regulations and you diligently keep and you do them, then Yahweh your God will maintain his covenant and his loyal love that he swore to your ancestors.

13 And he will love you, and he will bless you, and he will multiply you, and he will bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your soil, your grain, your wine, and your olive oil, and [newborn] calves of your cattle, and the [newborn] lambs of your flocks in the land that he swore to your ancestors to give you.

14 You shall be blessed more than all of the peoples; among you there shall not be sterility and bareness, even among domestic animals.

15 And Yahweh will turn away from you all the illness and all the harmful diseases of Egypt that you experienced; he will not lay them on you, but he will lay them on all [of] those who hate you.

16 And you shall devour all of the peoples [that] Yahweh your God [is] giving to you; {you shall not pity them}, and you shall not serve their gods, [which] will be a snare for you.

17 "If you think in your heart, 'These nations [are] more numerous than I, so how can I dispossess them?'

18 [then remember] you must not be afraid of them; you must well remember what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all [of] Egypt:

19 the great trials that your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the [workings of] the strong hand and the outstretched arm [by] which Yahweh your God brought you out; so Yahweh your God will do to all [of] the peoples {because of whom} you [are] in fear {before them}.

20 And, moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornets among them until [both] the survivors and the fugitives {are destroyed} {before you}.

21 You must not [be in dread] from the presence of them, because Yahweh your God, [who is] in your midst, [is] a great and awesome God.

22 And Yahweh your God will clear away these nations {from before you} little by little; you will not be able to finish them off quickly, {lest} the {wild animals} {multiply} {against you}.

23 But Yahweh your God will {give them to you}, and he will throw them into great panic {until they are destroyed}.

24 And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall blot out their names from under the heaven; anyone will not [be able to] stand {against you} {until you destroy them}.

25 You shall burn the images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet [the] silver or gold [that is] on them, and [so] you take [it] for yourself, so that you are not ensnared by it, for it [is] a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.

26 And you must not bring a detestable thing into your house, or you will become a thing devoted to destruction like it; you must utterly detest it, and you must utterly abhor it, for it [is] [an] object devoted to destruction.

Deuteronomy 9

1 "Hear, Israel, you [are] about to cross the Jordan today to go to dispossess nations larger and more numerous than you, great cities fortified {with high walls},

2 a great and tall people, the sons of [the] Anakites, whom you know and [of whom you] have heard [it said], 'Who could stand before the sons of Anak?'

3 You should know {today} that Yahweh your God is the one crossing {ahead of you} [as] a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will subdue them before you; so you will dispossess them, and you will destroy them quickly, {just as} Yahweh {promised} you.

4 "You shall not say {to yourself} {when Yahweh your God is driving them out} {before you}, {saying}, 'Because of my righteousness Yahweh brought me to take possession of this land'; but because of the wickedness of these nations Yahweh [is] driving them out {before you}.

5 [It is] not because of your righteousness and because of the uprightness of your heart [that] you [are] coming to take possession of their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations Yahweh your God [is] driving them {before you}, and in order to confirm the {promise} that Yahweh swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

6 "So you should understand that [it is] not because of your righteousness [that] Yahweh your God [is] giving you this good land to take possession of it, because {you are a stubborn people}.

7 Remember, {do not forget}, that you provoked Yahweh your God in the desert, [and] from the day that you went out from the land of Egypt until {you came to this place} you were rebelling against Yahweh.

8 "And [remember] at Horeb you provoked Yahweh, and Yahweh became angry [enough] to destroy you.

9 {When I went up the mountain} to receive {the stone tablets}, the tablets of the covenant that Yahweh {made} with you, and remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights, I did not eat food and I did not drink water.

10 And Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them [was writing] according to all the words that Yahweh spoke with you at the mountain, from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.

11 {And then} at the end of forty days and forty nights, Yahweh gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.

12 And Yahweh said to me, 'Come [now], go down quickly from this mountain because your people behave corruptly whom you brought out from Egypt, [for] they turned quickly from the way that I commanded them [to follow]; they have made for themselves a cast image.'

13 And Yahweh spoke to me, {saying}, 'I have seen this people, and look! {They are a stubborn people}.

14 Leave me alone, and let me destroy them, and let me blot out their name from under heaven, and let me make you into a nation mightier and more numerous than they!'

15 "And I turned, and I went down the mountain, as the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant [were] in my two hands.

16 And I looked, and indeed you had sinned against Yahweh your God; you [had] made for yourselves an image of a calf [of] cast metal; you [had] turned quickly from the way that Yahweh had commanded [for] you.

17 And I took hold of the two tablets, and I threw them out {of} my two hands and smashed them before your eyes.

18 And [then] I lay prostrate {before} Yahweh, as earlier, forty days and forty nights; I did not eat food and I did not drink water because of all your sins that you committed, by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh [and so] provoking him.

19 For {I was in dread} from [being in] the presence of the anger and the wrath [with] which Yahweh was angry with you [so as] to destroy you, but Yahweh listened to me also {at that time}.

20 And with Aaron Yahweh was {angry enough} to destroy him, and I prayed also for Aaron at that time.

21 And your sinful thing that you had made, the molten calf, I took and I burned it with fire, and I crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was crushed to dust, and I threw its dust into {the stream that flowed down the mountain}.

22 "And [also] at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked Yahweh to anger.

23 And when Yahweh sent you [out] from Kadesh Barnea, {saying}, 'Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,' you rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God, and you did not believe him, and you did not listen to his voice.

24 You have been rebellious toward Yahweh {from the day I have known you}.

25 "And I lay prostrate before Yahweh through forty days, and through forty nights I prostrated myself, because Yahweh intended to kill you.

26 And I prayed to Yahweh, and I said, 'Lord Yahweh, you must not destroy your people and your inheritance whom you redeemed in your greatness, whom you brought out from Egypt with a strong hand.

27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; you must not {pay attention to} the stubbornness of this people, to their wickedness and to their sin,

28 lest [the people of] the land from which you brought us out from there say, "Because Yahweh was not able to bring them to the land that he {promised} to them and because of his hatred [toward] them, he has brought them out to kill them in the desert."

29 For they [are] your people and your inheritance whom you brought with your great power and with your outstretched arm.'

Deuteronomy 10

1 "At that time Yahweh said to me, 'Carve for yourself two tablets of stone [just] as the former [ones], and come up the mountain to me, and you shall make for yourself an ark of wood.

2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former [tablets], which you smashed, and you must put them in the ark.'

3 And [so] I made an ark {of acacia wood}, and I carved two tablets of stone like the former [ones], and I went up the mountain [with] the two tablets in my hand.

4 And he wrote upon the tablets {according to the first writing}, the ten words that Yahweh spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly, and Yahweh gave them to me.

5 And I turned, and I came down from the mountain, and I put the tablets in the ark that I had made, and they are there, [just] as Yahweh commanded me.

6 "And the {Israelites} journeyed from [the] wells of Bene-Yaqan [to] Moserah; there Aaron died and was buried, and Eleazar, his son, served as a priest in place of him.

7 From there they journeyed to Gudgodah, and from Gudgodah to Jotbathah, a land [flowing with] streams of water.

8 At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to stand {before} Yahweh, to serve him and to bless [the people] in his name until this day.

9 Therefore {there was not} for Levi an allotment or an inheritance [along] with his brothers; [rather] Yahweh [is] his inheritance [just] as Yahweh your God {promised} to him.

10 And I stayed on the mountain [just] as [during] the former forty days and forty nights, and Yahweh listened to me also on that occasion; Yahweh was not willing to destroy you.

11 And Yahweh said to me, '{Come, continue} your journey {before the people}, so that you may go and take possession of the land that I swore to their ancestors to give to them.'

12 And now, Israel, what [is] Yahweh your God asking from you, except to revere Yahweh your God, to go in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

13 to keep the commandments of Yahweh and his statutes that I am commanding you today {for your own good}.

14 Look! For to Yahweh your God {belong} heaven and the {highest heavens}, the earth and all that [is] in it.

15 {Yet} to your ancestors Yahweh was very attached, [so as to] love them, and [so] he chose their offspring after them, [namely] you, from all the peoples, as it is {today}.

16 So you shall circumcise the foreskin of your heart, and {do not be stubborn}.

17 For Yahweh your God, he [is] God of the gods and Lord of the lords, the great and mighty God, the awesome [one] who {is not partial}, and he does not take bribes.

18 [And he] executes justice for the orphan and widow, and [he is] one who loves [the] alien, to give to them food and clothing.

19 And you shall love the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.

20 Yahweh your God, you shall revere him, you shall serve him, and to him you shall cling, and by his name you shall swear.

21 He [is] your praise, and he [is] your God, who has done with you these great and awesome [things] that your eyes have seen.

22 With [only] seventy persons your ancestors went down to Egypt, but now Yahweh your God has made you as the stars of the heaven {with respect to multitude}.

Deuteronomy 14

1 "You [are] children of Yahweh your God; [therefore] you must not gash yourself, and {you must not make your forehead bald} for [the] dead.

2 For you [are] a people holy to Yahweh your God, and you Yahweh has chosen to be a treasured possession from [among] all [of] the peoples that are on the surface of the earth.

3 You shall not eat any detestable thing.

4 These are the animals you may eat: ox, {sheep, goats},

5 deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope, and mountain sheep.

6 And any animal having a split hoof and [so] {a dividing of the hoof into two parts} {and that chews the cud} among the animals--that [animal] you may eat.

7 Only these you may not eat from {those chewing the cud} and from {those having a division of the hoof}: the camel and the hare and the coney, because {they chew the cud}, but they [do] not divide the hoof; they are [therefore] unclean for you.

8 And [also] the pig {because it has a division of the hoof} {but does not chew the cud}; it [is] unclean for you; from their meat you shall not eat, and you shall not touch their {carcasses}.

9 "This [is what] you shall eat from all that [is] in the water: {everything} {that has fins and scales} you may eat.

10 But {anything that does not have} fins and scales, you may not eat, [for] it [is] unclean for you.

11 "All [of] [the] birds [that] [are] clean you may eat.

12 Now these [are] the ones you shall not eat {any of them}: the eagle and the vulture and the short-toed eagle,

13 and the red kite and the black kite or {any kind of falcon},

14 and any [kind] of crow according to its kind,

15 and the {ostrich} and the short-eared owl and the seagull and the hawk according to its kind,

16 the little owl and the great owl and the barn owl,

17 and the desert owl and the carrion vulture and the cormorant,

18 and the stork and the heron according to its kind and the hoopoe and the bat.

19 And [also] all [of] {the winged insects}; they [are] unclean for you; you shall not eat [them].

20 You may eat any clean bird.

21 "You shall not eat any carcass; you may give it to the alien who [is] in your {towns}, and he may eat it, or you may sell [it] to a foreigner, for you [are] a holy people for Yahweh your God; you may not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

22 "Certainly you must give a tithe [of] all the yield of your seed, {which comes forth from your field year after year}.

23 And you shall eat {before} Yahweh your God in the place that he will choose to make to dwell his name there the tithe of your grain, your wine and your olive oil and the firstling of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to revere Yahweh your God {always}.

24 But if {the distance is too great for you}, [so] that you are not able to transport it, because the place that Yahweh your God will choose to set his name there, it is [too] far from you, when Yahweh your God will bless you,

25 then [in that case] {you may exchange for money}, and you shall take the money to your hand and go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose.

26 You may spend the money for anything {that you desire}, for oxen or for sheep or for wine or for strong drink or for anything {that you desire}, and you shall eat [it] there {before} Yahweh your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.

27 And [as to] the Levite who [is] in your {towns}, you shall not neglect him, because there is not a plot of ground for him and an inheritance [along] with you.

28 "At the end of three years you shall bring out all [of] the tithe of your yield for that year, and you shall store [it] in your {towns}.

29 And [so] the Levite may come, because there is no plot of ground for him or an inheritance with you, and the alien [also may come] and the orphan and the widow that [are] in your {towns}, and {they may eat their fill}, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all [of] the work of your hand that you undertake."

Deuteronomy 15

1 "At the end of seven years you shall grant [a] remission of debt.

2 And this [is] the manner of the remission of debt: every {creditor} shall remit his claim that he holds against his neighbor, and he shall not exact payment [from] his brother because there [a] remission of debt has been proclaimed unto Yahweh.

3 [With respect to] the foreigner you may exact payment, but {you must remit} what shall be [owed] to you [with respect to] your brother.

4 Nevertheless, there shall not be among you a poor [person], because Yahweh will certainly bless you in the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you [as] an inheritance, to take possession of it.

5 If only you listen well to the voice of Yahweh your God {by observing diligently} all of these commandments that I [am] commanding you {today}.

6 When Yahweh your God has blessed you, [just] as he {promised} to you, then you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow [from them], and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

7 If [there] is a poor [person] among you from [among] one of your brothers in one of your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand toward {your brother who is poor}.

8 But you shall certainly open your hand for him, and {you shall willingly lend} [to] him enough to meet his need, {whatever it is}.

9 {Take care} so that there will not be {a thought of wickedness} in your heart, {saying}, 'The seventh year, the year of the remission of debt is near,' {and you view your needy neighbor with hostility}, and [so] you [do] not give to him, and he might cry [out] against you to Yahweh, and {you would incur guilt against yourself}.

10 By all means you must give to him, and {you must not be discontented} at your giving to him, because on account of this [very] thing, Yahweh your God will bless you in all your work and {in all that you undertake}.

11 For the poor will not cease to be {among you} [in] the land; therefore I [am] commanding you, {saying}, 'You shall willingly open your hand to your brother, to your needy and to your poor [that are] in your land.'

12 If your relative who is a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman is sold to you, and [he or she] has served you six years, then in the seventh year you shall send that person [out] {free}.

13 And when you send him [out] free from you, you shall not send him [away] empty-handed.

14 You shall generously supply him from [among] your flocks and from your threshing floor and from your press; [according to] that [with which] Yahweh your God has blessed you, you shall give to him.

15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God redeemed you; therefore I [am] commanding you thus {today}.

16 And then [if] it will happen [that] he says to you, '{I do not want to go out} from you,' because he loves you and your family, because it is good for him [to be] with you;

17 then you shall take an awl, and you shall thrust [it] through his earlobe and into the door, and he shall be to you {a slave forever}; and you shall also do likewise for your slave woman.

18 It shall not be hard in your eyes {when you send him forth free}, because for six years he has served you [worth] twice the wage of a hired worker; and Yahweh your God will bless you {in whatever you will do}.

19 "Every firstling male that is born of your herd and of your flock you shall consecrate to Yahweh your God; you shall not do work with the firstling of your ox, and you shall not shear the firstling of your flock.

20 [Rather] {before Yahweh} your God you shall eat it year by year at the place Yahweh will choose, you and your household.

21 But if there is a physical defect in it, [such as] lameness or blindness, any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to Yahweh your God.

22 In your {towns} you shall eat it, the unclean and the clean together [may eat it], [just] as [they eat] the gazelle and as [they eat] the deer.

23 But you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water."

Deuteronomy 16

1 "Observe the month of Abib, and you shall keep [the] Passover to Yahweh your God, for in the month of Abib Yahweh your God brought you out from Egypt [by] night.

2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to Yahweh your God [from among] [your] flock and herd at the place that Yahweh will choose, to let his name dwell there.

3 You shall not eat {with it} anything leavened; seven days you shall eat {with it} unleavened bread of affliction, because in haste you went out from the land of Egypt, so that you will remember the day of your going out from the land of Egypt all the days of your life.

4 And leaven shall not be seen with you in any of your territory for seven days, and none of the meat that you will slaughter on the evening on the first day shall remain overnight until morning.

5 You are not allowed to offer the Passover sacrifice in one of your {towns} that Yahweh your God is giving to you,

6 but only at the place that Yahweh your God will choose, to let his name dwell there; you shall offer the Passover sacrifice {in the evening at sunset}, [at the] designated time of your going out from Egypt.

7 And you shall cook, and you shall eat [it] at the place that Yahweh your God will choose; and you may turn in the morning and go to your tents.

8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day [there shall be] an assembly for Yahweh your God; you shall not do work.

9 "You shall count [off] seven weeks for you; {from the time you begin to harvest the standing grain} you shall begin to count seven weeks.

10 And [then] you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks for Yahweh your God with the measure of the freewill offering of your hand that you shall give [just] as Yahweh your God has blessed you.

11 And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite that [is] in your {towns} and the alien and the orphan and the widow who are in your midst in the place that Yahweh your God will choose to let his name dwell there.

12 And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and [so] {you shall diligently observe} these rules.

13 "You shall celebrate the Feast of Booths for yourselves seven days {at the gathering in of the produce} from your threshing floor and from your press;

14 and you shall rejoice at your feast, you and your son and your daughter and your slave and your slave woman and the Levite and the orphan and the widow that [are] in your {towns}.

15 Seven days you shall celebrate [your] feast to Yahweh your God at the place Yahweh will choose, for Yahweh your God shall bless you in all of your produce and in all [of] the work of your hand, and you shall surely [be] rejoicing.

16 Three times in the year all [of] your males shall appear {before } Yahweh your God at the place that he will choose, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear {before Yahweh} empty-handed.

17 Each [person] {shall give as he is able}, [that is], according to the blessing of Yahweh your God that he has given to you.

18 "You shall appoint judges and officials for you in all your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you throughout your tribes, and you shall render [for] the people {righteous judgments}.

19 You shall not subvert justice; you shall not {show partiality}; and you shall not take a bribe, for the bribe makes blind [the] eyes of [the] wise and misrepresents [the] words of [the] righteous.

20 {Justice, only justice} you shall pursue, so that you may live, and you shall take possession of the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you.

21 You shall not plant for yourselves {an Asherah pole} beside the altar of Yahweh your God that you make for yourselves.

22 And you shall not set up for yourselves a stone pillar, [a thing] that Yahweh your God hates.

Deuteronomy 17

1 "You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or sheep {that has a physical defect} {of anything seriously wrong}, for that [is] a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.

2 If [there] is found in one of your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant

3 and by going and serving other gods and [so] he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any [of] the host of heaven {which I have forbidden},

4 and it is reported to you or you hear [about it] and you enquire [about it] thoroughly and, indeed, [the] trustworthiness of the deed [has] been established, it {has occurred}, this detestable thing, in Israel,

5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones {to death}.

6 {On the evidence of} two or three witnesses {the person shall be put to death}. The person shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness.

7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person to kill the person, and afterward the hands [of] all the people, and [so] you shall purge the evil from your midst.

8 "{If a matter is too difficult for you}, [for example disputes] between blood and blood, between legal claim and legal claim and between assault and assault [and between] matters of discernment in your {towns}, then you shall get up and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose;

9 then you shall go to the priests and the Levites and to the judge who will be [in office] in those days, and you shall enquire, and they shall announce to you {the verdict}.

10 "And {you shall carry out exactly the decision} that they announced to you from that place that Yahweh will choose, and {you shall diligently observe} according to all that they instruct you.

11 [And so] according to {the instruction of the law} that they teach you and according to the decisions that they say to you, you shall do; you shall not turn from the word that they tell you to the right or [to the] left.

12 And the man who treats with contempt [so as] not to listen to the priest [who] [is] standing to minister on behalf of Yahweh your God or to the judge, that man shall die; so you shall purge the evil from Israel.

13 And all the people will hear and will be afraid, and they will not behave presumptuously again.

14 "When you have come to that land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you and you have taken possession of it and you have settled in it, and you say, 'I will set over me a king like all the nations that [are] around me,'

15 indeed, you may set a king over you whom Yahweh your God will choose, from the midst of your countrymen you must set a king over you; you are not allowed to appoint over you a man, a foreigner, who [is] not your countryman.

16 Except, he may {not make numerous} for himself horses, and he may not allow the people to [to go] to Egypt {in order to increase horses}, for Yahweh has said to you that {you may never return}.

17 And he must not {acquire many} wives for himself, so that his heart [would] turn aside; and {he must not accumulate silver and gold for himself excessively}.

18 "{And then} {when he is sitting} on the throne of his kingdom, then he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll {before} the Levitical priests.

19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere Yahweh your God by {diligently observing} all the word of this law and these rules,

20 [so as] not to exalt his heart above his countrymen and not to turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left, so that {he may reign long over his kingdom}, he and his children in the midst of Israel."

Deuteronomy 18

1 "And there shall not be for the Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, a plot of ground and an inheritance with Israel, [rather] they may eat an offering made by fire [as] their inheritance, for Yahweh.

2 And there shall not be for them an inheritance [of land] in the midst of his brothers; [rather] Yahweh is his inheritance, [just] as he {promised} to them.

3 Now this shall be the share of the priest from the people, from {those who sacrifice the sacrifice}, [whether it is] an ox, sheep, or goat, and they shall give the priest the shoulder and the jawbones and the stomach.

4 The firstfruits of your grain, your wine, and your olive oil and the firstfruits of the fleece of your sheep you shall give to him.

5 For Yahweh your God has chosen him from [among] all your tribes to stand to minister in the name of Yahweh, he and his sons {forever}.

6 And if a Levite comes from one of your {towns} from {anywhere in Israel} where he is residing, {he may come whenever he desires}, to the place that Yahweh will choose,

7 and he may minister in the name of Yahweh his God, [just] like all his brothers, {the Levites who stand there} {before} Yahweh.

8 They shall eat {equal portions}, apart from what he may receive from the sale of his patrimony.

9 "When you come to the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you, you must not learn to do like the detestable practices of those nations.

10 [There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer,

11 or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults [a] spirit of the dead, or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead.

12 For everyone doing these [things] [is] detestable to Yahweh, and because of these detestable things Yahweh your God [is] driving them out from {before you}.

13 You must be blameless before Yahweh your God.

14 For these nations that you [are] about to dispossess listen to interpreters of signs and to diviners, but Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do the same.

15 "Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your countrymen, [and] to him you shall listen.

16 [This is] {according to all that you asked} from Yahweh your God at Horeb, on the day of the assembly, {saying}, '{I do not want again to hear} the voice of Yahweh my God, [and] I do not want to see again this great fire, so that I may not die!'

17 And Yahweh said to me, 'They are right [in] what they have said.

18 I will raise up a prophet for them {from among their countrymen} like you, and I will place my words into his mouth, and he shall speak to them {everything that I command him}.

19 {And then} the man that will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I will hold accountable.

20 However, the prophet that behaves presumptuously by speaking a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, and who speaks in the name of other gods, then that prophet shall die.'

21 And if you say {to yourself}, 'How can we know the word that Yahweh has not spoken to him?'

22 [Whenever] what the prophet spoke in the name of Yahweh, the thing does not take place and [does] not come [about], that [is] the thing that Yahweh has not spoken to him. Presumptuously the prophet spoke it; you shall not fear that prophet."

Deuteronomy 19

1 "When Yahweh your God has {exterminated} the nations [concerning whom] Yahweh your God [is] giving to you their land, and you have dispossessed them, and you have settled in their towns and in their houses,

2 you shall set apart three cities for you in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you to take possession of it.

3 You shall prepare the roads for yourselves, and you shall divide the regions of your land into thirds that Yahweh your God gives you as a possession, so that {it will be available for any manslayer to flee there}.

4 "Now this [is] the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live [there] who has killed his neighbor {unintentionally}, and he did not hate him {previously}.

5 {For example}, when somebody goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut wood, and the iron [head] slips from the handle [of the tool] and strikes his neighbor and he dies, [then] he may flee to one of these cities, and [so] he may live.

6 [He does this] lest the avenger of blood might pursue after the killer, because {he is hot with anger} and he overtakes him, because it is a long distance [to the city of refuge], and [so] {he kills him}, but {he did not deserve a death sentence}, because he [was] not hating him {before}.

7 Therefore I [am] commanding you, {saying}, 'You shall set apart three cities.'

8 Then if Yahweh your God enlarges your territory [just] as he swore to your ancestors and gives to you all the land that he {promised} to give to your ancestors,

9 [then] {if you diligently observe this entire commandment} that I [am] commanding you {today} by loving Yahweh your God and by going in his ways {at all times}, then you shall add three more cities for yourselves to these three.

10 [Do this] so that innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you [as an] inheritance and [thereby] bloodguilt would be on you.

11 But if someone hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him and rises up against him {and murders him}, and [the murderer] flees to one of these cities,

12 then the elders of his city shall send and take him from there, and they shall give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, and he shall be put to death.

13 Your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, {so that good will be directed toward you}.

14 "You shall not move the boundary [marker] of your neighbor that {former generations} set up on your property in the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you to take possession of it.

15 {The testimony of a single witness may not be used to convict} [with respect to] any crime and for any wrongdoing in any offense that a person committed; on the {evidence} of two witnesses or on the {evidence} of three witnesses {a charge shall be sustained}.

16 If {a malicious witness} gets up {to accuse} anyone to testify against him falsely,

17 then the two men {to whom the legal dispute pertains} shall stand {before} Yahweh, {before} the priests and the judges who are [in office] in those days.

18 Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and [if] it turns out that the witness is a false witness [and] he testified falsely against his brother,

19 then you shall do to him as he meant to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

20 {And the rest} shall hear and shall fear, and {they shall not continue to do such a thing again} as this evil thing in your midst.

21 {You must show no pity}: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

Deuteronomy 20

1 "If you go out to war against your enemies and you see a horse and a chariot, {an army} larger that you, you shall not be afraid because of them; for Yahweh your God [is] with you, the one who brought you from the land of Egypt.

2 {And then} when you approach the battle, then the priest shall come near and speak to the troops.

3 And he shall say to them, 'Hear, Israel, you are near {today} to the battle against your enemies; {do not lose heart}; you shall not be afraid, and you shall not panic, and you shall not be terrified {because of them},

4 for Yahweh your God [is] going with you to fight for you against your enemies to help you.'

5 And the officials shall speak to the troops, {saying}, 'Who [is] the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to this house, so that he does not die in battle and {another man} dedicates it.

6 And who [is] the man that has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed it? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and {another man} enjoys it.

7 And who [is] the man who got engaged to a woman and [has] not married her? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and {another man} marries her.'

8 And the officials shall continue to speak to the troops, and they shall say, '{What man} is afraid {and disheartened}? Let him go, and let him return to his house, and let him not cause the heart of his brothers to melt like his.'

9 And {when the officials have finished speaking} to the army troops, then they shall appoint commanders of divisions at the head of the troops.

10 "When you approach a city to fight against it, {you must offer it peace}.

11 {And then} if {they accept your terms of peace} and {they surrender to you}, {and then} all the people {inhabiting it} shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you.

12 But if they {do not accept your terms of peace} and they want to make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it.

13 And Yahweh your God will give it into your hand, and you shall kill all its males with the {edge} of [the] sword.

14 Only the women and the little children and the domestic animals and all that shall be in the city, all of its spoil you may loot for yourselves, and you may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that Yahweh you God has given to you.

15 Thus you shall do to all the far cities from you, which [are] not from the cities of these nations located {nearby}.

16 But from the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not let anything live that breathes.

17 Rather, you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, [just] as Yahweh your God has commanded you,

18 so that they may not teach you to do like all their detestable things that they do for their gods and [thereby] you sin against Yahweh your God.

19 "If you besiege a town [for] many days to make war against it [in order to] seize it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them, for you may eat from them, and [so] you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field humans that they should come in siege {against you}?

20 Only the trees that you know {are not fruit trees} you may destroy and you may cut down, and you may build siege works against that city that is making war with you {until it falls}."

Deuteronomy 21

1 "If someone slain is found in the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you to take possession of it [and] [is] lying in the field, [and] it is not known who {killed him},

2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and shall measure [the distance] to the cities that [are] around the slain one.

3 {And then} the nearest city to the slain one, the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd that has not been worked with [in the field], that has not pulled a yoke,

4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a {wadi that flows with water all year} and [that] has not been plowed and has not been sown; [then] {there they shall break the neck of the heifer in the wadi}.

5 Then the priests, the descendants of Levi, shall come near, for Yahweh your God has chosen them to bless in the name of Yahweh, and every legal dispute and every [case of] assault will be {subject to their ruling}.

6 And all of the elders of that city nearest to the slain person shall wash their hands over the heifer [with] the broken neck in the wadi.

7 And they shall declare, and they shall say, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see [what was done].

8 Forgive your people, Israel, whom you redeemed, Yahweh, and [do] not {allow} the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, and let them be forgiven [with regard to] blood.'

9 And [so] you shall purge the innocent blood from your midst, because you must do the right thing in the eyes of Yahweh.

10 "When you go out for battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God gives them into your hand, and you lead the captives away,

11 and you see among the captives a woman beautiful in appearance, and you become attached to her and you want to take her as [a] wife,

12 then you shall bring her into your household, and she shall shave her head, and she shall trim her nails.

13 And she shall remove the clothing of her captivity from her, and she shall remain in your house, and she shall mourn her father and her mother {a full month}, and after this {you may have sex with her}, and you may marry her, and she may {become your wife}.

14 And then if you do not take delight in her, then you shall let her go {to do whatever she wants}, but you shall not treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

15 "If a man has two wives, [and] the one [is] loved and the [other] one [is] disliked and the one loved and the one that is disliked have borne for him sons, if it happens [that] the firstborn son {belongs to the one that is disliked},

16 [nevertheless] {it will be the case that} on the day of bestowing his inheritance upon his sons, he will not be allowed to treat as [the] firstborn son the son of the beloved [wife] {in preference to} the son of the disliked [wife], [who is] the firstborn [son].

17 But he shall acknowledge the firstborn son of the disliked [wife] {by giving} him a double portion of {all that he has}, for he [is] the firstfruit of his vigor; to him [is] the legal claim of the birthright.

18 "{If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son} [who] {does not listen to} the voice of his father and to the voice of his mother, and they discipline him, and he does not obey them,

19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him, and they shall bring him out to the elders of his city and to the gate of his {town},

20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This our son [is] stubborn and rebellious; {he does not obey us}, [and] he is a glutton and a drunkard.'

21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him with stones and let him die; and so you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all of Israel will hear, and they will fear.

22 "And {if a man commits a sin punishable by death}, and [so] he is put to death and you hang him on a tree,

23 his dead body shall not hang on the tree, but certainly you shall bury him on that day, for cursed by God [is] one that is [being] hung; so you shall not defile your land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you [as an] inheritance."

Deuteronomy 22

1 "You shall not watch the ox of your neighbor or his sheep or goat straying and ignore them; certainly you shall return them to your neighbor.

2 And if your countryman [is] not near you or you do not know {who he is}, then you shall bring it {to your household}, and it shall be with you {until your countryman seeks after it}, and you shall return it to him.

3 And thus [also] you shall do regarding his donkey, and thus you shall do concerning his garment, and so you shall do with respect to all [of] the lost property of your countryman that is lost from him and you find it; you are not allowed to withhold help.

4 "You shall not see the donkey of your neighbor or his ox fallen on the road and you ignore them; certainly you must help them [get] up [along] with him.

5 "The apparel of a man shall not be [put] on a woman, and a man shall not wear the clothing of a woman, because everyone who does these things is detestable to Yahweh your God.

6 "If a bird's nest is found {before you} on the road in any tree or on the ground, [and there are] chicks or eggs, and the mother [is] lying down on the chicks or the eggs, you shall not take the mother along with the young;

7 you shall certainly let the mother go, but you may take the young for yourselves; [do this] {so that it may go well} for you and {you may live long in the land}.

8 "When you build a new house then you shall make a parapet wall for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house {if anyone should fall from it}.

9 "You shall not sow your vineyard [with] differing kinds [of seed], so that you shall not forfeit {the whole harvest}, [both] the seed that you sowed and the yield of the vineyard.

10 "You shall not plow with an ox and with a donkey [yoked] together.

11 "You shall not wear woven material [made of] wool and linen [mixed] together.

12 "You shall make tassels for yourselves on the four corners of your clothing with which you cover [yourself].

13 "If a man takes a woman and {he has sex with her}, but [he] then {dislikes her},

14 and {he accuses her falsely}, and {he defames her}, and he says 'This woman I took and I lay with her and {I discovered that she was not a virgin},'

15 then [in defense] the father of the young woman shall take, along with her mother, and [together] they must bring out the [evidence of] the virginity of the young woman [to display it] to the elders of the city {at the city gate}.

16 And [then] the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter to this man as wife, but he [now] {dislikes} her,

17 and now look {he has accused her falsely}, saying, "I did not find {your daughter a virgin}," but here [is] [evidence of] the virginity of my daughter'; and they shall spread the cloth [out] {before} the elders of the city.

18 Then the elders of that city shall take the man, and they shall discipline him.

19 Then they shall fine him [a] hundred [shekels of] silver, and they shall give [them] to the father of the young woman, for {he defamed an Israelite young woman}, and {she shall become his wife}; he will not be allowed {to divorce her} all his days.

20 "But if {this charge} was true, {and the signs of virginity were not found} for the young woman,

21 and [then] they shall bring out the young woman to the doorway of the house of her father, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones, and she shall die, because she did a disgraceful thing in Israel {by playing the harlot} [in] the house of her father, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

22 "If a man is found lying {with a married woman}, then they shall both die; {both of them}, the man who lay with the woman and the woman [also], so you shall purge the evil from Israel.

23 "If it happens [that] a young woman, a virgin, [is] engaged to a man, [and] a man finds her in the town and lies with her,

24 then you shall bring out {both of them} to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them with stones so that they shall die, the young woman because she did not cry out in the town, and the man because he violated his neighbor's wife; and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.

25 "But if the man finds the young engaged woman in the field and the man overpowers her and {he has sex with her}, then the man only must die who lay with her.

26 But you shall not do anything to the young woman, [for] there is not [reckoned] against the young woman {a sin deserving death}; {it is similar to when} a man rises up against his neighbor and murders him, {a fellow human being}, [just] so [is] this {case},

27 for he found her in the field, the engaged young woman cried out, but there was no rescuer {to help her}.

28 "If a man finds a young woman, a virgin [who] is not engaged, and he seizes her and {he has sex with her} and they are caught,

29 then {the man who lay with her} shall give to the father of the young woman fifty [shekels] of silver, and she shall become {his wife} {because} he violated her, and he is not allowed to divorce her {during his lifetime}.

30 A man may not take the wife of his father, and [so] {he may not dishonor his father}.

Deuteronomy 23

1 "No man {with crushed testicles} or [whose] {male organ is cut off} may come into the assembly of Yahweh.

2 An illegitimate child may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even [to] the tenth generation none {of his descendants} may come into the assembly of Yahweh.

3 An Ammonite or a Moabite may not come into the assembly of Yahweh; even [to] the tenth generation none {of his descendants} may come into the assembly of Yahweh {forever},

4 {because} they did not come to meet you with food and with water {when you came out of Egypt}, and [also] {because} they hired Balaam, son of Beor, from Pethor, in Aram Naharaim [to act] against you to curse you

5 But Yahweh your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, and Yahweh your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because Yahweh your God loved you.

6 You shall not promote their welfare or their prosperity all your days {forever}.

7 "You shall not abhor an Edomite, because he [is] your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian because you were an alien in his land.

8 The children [that] are born to them [in] the third generation may come {representing them} in the assembly of Yahweh.

9 "If you go out to encamp against your enemies, then you shall guard against [doing] anything evil.

10 "If [there] is among you a man that is not clean because of a seminal emission {during the night}, he shall go outside the camp; he shall not come within the camp.

11 {And then} toward the {coming} of the evening, he shall bathe with water, and at the going down of the sun, he may come to the midst of the camp.

12 "And there shall be for you a designated place outside the camp; {and you shall go there to relieve yourself},

13 and a digging tool shall [be included] in addition to your [other] utensils for yourself; {and then} {when you relieve yourself} outside [the camp] you shall dig with it, and [then] you shall turn, and you shall cover your excrement.

14 For Yahweh your God [is] walking about in the midst of your camp to deliver you and {to hand your enemies over to you before you}, and so let your camp be holy, so that he shall not see in it {anything indecent}, and he shall turn away {from going with you}.

15 "And you shall not hand over a slave to his master who has escaped [and fled] to you from his master.

16 He shall reside with you in your midst in the place that he chooses in one of {your towns wherever he pleases}; you shall not oppress him.

17 "No woman {of Israel} shall be a temple prostitute, and no man {of Israel} shall be a male shrine prostitute.

18 You may not bring the {hire} of a prostitute or {the earnings of a male prostitute} [into] the house of Yahweh your God, for any vow offerings, because {both} are a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.

19 "{You shall not charge your brother interest on money}, interest on food, or interest on anything that one could lend on interest

20 You may lend on interest to the foreigner, but to your countryman you may not lend on interest, so that Yahweh your God may bless you {in all your undertakings} in {the land where you are going}, {in order to take possession of it}.

21 "{When you make a vow} to Yahweh your God, you shall not postpone {fulfillment of it}, [for] certainly Yahweh your God shall require it from you and [if postponed] {you will incur guilt}.

22 And {if you refrain from vowing}, {you shall not incur guilt}.

23 The utterance of your lips {you must perform diligently} [just] as you have vowed freely to Yahweh your God whatever [it was] that you promised with your mouth.

24 "When you come into the vineyard of your neighbor, then you may eat grapes {as you please} and {until you are full}, but you shall not put [any] into your container.

25 "When you come into the standing grain of your neighbor, then you may pluck ears with your hand, but you may not {swing} a sickle among the standing grain of your neighbor."

Deuteronomy 24

1 "When a man takes a wife and he marries her {and then} {she does not please him}, because he found {something objectionable} and writes her a letter of divorce and puts [it] in her hand and sends her [away] from his house,

2 and she goes from his house, and she goes [out] and becomes [a wife] {for another man},

3 and [then] the second man dislikes her and he writes her a letter of divorce and places [it] into her hand and sends her from his house, or if the second man dies who took her {to himself} as a wife,

4 her first husband who sent her [away] is not allowed {to take her again} to become a wife to him after she has {been defiled}, for that [is] a detestable thing {before} Yahweh, and [so] you shall not mislead into sin the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you [as an] inheritance.

5 "When a man takes a new wife he shall not go out with the army, and {he shall not be obligated with anything}; he shall be free from obligation, {to stay at home} for one year, and he shall bring joy [to] his wife that he took.

6 "A person shall not take a pair of millstones or an upper millstone, for {he is taking necessities of life as a pledge}.

7 "If a man is {caught} kidnapping somebody from [among] his countrymen, the {Israelites}, and he treats him as a slave or he sells him, then that kidnapper shall die, and [so] you shall purge the evil {from among you}.

8 Be watchful {with respect to} [an] outbreak of [any] infectious skin disease, by being very careful and by acting according to all that the priests and the Levites have instructed you, [just] as I have commanded them, {so you shall diligently observe}.

9 [So] remember what Yahweh your God did to Miriam on the journey {when you went out from Egypt}.

10 "When you make a loan to your neighbor, a loan of any kind, you shall not go into his house {to take his pledge}.

11 You shall wait outside, and the man [to] whom you [are] lending, he shall bring the pledge outside to you.

12 And if [he is] a needy man, you shall not sleep in his pledge.

13 You shall certainly return the pledge to him {as the sun sets}, so that he may sleep in his cloak and may bless you, and it shall be [considered] righteousness {on your behalf} {before} Yahweh your God.

14 "You shall not exploit a hired worker, [who is] needy and poor, from among your fellow men or from [among] your aliens who are in your land [and] in your {towns}.

15 On his day you shall give his wage, and the sun shall not go {down}, because [he is] poor and {his life depends on it}; [do this] so that he does not cry out against you to Yahweh, {and you incur guilt}.

16 "Fathers shall not be put to death because of [their] children, and children shall not be put to death because of [their] fathers; each one shall be put to death for his [own] sin.

17 You shall not subvert the rights of an alien [or] an orphan, and you shall not take as pledge [the] garment of a widow.

18 And 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 commandment.

19 "When you reap your harvest in your field and you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not return to get it, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that Yahweh your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

20 When you beat off the fruit of your olive trees you shall not search through the branches afterward, for it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow.

21 When you harvest [grapes], you shall not glean your vineyards {again}; it shall be for the alien, 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."

Deuteronomy 25

1 "When a legal dispute {takes place} between men and they come near to the court, and [the judges] judge [with respect to] them, then they shall declare the righteous [to be] in the right and they shall condemn the wicked,

2 then it will happen if the guilty [one] {deserves beating}, then the judge shall make him lie, and he shall beat him {before him}, {according to} {the prescribed number of lashes proportionate to the offense}.

3 He may beat him [with] forty lashes, and he shall not do more [than these], so that he [will] not beat more in addition to these many blows, and your countryman would be degraded before your eyes.

4 "You shall not muzzle an ox {when he is threshing}.

5 "When brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not become the wife of a {man of another family}; her brother-in-law {shall have sex with her}, and he shall take her {to himself} as [a] wife, and he shall perform his duty as [a] brother-in-law [with respect to] her.

6 And then the firstborn that she bears {shall represent his dead brother}, so that his name is not blotted out from Israel.

7 But if the man [does] not want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and she shall say, 'My brother-in-law refused {to perpetuate his brother's name} in Israel, [for] he is not willing {to marry me}.'

8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him, and [if] he persists and says, '{I do not desire to} marry her'

9 [then] his sister-in-law shall go near him before the eyes of the elders, and she shall pull off his sandal from his foot, and she shall spit in his face, and she shall {declare} and she shall say, 'This is how it is done to the man who does not build the house of his brother.'

10 And his {family} shall be called in Israel, 'The house where the sandal was pulled off.'

11 "If a man and his brother fight each other and the wife of the one [man] comes near to rescue her husband from the hand of his attacker and she stretches [out] her hand and she seizes his genitals,

12 then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not take pity.

13 "There shall not be {for your use} in your bag {two kinds of stone weights, a large one and a small one}.

14 There shall not be in your house {for your use} {two kinds of measures}.

15 [Rather] a full and honest weight shall be {for your use}; there shall be for you a full and honest {measure}, so that your days on the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you may be long.

16 For detestable to Yahweh your God [is] everyone who [is] doing such things, everyone who [is] acting dishonestly.

17 "Remember what Amalek did to you on the journey when you went out from Egypt,

18 that he met you on the journey and attacked you, all those lagging behind you and [when] you were weary and worn out, and he did not fear God.

19 {And when} Yahweh your God gives rest to you from all your enemies from around [about you] in the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you [as an] inheritance to take possession of it, you shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens; you shall not forget!"

Deuteronomy 30

1 "And then when all of these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse that I have set {before you} {and you call them to mind} among the nations there where Yahweh your God [has] scattered you,

2 and you return to Yahweh and you listen to his voice according to all that I am commanding you {today}, [both] you and your children, with all your heart and with all your inner self,

3 and Yahweh your God will restore your fortunes, and he will have compassion [upon] you, and {he will again gather you together} from all the peoples where Yahweh your God scattered you there.

4 "[Even] if {you are outcasts} at the end of the heavens, [even] from there Yahweh your God shall gather you, and from there {he shall bring you back}.

5 And Yahweh your God will bring you to the land that your ancestors had taken possession of, and he will make you successful, and he will make you more numerous than your ancestors.

6 "And Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self {so that you may live}.

7 And Yahweh your God will put all these curses on your enemies and {on those who hate you}, [on] {those who harassed you}.

8 And {you will again listen} to the voice of Yahweh, and you will do all his commandments that I [am] commanding you {today}.

9 And Yahweh your God will make you prosperous {in all your undertakings}, and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground {abundantly}, for Yahweh {will again rejoice} over you, [just] as he rejoiced over your ancestors.

10 [He will do this] if you listen to the voice of Yahweh your God by keeping his commandment and his statutes written in the scroll of this law [and] if you return to Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your inner self.

11 "For this commandment that I [am] commanding you {today} [is] {not too wonderful for you}, and it [is] not [too] far [from you].

12 It is not in the heavens {so that you might say}, 'Who will go up for us to the heavens and get it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?'

13 And [it is] {not beyond the sea}, {so that you might say}, 'Who will cross for us to the other side of the sea and take it for us and cause us to hear it, so that we may do it?'

14 But the word is very near you, [even] in your mouth and in your heart, {so that you may do it}.

15 "See, I am setting {before you} {today} life and prosperity and death and disaster;

16 what I am commanding you {today} [is] to love Yahweh your God by going in his ways and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his regulations, and then you will live, and you will become numerous, and Yahweh your God will bless you in the {land where you are going}.

17 However, if your heart turns aside and you [do] not listen and you are lured away and you bow down to other gods and you serve them,

18 I declare to you {today} that you will certainly perish; {you will not extend your time} on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to go there to take possession of it.

19 I invoke as a witness against you {today} the heaven and the earth: life and death I have set {before you}, blessing and curse. So choose life, so that you may live, you and your offspring,

20 by loving Yahweh your God by listening to his voice and by clinging to him, for he [is] your life and the length of your days [in order for you] to live on the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them."