New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 You must not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has a defect, anything seriously wrong; for that is abhorrent to the Lord your God.
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No ox or sheep which has a mark on it or is damaged in any way may be offered to the Lord your God: for that is disgusting to the Lord your God.
2 If there is found among you, in one of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, and transgresses his covenant
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If there is any man or woman among you, in any of the towns which the Lord your God gives you, who does evil in the eyes of the Lord your God, sinning against his agreement,
3 by going to serve other gods and worshiping them—whether the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, which I have forbidden—
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By becoming a servant of other gods and worshipping them or the sun or the moon or all the stars of heaven, against my orders;
4 and if it is reported to you or you hear of it, and you make a thorough inquiry, and the charge is proved true that such an abhorrent thing has occurred in Israel,
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If word of this comes to your ears, then let this thing be looked into with care, and if there is no doubt that it is true, and such evil has been done in Israel;
5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or that woman who has committed this crime and you shall stone the man or woman to death.
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Then you are to take the man or woman who has done the evil to the public place of your town, and they are to be stoned with stones till they are dead.
6 On the evidence of two or three witnesses the death sentence shall be executed; a person must not be put to death on the evidence of only one witness.
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On the word of two or three witnesses, a man may be given the punishment of death; but he is not to be put to death on the word of one witness.
7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first raised against the person to execute the death penalty, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
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The hands of the witnesses will be the first to put him to death, and after them the hands of all the people. So you are to put away the evil from among you.
8 If a judicial decision is too difficult for you to make between one kind of bloodshed and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another—any such matters of dispute in your towns—then you shall immediately go up to the place that the Lord your God will choose,
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If you are not able to give a decision as to who is responsible for a death, or who is right in a cause, or who gave the first blow in a fight, and there is a division of opinion about it in your town: then go to the place marked out by the Lord your God;
9 where you shall consult with the levitical priests and the judge who is in office in those days; they shall announce to you the decision in the case.
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And come before the priests, the Levites, or before him who is judge at the time: and they will go into the question and give you a decision:
10 Carry out exactly the decision that they announce to you from the place that the Lord will choose, diligently observing everything they instruct you.
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And you are to be guided by the decision they give in the place named by the Lord, and do whatever they say:
11 You must carry out fully the law that they interpret for you or the ruling that they announce to you; do not turn aside from the decision that they announce to you, either to the right or to the left.
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Acting in agreement with their teaching and the decision they give: not turning to one side or the other from the word they have given you.
12 As for anyone who presumes to disobey the priest appointed to minister there to the Lord your God, or the judge, that person shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.
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And any man who, in his pride, will not give ear to the priest whose place is there before the Lord your God, or to the judge, is to be put to death: you are to put away the evil from Israel.
13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act presumptuously again.
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And all the people, hearing of it, will be full of fear and put away their pride.
14 When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,"
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When you have come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken it for a heritage and are living in it, if it is your desire to have a king over you, like the other nations round about you;
15 you may indeed set over you a king whom the Lord your God will choose. One of your own community you may set as king over you; you are not permitted to put a foreigner over you, who is not of your own community.
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Then see that you take as your king the man named by the Lord your God: let your king be one of your countrymen, not a man of another nation who is not one of yourselves.
16 Even so, he must not acquire many horses for himself, or return the people to Egypt in order to acquire more horses, since the Lord has said to you, "You must never return that way again."
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And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way.
17 And he must not acquire many wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; also silver and gold he must not acquire in great quantity for himself.
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And he is not to have a great number of wives, for fear that his heart may be turned away; or great wealth of silver and gold.
18 When he has taken the throne of his kingdom, he shall have a copy of this law written for him in the presence of the levitical priests.
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And when he has taken his place on the seat of his kingdom, he is to make in a book a copy of this law, from that which the priests, the Levites, have in their care:
19 It shall remain with him and he shall read in it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, diligently observing all the words of this law and these statutes,
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And it is to be with him for his reading all the days of his life, so that he may be trained in the fear of the Lord his God to keep and do all the words of this teaching and these laws:
20 neither exalting himself above other members of the community nor turning aside from the commandment, either to the right or to the left, so that he and his descendants may reign long over his kingdom in Israel.
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So that his heart may not be lifted up over his countrymen, and he may not be turned away from the orders, to one side or the other: but that his life and the lives of his children may be long in his kingdom in Israel.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.