Deu 16:18-21:9 | NASB2020 | STEP | “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes , and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment .

Deuteronomy 16:18-22

18 “You shall appoint for yourself judges and officers in all your ^{▼▼Lit gates}towns which the Lord your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. 19 ^bYou shall not distort justice, ^cyou shall not ^{▼▼Lit recognize faces}show partiality; and ^eyou shall not accept a bribe, because a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and distorts the words of the righteous. 20 Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue, so that ^fyou may live and possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

21 “ ^gYou shall not plant for yourself an ^{▼▼I.e., wooden symbol of a female deity}Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of the Lord your God, which you shall make for yourself. 22 And ⁱyou shall not set up for yourself a memorial stone, which the Lord your God hates.

Deuteronomy 17

Administration of Justice

1 “ ^jYou shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any ^{▼▼Lit bad thing}defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.

2 “ ^lIf there is found in your midst, in any of your ^{▼▼Lit gates}towns which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by violating His covenant, 3 and that person has gone and ⁿserved other gods and worshiped them, ^oor the sun, the moon, or any of the heavenly ^{▼▼Lit host}lights, ^qwhich I have commanded not to do, 4 and if it is reported to you and you have heard about it, then you shall investigate thoroughly. And ^{▼▼Lit behold, true}if it is true and the report is trustworthy that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then you are to bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil deed, that is, the man or the woman, and ^syou shall stone them to ^{▼▼Lit death with stones}death. 6 ^uOn the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, the ^{▼▼Lit one dying}condemned shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}testimony of only one witness. 7 ^yThe hands of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. ^zSo you shall eliminate the evil from your midst.

8 “ ^aaIf a case is too difficult for you to decide, between ^{▼▼Lit blood to blood}one kind of homicide or another, between ^{▼▼Lit lawsuit to lawsuit}one kind of lawsuit or another, and between ^{▼▼Lit blow to blow}one kind of assault or another, that are cases of dispute in your ^{▼▼Lit gates}courts, then you shall arise and go up to ^afthe place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 So you shall come to ^agthe Levitical priests or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the ^{▼▼Lit word of decision}verdict. 10 Then you shall act in accordance with the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the Lord chooses; and you shall be careful to act in accordance with everything that they instruct you to do. 11 ^ajIn accordance with the ^{▼▼Lit mouth}terms of the law about which they instruct you, and in accordance with the verdict which they tell you, you shall act; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12 But the person who acts ^alinsolently by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that person shall die; so you shall eliminate the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act ^aminsolently again.

14 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you ^antake possession of it and live in it, and you say, ‘ ^aoI will appoint a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall in fact appoint a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. One ^apfrom among your countrymen you shall appoint as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves, anyone who is not your countryman. 16 ^aqIn any case, he is not to acquire many horses for himself, nor shall he ^armake the people return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since ^asthe Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 And ^athe shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

18 “Now it shall come about, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Law on a scroll ^{▼▼Lit from before
,} ^avin the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it ^awall the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear the Lord his God, ^{▼▼Lit to keep all...to do them,}by carefully following all the words of this Law and these statutes, 20 so that his heart will not be haughty toward his countrymen, ^ayand that he will not turn away from the commandment to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may ^{▼▼Lit prolong days}live long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

Deuteronomy 18

Portion for the Levites

1 “ ^baThe Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall not have a portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord’s offerings by fire and His ^{▼▼Or inheritance}property. 2 ^bcThey shall not have an inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as He ^{▼▼Lit spoke to}promised them.

3 “ ^beNow this shall be the priests’ portion from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep: they shall give the priest the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the stomach. 4 You shall give him the ^bffirst fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep. 5 ^bgFor the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to ^bhstand to serve in the name of the Lord always.

6 “Now if a Levite comes from any of your ^{▼▼Lit gates}towns throughout Israel where he ^bjresides, and he comes ^{▼▼Lit with all the desire of his soul}whenever he desires to the place which the Lord chooses, 7 then he shall serve in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. 8 ^blThey shall eat ^{▼▼Lit portion like portion}equal portions, except for what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.

Spiritism Forbidden

9 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to ^{▼▼Lit do as
,} ^boimitate the detestable things of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone ^bpwho makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, a ^bqsoothsayer, one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, ^bror a medium, or a spiritist, or one who consults the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and ^bsbecause of these detestable things the Lord your God is going to drive them out before you. 13 ^btYou are to be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 For these nations, which you are going to dispossess, listen to ^busoothsayers and diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.

15 “ ^bvThe Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen. 16 This is ^bwin accordance with everything that you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Do not let me hear the voice of the Lord my God again, and do not let me see this great fire anymore, or I will die!’ 17 And ^bxthe Lord said to me, ‘They have ^{▼▼Lit done well what they have spoken}spoken well. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and ^bzI will put My words in his mouth, and ^cahe shall speak to them everything that I command him. 19 ^cbAnd it shall come about that whoever does not listen to My words which he speaks in My name, I Myself will ^{▼▼I.e., hold him responsible}require it of him. 20 But the prophet who speaks a word ^cdpresumptuously in My name, a word which I have not commanded him to speak, or ^cewhich he speaks in the name of other gods, ^{▼▼Lit then that}that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How will we recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 ^cgWhen the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it ^chpresumptuously; you are not to be afraid of him.

Deuteronomy 19

Cities of Refuge

1 “ ^ciWhen the Lord your God cuts off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2 ^cjyou shall set aside for yourself three cities in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to ^{▼▼Lit possess it}possess. 3 You shall prepare the ^{▼▼Lit road}roads for yourself, and divide into three regions the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as an inheritance, ^{▼▼Lit and it shall be for everyone who committed manslaughter to flee there}so that anyone who commits manslaughter may flee there.

4 “ ^cnNow this is the case of the one who commits manslaughter, who may flee there and live: when he ^{▼▼Lit strikes}kills his friend ^{▼▼Lit without knowledge}unintentionally, ^{▼▼Lit and he was not hating him previously}not hating him previously-- 5 as when a person goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand ^{▼▼Lit is put to the}swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the ^{▼▼Lit wood}handle and ^{▼▼Lit finds}strikes his friend so that he dies--he may flee to one of these cities and live. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue ^{▼▼Lit the one who committed manslaughter}him ^{▼▼Lit while his heart is hot}in the heat of his anger, and overtake him because the way is long, and ^{▼▼Lit strike him in the soul}take his life, though he was not sentenced to death since he had not hated him previously. 7 Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside for yourself three cities.’

8 “And if the Lord your God ^cxenlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land that He ^{▼▼Lit spoke}promised to give your fathers-- 9 if you ^{▼▼Lit keep all...to do it}carefully follow all of this commandment which I am commanding you today, ^dato love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always-- ^dbthen you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10 So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and ^dcguilt for bloodshed will not be on you.

11 “But ^ddif there is a person who hates his neighbor, and waits in ambush for him and rises up against him and strikes ^{▼▼Lit him in the soul}him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send men and take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 ^{▼▼Lit Your eye
,} ^dgYou shall not pity him, but ^dhyou shall eliminate the guilt for the bloodshed of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well for you.

Laws of Landmark and Testimony

14 “ ^diYou shall not displace your neighbor’s boundary marker, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to ^{▼▼Lit possess it}possess.

15 “ ^dkA single witness shall not rise up against a person regarding any wrongdoing or any sin ^{▼▼Lit in any sin, that he sins}that he commits; on the ^{▼▼Lit mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three}testimony of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. 16 ^dnIf a malicious witness rises up against a person to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17 then both people who have the dispute shall stand ^dobefore the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18 And the judges ^dpshall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has testified against his brother falsely, 19 then ^dqyou shall do to him just as he had planned to do to his brother. So you shall eliminate the evil from among you. 20 And ^drthe rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21 So ^{▼▼Lit your eye
,} ^dtyou shall not show pity: ^dulife for life, ^dveye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

Deuteronomy 20

Laws of Warfare

1 “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see ^dwhorses, chariots, and people more numerous than you, ^dxdo not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. 2 When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people. 3 He shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. ^dyDo not be afraid, or panic, or be terrified by them, 4 for the Lord your God ^dzis the One who is going with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ 5 The officers also shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Who is the man that has built a new house but has not ^eadedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would dedicate it. 6 And who is the man that has planted a vineyard but has not ^{▼▼Lit treat(ed) it as common}put it to use? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man ^{▼▼Lit treat(ed) it as common}would put it to use. 7 ^edAnd who is the man that is ^{▼▼A betrothed couple was considered legally married, but did not yet live together}betrothed to a woman and has not ^{▼▼Lit taken}married her? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would ^{▼▼Lit take}marry her.’ 8 Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, ‘ ^ehWho is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, so that ^{▼▼As in LXX and other ancient versions; MT his brothers’ hearts do not melt like}he does not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart!’ 9 And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, they shall appoint commanders of armies at the head of the people.

10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall ^{▼▼Lit call to it for peace}offer it terms of peace. 11 And if it ^{▼▼Lit answers peace to you}agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your ^elforced labor and serve you. 12 However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 When the Lord your God gives it into your hand, ^emyou shall strike all the ^{▼▼Lit males}men in it with the edge of the sword. 14 However, the women, the children, ^eothe animals, and everything that is in the city, all of its spoils, you shall take as plunder for yourself; and you shall ^{▼▼Lit eat}use the spoils of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you. 15 This is what you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations ^{▼▼Lit here}nearby. 16 ^erOnly in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave anything that breathes alive. 17 Instead, you shall ^{▼▼Or put them under the ban}utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, 18 so that they will not teach you to do ^{▼▼Lit according to all the detestable
,} ^euall the same detestable practices of theirs which they have done for their gods, ^{▼▼Lit and you would}by which you would ^ewsin against the Lord your God.

19 “When you besiege a city for a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, so you shall not cut them down. For ^{▼▼Read as interrogative with ancient versions; MT the tree of the field is man}is the tree of the field a human, that it should ^{▼▼Lit come before you in the siege}be besieged by you? 20 Only the trees that you know ^{▼▼Lit that it is not a tree of food}are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, so that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war against you until it falls.

Deuteronomy 21:1-9

Expiation of a Crime

1 “If a person who has been killed by someone is found lying in the open country in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to ^{▼▼Lit possess it}possess, and it is not known who struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the one who was killed. 3 And it shall be that the city which is nearest to the person killed, that is, that the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd that has not been worked ^{▼▼Lit which has not}and has not pulled in a yoke; 4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then ^fcthe priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, because the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the Lord; and every dispute and ^{▼▼Lit blow}violent crime shall be ^{▼▼Lit according to their mouth}settled by them. 6 And all the elders of that city ^{▼▼Lit who are}which is nearest to the person killed shall ^fgwash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7 and they shall respond and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see who did. 8 ^{▼▼Lit Cover over, atone for}Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, Lord, and do not place the guilt for ^fiinnocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the guilt for bloodshed shall be ^{▼▼Lit covered over, atoned for}forgiven them. 9 ^fkSo you shall remove the guilt for innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.