| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1“Never sacrifice sick or defective cattle, sheep, or goats to the LORD your God, for he detests such gifts. | 1You shall not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep with any defect or serious flaw, for that is detestable to the LORD your God. |
| 2“When you begin living in the towns the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman among you might do evil in the sight of the LORD your God and violate the covenant. | 2If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant |
| 3For instance, they might serve other gods or worship the sun, the moon, or any of the stars—the forces of heaven—which I have strictly forbidden. | 3and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden— |
| 4When you hear about it, investigate the matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, | 4and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel, |
| 5then the man or woman who has committed such an evil act must be taken to the gates of the town and stoned to death. | 5you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death. |
| 6But never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses. | 6On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness. |
| 7The witnesses must throw the first stones, and then all the people may join in. In this way, you will purge the evil from among you. | 7The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you. |
| 8“Suppose a case arises in a local court that is too hard for you to decide—for instance, whether someone is guilty of murder or only of manslaughter, or a difficult lawsuit, or a case involving different kinds of assault. Take such legal cases to the place the LORD your God will choose, | 8If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. |
| 9and present them to the Levitical priests or the judge on duty at that time. They will hear the case and declare the verdict. | 9You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case. |
| 10You must carry out the verdict they announce and the sentence they prescribe at the place the LORD chooses. You must do exactly what they say. | 10You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you, |
| 11After they have interpreted the law and declared their verdict, the sentence they impose must be fully executed; do not modify it in any way. | 11according to the terms of law they give and the verdict they proclaim. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from the decision they declare to you. |
| 12Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the LORD your God must die. In this way you will purge the evil from Israel. | 12But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. |
| 13Then everyone else will hear about it and be afraid to act so arrogantly. Guidelines for a King | 13Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will no longer behave arrogantly. |
| 14“You are about to enter the land the LORD your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’ | 14When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” |
| 15If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the LORD your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner. | 15you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers. |
| 16“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the LORD has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ | 16But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ |
| 17The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the LORD. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself. | 17He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold. |
| 18“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. | 18When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. |
| 19He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the LORD his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. | 19It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes. |
| 20This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel. | 20Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel. |
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