Deuteronomy 17:13-20

13 And all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously.
14 When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God gives thee and shalt inherit it and shalt dwell therein and shalt say, I will set a king over me like all the Gentiles that are round about me;
15 Thou shalt surely appoint as king over thee the one whom the LORD thy God shall choose; one from among thy brethren shalt thou set as king over thee; thou may not set a stranger over thee, who is not thy brother.
16 Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses; for the LORD has said unto you, Ye shall not procure to return any more to that way.
17 Neither shall he multiply wives unto himself, that his heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver or gold.
18 And it shall be when he sits upon the throne of his kingdom that he shall cause a copy of this second law to be written in a book in the presence of the priests the Levites;
19 and it shall be near unto him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them,
20 that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren and that he turn not 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 sons, in the midst of Israel.

Deuteronomy 17:13-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 17

This chapter begins with a caution not to sacrifice anything to the Lord that is blemished or ill favoured, De 17:1, an order is given to put to death men or women guilty of idolatry, where it is clearly proved upon them, De 17:2-7 and it is directed that when cases are too hard for inferior judges to determine, they should be brought to Jerusalem to the priests, Levites, and judges, which formed the great consistory there, whose sentence was to be adhered unto on pain of death, De 17:8-13, and rules are given about the choice of a king, and he is informed what he must not do, and what he should do, De 17:14-20.

The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010