14 ¶ When thou shalt come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and dwell therein, if thou say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me,

15 Then thou shalt make him King over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: from among thy brethren shalt thou make a King over thee: thou [a]shalt not set a [b]stranger over thee which is not thy brother.

16 In any wise he shall not prepare him many horses, nor bring the people again to [c]Egypt, for to increase the number of horses, seeing the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth go no more again that way.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:15 Or, mayest not.
  2. Deuteronomy 17:15 Who is not of thy nation, lest he change true religion into idolatry, and bring thee to slavery.
  3. Deuteronomy 17:16 To revenge their injuries, and to take them of their best horses, 1 Kings 10:28.

The King

14 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession(A) of it and settled in it,(B) and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”(C) 15 be sure to appoint(D) over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites.(E) Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses(F) for himself(G) or make the people return to Egypt(H) to get more of them,(I) for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”(J)

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