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The Festival of Shelters
13 “You must observe the Festival of Shelters*
for seven days at the end of the harvest season, after the grain has been threshed and the
grapes have been pressed. 14 This festival will be
a happy time of celebrating with your sons and
daughters, your male and female servants, and
the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows
from your towns. 15 For seven days you must celebrate this festival to honor the Lord your God
at the place he chooses, for it is he who blesses
you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time
of great joy for all.
16 “Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and
the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord your
God at the place he chooses, but they must not
appear before the Lord without a gift for him.
17 All must give as they are able, according to the
blessings given to them by the Lord your God.
Justice for the People
18 “Appoint judges and officials for yourselves
from each of your tribes in all the towns the
Lord your God is giving you. They must judge
the people fairly. 19 You must never twist justice
or show partiality. Never accept a bribe, for
bribes blind the eyes of the wise and corrupt the
decisions of the godly. 20 Let true justice prevail,
so you may live and occupy the land that the
Lord your God is giving you.
21 “You must never set up a wooden Asherah
pole beside the altar you build for the Lord your
God. 22 And never set up sacred pillars for worship, for the Lord your God hates them.
17
“Never sacrifice sick or defective cattle,
sheep, or goats to the Lord your God, for
he detests such gifts.
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. 3 For
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. 4 When you hear about it, investigate the
matter thoroughly. If it is true that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then the
man or woman who has committed such an
evil act must be taken to the gates of the town
and stoned to death. 6 But never put a person
to death on the testimony of only one witness.
There must always be two or three witnesses.
7 The witnesses must throw the first stones, and
16:13 Or Festival of Booths, or Festival of Tabernacles; also in
16:16. This was earlier called the Festival of the Final Harvest
or Festival of Ingathering (see Exod 23:16b). It is celebrated
today as Sukkot (or Succoth).
DEUTER ONOM Y 17
then all the people may join in. In this way, you
will 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, 9 and present them to the Levitical priests
or the judge on duty at that time. They will hear
the case and declare the verdict. 10 You 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. 11 After they have
interpreted the law and declared their verdict,
the sentence they impose must be fully executed;
do not modify it in any way. 12 Anyone 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. 13 Then everyone else will hear about it and
be afraid to act so arrogantly.
Guidelines for a King
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.’ 15 If 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.
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.’ 17 The 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.
• Blessings
DE U TE R ON OM Y 16:17
As we receive, so we should give. The
Scripture suggests that we will also
receive blessings to the extent that we
give them. God blesses us, and we give a
portion; as we give, God blesses us even
more. But he wants our giving to come
from a cheerful heart and a desire to give,
not from a desire for God to reward us.
Giving in order to get is actually a form
of greed, and God will not reward that.
Giving in order to share our blessings is
one way in which we bless others, and
God rewards this true giving with greater
blessing.