The Fifth Book of Moses: Deuteronomy

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- Chapter 26 -

(Leviticus 27:30–34; Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Nehemiah 13:10–14)

“And when you will have entered into the land which the Lord your God will give to you to possess, and when you will have obtained it and are living within it:

you shall take the first of all your crops, and place them in a basket, and you shall travel to the place which the Lord your God will choose, so that his name may be invoked there.

And you shall approach the priest who will be in those days, and you shall say to him: ‘I profess this day, before the Lord your God, that I have entered into the land about which he swore to our fathers that he would give it to us.’

And the priest, taking up the basket from your hand, shall place it before the altar of the Lord your God.

And you shall say, in the sight of the Lord your God: ‘The Syrian pursued my father, who descended into Egypt, and he sojourned there in a very small number, and he increased into a great and strong nation and into an innumerable multitude.(a)

And the Egyptians afflicted us, and they persecuted us, imposing upon us the most grievous burdens.

And we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers. He heard us, and he looked with favor upon our humiliation, and hardship, and distress.

And he led us away from Egypt, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, with a mighty terror, with signs and wonders.

And he led us into this place, and he delivered to us the land flowing with milk and honey.

And because of this, I now offer the first fruits of the land which the Lord has given to me.’ And you shall leave them in the sight of the Lord your God, and you shall adore the Lord your God.

And you shall feast on all the good things which the Lord your God will give to you and to your house: you, and the Levite, and the new arrival who is with you.

When you will have completed the tithing of all your crops, in the third year of tithes, you shall give it to the Levite, and to the new arrival, and to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be satisfied.

And you shall say, in the sight of the Lord your God: ‘I have taken what was sanctified from my house, and I have given it to the Levite, and to the new arrival, and to the orphan and the widow, just as you have commanded me. I have not transgressed your commandments, nor have I forgotten your precepts.

I have not eaten from these things in my grief, nor have I separated them due to any kind of uncleanness, nor have I expended any of these things in funerals. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and I have done all things just as you have instructed me.

Look with favor from your sanctuary and from your lofty habitation amid the heavens, and bless your people Israel and the land which you have given to us, just as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

Obey the LORD’s Commands

Today the Lord your God has instructed you to carry out these commandments and judgments, and to keep and fulfill them, with all your heart and with all your soul.

Today, you have chosen the Lord to be your God, so that you may walk in his ways, and keep his ceremonies and commandments and judgments, and obey his command.

Today, the Lord has chosen you, so that you may be his particular people, just as he has spoken to you, and so that you may keep all his precepts,

and so that he may cause you to be more exalted than all the nations which he has created, for the sake of his own praise and name and glory, in order that you may be a holy people for the Lord your God, just as he has spoken.”

Footnotes

(a)26:5 The Syrian:Laban. See Gen. 27.(Challoner)

(Leviticus 27:30–34; Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Nehemiah 13:10–14)

It shall be, when you have come in to the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance, possess it, and dwell in it,

that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you shall bring in from your land that the LORD your God gives you. You shall put it in a basket, and shall go to the place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there.

You shall come to the priest who shall be in those days, and tell him, “I profess today to the LORD your God, that I have come to the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.”

The priest shall take the basket out of your hand, and set it down before the LORD your God’s altar.

You shall answer and say before the LORD your God, “My father(a) was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation.

The Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.

Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers. The LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.

The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs, and with wonders;

and he has brought us into this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Now, behold, I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground, which you, the LORD, have given me.” You shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God.

You shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given to you, and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the foreigner who is among you.

When you have finished tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates and be filled.

You shall say before the LORD your God, “I have put away the holy things out of my house, and also have given them to the Levite, to the foreigner, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all your commandment which you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor given of it for the dead. I have listened to the LORD my God’s voice. I have done according to all that you have commanded me.

Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the ground which you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Obey the LORD’s Commands

Today the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart and with all your soul.

You have declared today that the LORD is your God, and that you would walk in his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, and his ordinances, and listen to his voice.

The LORD has declared today that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you should keep all his commandments.

He will make you high above all nations that he has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be a holy people to the LORD your God, as he has spoken.

Footnotes

(a)26:5 or, forefather