Deuteronomy 14:22-17:20
English Standard Version
Tithes
22 (A)“You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23 And before the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, (B)you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, (C)and the firstborn of your herd and flock, (D)that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the Lord your God blesses you, because (E)the place is too far from you, which the Lord your God chooses, to set his name there, 25 then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the Lord your God chooses 26 and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And (F)you shall eat there before the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 And you shall not neglect (G)the Levite who is within your towns, for (H)he has no portion or inheritance with you.
28 (I)“At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because (J)he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that (K)the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
The Sabbatical Year
15 “At the end of (L)every seven years you shall grant a release. 2 And this is the manner of the release: every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor. He shall not exact it of his neighbor, his brother, because the Lord's release has been proclaimed. 3 (M)Of a foreigner you may exact it, but whatever of yours is with your brother your hand shall release. 4 (N)But there will be no poor among you; (O)for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess— 5 (P)if only you will strictly obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all this commandment that I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you, (Q)as he promised you, and (R)you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow, and (S)you shall rule over many nations, but they shall not rule over you.
7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, (T)you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but (U)you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 9 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say, ‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your (V)eye look grudgingly[a] on your poor brother, and you give him nothing, and he (W)cry to the Lord against you, and (X)you be guilty of sin. 10 You shall give to him freely, and (Y)your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because (Z)for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For (AA)there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, (AB)‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’
12 (AC)“If your brother, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, is sold[b] to you, he shall serve you six years, and in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you let him go free from you, you shall not let him go empty-handed. 14 You shall furnish him liberally out of your flock, out of your threshing floor, and out of your winepress. (AD)As the Lord your God has blessed you, you shall give to him. 15 (AE)You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this today. 16 But (AF)if he says to you, ‘I will not go out from you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is well-off with you, 17 then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave[c] forever. And to your female slave[d] you shall do the same. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you let him go free from you, for at half the cost of a hired worker he has served you six years. So the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.
19 (AG)“All the firstborn males that are born of your herd and flock you shall dedicate to the Lord your God. You shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 (AH)You shall eat it, you and your household, before the Lord your God year by year at the place that the Lord will choose. 21 (AI)But if it has any blemish, if it is lame or blind or has any serious blemish whatever, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You shall eat it within your towns. (AJ)The unclean and the clean alike may eat it, as though it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 (AK)Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.
Passover
16 “Observe the (AL)month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for (AM)in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 And you shall offer the Passover sacrifice to the Lord your God, from the flock or (AN)the herd, (AO)at the place that the Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it. (AP)Seven days you shall eat it with unleavened bread, the bread of affliction—for you came out of the land of Egypt (AQ)in haste—that all the days of your life you may remember the day when you came out of the land of Egypt. 4 (AR)No leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory for seven days, (AS)nor shall any of the flesh that you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain all night until morning. 5 You may not offer the Passover sacrifice within any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, 6 but at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell in it, there you shall offer the Passover sacrifice, in the evening at sunset, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall cook it and eat it at the place that the Lord your God will choose. And in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 For (AT)six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be (AU)a solemn assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.
The Feast of Weeks
9 (AV)“You shall count seven weeks. Begin to count the seven weeks from the time the sickle is first put to the standing grain. 10 Then you shall keep (AW)the Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with (AX)the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give (AY)as the Lord your God blesses you. 11 And (AZ)you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you, at the place that the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell there. 12 (BA)You shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt; and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
The Feast of Booths
13 (BB)“You shall keep the Feast of Booths seven days, when you have gathered in the produce from your threshing floor and your winepress. 14 (BC)You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns. 15 For (BD)seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God at the place that the Lord will choose, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you will be altogether joyful.
16 (BE)“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God at the place that he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booths. (BF)They shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man (BG)shall give as he is able, (BH)according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.
Justice
18 “You shall appoint (BI)judges and officers in all your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 (BJ)You shall not pervert justice. (BK)You shall not show partiality, (BL)and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
Forbidden Forms of Worship
21 “You shall not plant any tree as (BM)an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make. 22 And you shall not set up a pillar, which the Lord your God hates.
17 (BN)“You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep in which is a blemish, any defect whatever, for that is an abomination to the Lord your God.
2 (BO)“If there is found among you, within any 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, (BP)in transgressing his covenant, 3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or (BQ)the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, (BR)which I have forbidden, 4 and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire (BS)diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you (BT)shall stone that man or woman to death with stones. 6 (BU)On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. 7 (BV)The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So (BW)you shall purge[e] the evil[f] from your midst.
Legal Decisions by Priests and Judges
8 “If any case arises requiring decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to (BX)the place that the Lord your God will choose. 9 (BY)And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and (BZ)they shall declare to you the decision. 10 Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that the Lord will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you. 11 According to the instructions that they give you, and according to the decision which they pronounce to you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the verdict that they declare to you, either to the right hand or to the left. 12 The man who (CA)acts presumptuously by not obeying the priest (CB)who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So (CC)you shall purge the evil from Israel. 13 And all the people (CD)shall hear and fear and not act presumptuously again.
Laws Concerning Israel's Kings
14 “When you come to the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, (CE)‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you may indeed set a king over you (CF)whom the Lord your God will choose. One (CG)from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 Only he must not acquire many (CH)horses for himself or cause the people (CI)to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, (CJ)‘You shall never return that way again.’ 17 And he (CK)shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, (CL)nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, (CM)he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, (CN)approved by[g] the Levitical priests. 19 And (CO)it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, (CP)that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he (CQ)may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, (CR)so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 15:9 Or be evil; also verse 10
- Deuteronomy 15:12 Or sells himself
- Deuteronomy 15:17 Or servant; the Hebrew term ‘ebed designates a range of social and economic roles (see Preface)
- Deuteronomy 15:17 Or servant
- Deuteronomy 17:7 Septuagint drive out; also verse 12
- Deuteronomy 17:7 Or evil person; also verse 12
- Deuteronomy 17:18 Hebrew from before
Deuteronomy 14:22-17:20
New King James Version
Tithing Principles
22 (A)“You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 (B)And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of (C)the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or (D)if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall (E)rejoice, you and your household. 27 You shall not [a]forsake the (F)Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you.
28 (G)“At the end of every third year you shall bring out the (H)tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
Debts Canceled Every Seven Years(I)
15 “At the end of (J)every seven years you shall grant a [b]release of debts. 2 And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall [c]release it; he shall not [d]require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the Lord’s release. 3 Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother, 4 except when there may be no poor among you; for the Lord will greatly (K)bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance— 5 only if you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today. 6 For the Lord your God will bless you just as He promised you; (L)you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
Generosity to the Poor
7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the [e]gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, (M)you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but (N)you shall [f]open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your (O)eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and (P)he cry out to the Lord against you, and (Q)it become sin among you. 10 You shall surely give to him, and (R)your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because (S)for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For (T)the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall [g]open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’
The Law Concerning Bondservants
12 (U)“If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is (V)sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. 13 And when you [h]send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; 14 you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the Lord your God has (W)blessed you with, you shall give to him. 15 (X)You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today. 16 And (Y)if it happens that he says to you, ‘I will not go away from you,’ because he loves you and your house, since he prospers with you, 17 then you shall take an awl and thrust it through his ear to the door, and he shall be your servant forever. Also to your female servant you shall do likewise. 18 It shall not seem hard to you when you send him away free from you; for he has been worth (Z)a double hired servant in serving you six years. Then the Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.
The Law Concerning Firstborn Animals
19 (AA)“All the firstborn males that come from your herd and your flock you shall [i]sanctify to the Lord your God; you shall do no work with the firstborn of your herd, nor shear the firstborn of your flock. 20 (AB)You and your household shall eat it before the Lord your God year by year in the place which the Lord chooses. 21 (AC)But if there is a defect in it, if it is lame or blind or has any serious defect, you shall not sacrifice it to the Lord your God. 22 You may eat it within your gates; (AD)the unclean and the clean person alike may eat it, as if it were a gazelle or a deer. 23 Only you shall not eat its blood; you shall pour it on the ground like water.
The Passover Reviewed(AE)
16 “Observe the (AF)month of Abib, and keep the Passover to the Lord your God, for (AG)in the month of Abib the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Therefore you shall sacrifice the Passover to the Lord your God, from the flock and (AH)the herd, in the (AI)place where the Lord chooses to put His name. 3 You shall eat no leavened bread with it; (AJ)seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may (AK)remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4 (AL)And no leaven shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, nor shall any of the meat which you sacrifice the first day at twilight remain overnight until (AM)morning.
5 “You may not sacrifice the Passover within any of your gates which the Lord your God gives you; 6 but at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide, there you shall sacrifice the Passover (AN)at twilight, at the going down of the sun, at the time you came out of Egypt. 7 And you shall roast and eat it (AO)in the place which the Lord your God chooses, and in the morning you shall turn and go to your tents. 8 Six days you shall eat unleavened bread, and (AP)on the seventh day there shall be a [j]sacred assembly to the Lord your God. You shall do no work on it.
The Feast of Weeks Reviewed(AQ)
9 “You shall count seven weeks for yourself; begin to count the seven weeks from the time you begin to put the sickle to the grain. 10 Then you shall keep the (AR)Feast of Weeks to the Lord your God with the tribute of a freewill offering from your hand, which you shall give (AS)as the Lord your God blesses you. 11 (AT)You shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, the Levite who is within your gates, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are among you, at the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. 12 (AU)And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and you shall be careful to observe these statutes.
The Feast of Tabernacles Reviewed(AV)
13 (AW)“You shall observe the Feast of Tabernacles seven days, when you have gathered from your threshing floor and from your winepress. 14 And (AX)you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your [k]gates. 15 (AY)Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.
16 (AZ)“Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Tabernacles; and (BA)they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed. 17 Every man shall give as he is able, (BB)according to the blessing of the Lord your God which He has given you.
Justice Must Be Administered
18 “You shall appoint (BC)judges and officers in all your [l]gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. 19 (BD)You shall not pervert justice; (BE)you shall not [m]show partiality, (BF)nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and [n]twists the words of the righteous. 20 You shall follow what is altogether just, that you may (BG)live and inherit the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
21 (BH)“You shall not plant for yourself any tree, as a [o]wooden image, near the altar which you build for yourself to the Lord your God. 22 (BI)You shall not set up a sacred pillar, which the Lord your God hates.
Various Instructions
17 “You (BJ)shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God a bull or sheep which has any [p]blemish or defect, for that is an [q]abomination to the Lord your God.
2 (BK)“If there is found among you, within any of your [r]gates which the Lord your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the Lord your God, (BL)in transgressing His covenant, 3 who has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, either (BM)the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven, (BN)which I have not commanded, 4 (BO)and it is told you, and you hear of it, then you shall inquire diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an [s]abomination has been committed in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has committed that wicked thing, and (BP)shall stone (BQ)to death that man or woman with stones. 6 Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three (BR)witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among (BS)you.
8 (BT)“If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, between one judgment or another, or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates, then you shall arise and go up to the (BU)place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 And (BV)you shall come to the priests, the Levites, and (BW)to the judge there in those days, and inquire of them; (BX)they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. 10 You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in that place which the Lord chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they order you. 11 According to the sentence of the law in which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left from the sentence which they pronounce upon you. 12 Now (BY)the man who acts presumptuously and will not heed the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away the evil from Israel. 13 (BZ)And all the people shall hear and fear, and no longer act presumptuously.
Principles Governing Kings
14 “When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, (CA)‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ 15 you shall surely set a king over you (CB)whom the Lord your God chooses; one (CC)from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. 16 But he shall not multiply (CD)horses for himself, nor cause the people (CE)to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for (CF)the Lord has said to you, (CG)‘You shall not return that way again.’ 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and (CH)gold for himself.
18 “Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one (CI)before the priests, the Levites. 19 And (CJ)it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20 that his heart may not [t]be lifted above his brethren, that he (CK)may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may [u]prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 14:27 neglect
- Deuteronomy 15:1 remission
- Deuteronomy 15:2 cancel the debt
- Deuteronomy 15:2 exact it
- Deuteronomy 15:7 towns
- Deuteronomy 15:8 freely open
- Deuteronomy 15:11 freely open
- Deuteronomy 15:13 set him free
- Deuteronomy 15:19 set apart or consecrate
- Deuteronomy 16:8 Lit. restraint
- Deuteronomy 16:14 towns
- Deuteronomy 16:18 towns
- Deuteronomy 16:19 Lit. regard faces
- Deuteronomy 16:19 perverts
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Or Asherah
- Deuteronomy 17:1 Lit. evil thing
- Deuteronomy 17:1 detestable thing
- Deuteronomy 17:2 towns
- Deuteronomy 17:4 detestable thing
- Deuteronomy 17:20 become proud
- Deuteronomy 17:20 continue long in his kingdom
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
