The Living Bible (63 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
“Never sacrifice a sick or defective ox or sheep to the Lord your God. He doesn’t feel honored by such gifts!
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“If anyone, whether man or woman, in any village throughout your land violates your covenant with God by worshiping other gods, the sun, moon, or stars—which I have strictly forbidden—
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first check the rumor very carefully; if there is no doubt it is true,
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then that man or woman shall be taken outside the city and shall be stoned to death.
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However, never put a man to death on the testimony of only one witness; there must be at least two or three.
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The witnesses shall throw the first stones, and then all the people shall join in. In this way you will purge all evil from among you.
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“If a case arises that is too hard for you to decide—for instance, whether someone is guilty of murder when there is insufficient evidence, or whether someone’s rights have been violated—you shall take the case to the sanctuary of the Lord your God,
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to the priests and Levites, and the chief judge on duty at the time will make the decision.
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His decision is without appeal and is to be followed to the letter.
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The sentence he imposes is to be fully executed.
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If the defendant refuses to accept the decision of the priest or judge appointed by God for this purpose, the penalty is death. Such sinners must be purged from Israel.
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Then everyone will hear about what happened to the man who refused God’s verdict, and they will be afraid to defy a court’s judgment.
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“When you arrive in the land the Lord your God will give you, and have conquered it, and begin to think, ‘We ought to have a king like the other nations around us’—
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be sure that you select as king the man the Lord your God shall choose. He must be an Israelite, not a foreigner.
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Be sure that he doesn’t build up a large stable of horses for himself, nor send his men to Egypt to raise horses for him there, for the Lord has told you, ‘Never return to Egypt again.’
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He must not have too many wives, lest his heart be turned away from the Lord, neither shall he be excessively rich.
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“And when he has been crowned and sits upon his throne as king, then he must copy these laws from the book kept by the Levite-priests.
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That copy of the laws shall be his constant companion. He must read from it every day of his life so that he will learn to respect the Lord his God by obeying all of his commands.
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This regular reading of God’s laws will prevent him from feeling that he is better than his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from God’s laws in the slightest respect and will ensure his having a long, good reign. His sons will then follow him upon the throne.
“Remember that the priests and all the other members of the Levite tribe will not be given property like the other tribes. So the priests and Levites are to be supported by the sacrifices brought to the altar of the Lord and by the other offerings the people bring to him.
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They don’t need to own property, for the Lord is their property! That is what he promised them!
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The shoulder, the cheeks, and the stomach of every ox or sheep brought for sacrifice must be given to the priests.
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In addition, the priests shall receive the harvest samples brought in thanksgiving to the Lord—the first of the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, and of the fleece at shearing time.
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For the Lord your God has chosen the tribe of Levi, of all the tribes, to minister to the Lord from generation to generation.
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“Any Levite, no matter where he lives in the land of Israel, has the right to come to the sanctuary at any time and minister in the name of the Lord, just like his brother Levites who work there regularly.
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He shall be given his share of the sacrifices and offerings as his right, not just if he is in need.
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“When you arrive in the Promised Land you must be very careful lest you be corrupted by the horrible customs of the nations now living there.
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For example, any Israeli who presents his child to be burned to death as a sacrifice to heathen gods must be killed.
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No Israeli may practice black magic, or call on the evil spirits for aid, or be a fortune-teller,
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or be a serpent charmer, medium, or wizard, or call forth the spirits of the dead.
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Anyone doing these things is an object of horror and disgust to the Lord, and it is because the nations do these things that the Lord your God will displace them.
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You must walk blamelessly before the Lord your God.
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The nations you replace all do these evil things, but the Lord your God will not permit you to do such things.
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“Instead, he will raise up for you a prophet like me, an Israeli, a man to whom you must listen and whom you must obey.
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For this is what you yourselves begged of God at Mount Horeb. There at the foot of the mountain you begged that you might not have to listen to the terrifying voice of God again, or see the awesome fire on the mountain, lest you die.
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“‘All right,’ the Lord said to me, ‘I will do as they have requested.
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I will raise up from among them a prophet, an Israeli like you. I will tell him what to say, and he shall be my spokesman to the people.
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I will personally deal with anyone who will not listen to him and heed his messages from me.
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But any prophet who falsely claims that his message is from me shall die. And any prophet who claims to give a message from other gods must die.’
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If you wonder, ‘How shall we know whether the prophecy is from the Lord or not?’
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this is the way to know: If the thing he prophesies doesn’t happen, it is not the Lord who has given him the message; he has made it up himself. You have nothing to fear from him.
“When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations you will displace, and when you are living in their cities and homes,
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you must set apart three Cities of Refuge so that anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee to safety. Divide the country into three districts, with one of these cities in each district; and keep the roads to these cities in good repair.
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“Here is an example of the purpose of these cities:
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If a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to chop wood, and the axhead flies off the handle and kills the man’s neighbor, he may flee to one of those cities and be safe.
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Anyone seeking to avenge the death will not be able to. These cities must be scattered so that one of them will be reasonably close to everyone; otherwise the angry avenger might catch and kill the innocent slayer, even though he should not have died since he had not killed deliberately.
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“If the Lord enlarges your boundaries as he promised your ancestors, and gives you all the land he promised
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(whether he does this depends on your obedience to all these commandments I am giving you today—loving the Lord your God and walking his paths), then you must designate three additional Cities of Refuge.
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In this way you will be able to avoid the death of innocent people, and you will not be held responsible for unjustified bloodshed.
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“But if anyone hates his neighbor and springs out of hiding and kills him, and then flees into one of the Cities of Refuge,
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the elders of his hometown shall send for him and shall bring him home and deliver him over to the dead man’s avenger, to kill him.
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Don’t pity him! Purge all murderers from Israel! Only then will all go well with you.
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“When you arrive in the land the Lord your God is giving you, remember that you must never steal a man’s land by moving the boundary marker.
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“Never convict anyone on the testimony of one witness. There must be at least two, and three is even better.
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If anyone gives false witness, claiming he has seen someone do wrong when he hasn’t,
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both men shall be brought before the priests and judges on duty before the Lord at the time.
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They must be closely questioned, and if the witness is lying,
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his penalty shall be the punishment he thought the other man would get. In this way you will purge out evil from among you.
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Then those who hear about it will be afraid to tell lies on the witness stand.
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You shall not show pity to a false witness. Life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot; this is your rule in such cases.