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must not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep with a defect or flaw, for that is detestable to the Lord your God.
2 “If there is found among you a man or a woman in any of your towns that the Lord your God is giving you, who does evil in the sight of the Lord your God by violating His covenant, 3 and has gone and served other gods and worshipped them, bowing down to them, or the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly hosts, which I have forbidden, 4 and if it is reported to you or you hear about it, then you must investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and certain that such a detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then you must bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil deed and stone them to death with stones. 6 On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death; but no one shall be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 7 The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting him to death, and after that the hands of all the people. You must purge away the evil from among you.
8 “If any case arises that is too difficult for you to judge, concerning degrees of guilt for bloodshed, conflicting claims, or assaults—cases being disputed at your gates, then you must go up to the place that the Lord your God chooses. 9 You are to go to the Levitical priests and the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you a verdict in the case. 10 You must act according to the sentence that they pronounce upon you in the place that the Lord chooses, and you must be careful to carry out all their instructions. 11 You must abide by the sentence of the Lord that they teach you, and according to the decision that they pronounce upon you. You must not turn aside from the verdict they declare to you, either to the right hand or to the left. 12 The man who acts presumptuously by not listening to either the priest who stands there to minister before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and no longer act presumptuously.
14 “When you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me’, 15 you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses, but you must appoint a king from among your brothers to set over you. You must not appoint a foreigner over yourselves, or one who is not of your people. 16 The king, however, must not acquire large numbers of horses for himself, or send the people to return to Egypt to acquire many horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You are to never go back that way again’. 17 He must not acquire many wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away. He is not to greatly increase silver and gold for himself.
18 “When he is seated on the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to remain with him, and he must read it all the days of his life, so he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes. 20 Then his heart will not be lifted up above his brothers, and he will not turn aside from the commandments, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he and his sons may reign long over his kingdom in Israel.”