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26 And then[a] when you come to the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and you settle in it, then you shall take from the firstfruit of all the fruit of the ground that you harvest from your land that Yahweh your God is giving to you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose to make his name to dwell there. And you shall go to the priest who is in office in those days, and you shall say, ‘I declare today[b] to Yahweh your God that I have come into the land that Yahweh swore to our ancestors[c] to give to us.’ Then the priest takes the basket from your hand and places it before[d] the altar of Yahweh your God. And you shall declare[e] and you shall say before[f] your God, ‘My ancestor[g] was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt, and there he dwelt as an alien few in number,[h] and there he became a great nation, mighty and numerous. And the Egyptians treated us badly, and they oppressed us and imposed on us hard labor. And we cried to Yahweh, the God of our ancestors,[i] and Yahweh heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression. And Yahweh brought us out from Egypt with a strong hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and with wonders. And he brought us to this place and gave to us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10 And now, look, I am bringing[j] the firstfruit of the fruit of the ground that you gave to me, Yahweh,’ and you shall place it before[k] Yahweh your God, and you shall bow down before[l] Yahweh your God. 11 And you shall celebrate with all of the bounty that Yahweh your God gave to you and to your family, you and the Levite and the alien who is in your midst.

12 “When you are finished giving a tithe,[m] all of the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give to the Levite, to the alien, to the orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and they may be satisfied. 13 And you shall say before[n] Yahweh your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion from the[o] house and, moreover, I have given it to the Levite and to the alien and to the orphan and to the widow according to all your commandment that you commanded me; I have not transgressed any of your commandments, and I have not forgotten any of them. 14 I have not eaten during my time of mourning, and I have not removed anything from it while being unclean, and I have not offered any of it[p] to someone who has died. I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God; I have done all that you commanded me to do. 15 Look down from the dwelling place of your holiness, from heaven, and bless your people Israel, and the land that you have given to us, as you swore to our ancestors,[q] a land flowing with milk and honey.’

16 “This day Yahweh your God is commanding you to do these rules and regulations, and you must observe them diligently[r] with all your heart and with all your soul.[s] 17 Yahweh you have declared today[t] to be for you as your God, and to go[u] in his ways and to observe his rules and his commandments and his regulations and to listen to his voice. 18 And Yahweh has declared you today[v] to be for him as a people, a treasured possession, as he promised[w] to you, and that you are to observe all his commandments, 19 and that he then will set you[x] high above all the nations that he has made for his praise and for fame[y] and for honor and for you to be a holy people[z] to Yahweh your God, as he promised.”[aa]

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 26:1 Literally “And it shall happen”
  2. Deuteronomy 26:3 Literally “the day”
  3. Deuteronomy 26:3 Or “fathers”
  4. Deuteronomy 26:4 Literally “to the face of”
  5. Deuteronomy 26:5 Literally “answer”
  6. Deuteronomy 26:5 Literally “to the face of”
  7. Deuteronomy 26:5 Or “father”
  8. Deuteronomy 26:5 Literally “in people only a few”
  9. Deuteronomy 26:7 Or “fathers”
  10. Deuteronomy 26:10 Hebrew “I bring”
  11. Deuteronomy 26:10 Literally “to the face of”
  12. Deuteronomy 26:10 Literally “to the face of”
  13. Deuteronomy 26:12 Literally “to give a tenth”
  14. Deuteronomy 26:13 Literally “to the face of”
  15. Deuteronomy 26:13 Or “my” house since the definite article can show possession here
  16. Deuteronomy 26:14 Literally “from it”
  17. Deuteronomy 26:15 Or “our fathers”
  18. Deuteronomy 26:16 Literally “and you shall observe and you shall do them”
  19. Deuteronomy 26:16 Or “inner self”
  20. Deuteronomy 26:17 Literally “the day”
  21. Deuteronomy 26:17 Or “to walk”
  22. Deuteronomy 26:18 Literally “the day”
  23. Deuteronomy 26:18 Literally “spoke”
  24. Deuteronomy 26:19 Literally “and to set you”
  25. Deuteronomy 26:19 Literally “for a name”
  26. Deuteronomy 26:19 Literally “for you to be/your being a people holy”
  27. Deuteronomy 26:19 Literally “spoke”

Firstfruits and Tithes

26 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits(A) of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name(B) and say to the priest in office at the time, “I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering(C) Aramean,(D) and he went down into Egypt with a few people(E) and lived there and became a great nation,(F) powerful and numerous. But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer,(G) subjecting us to harsh labor.(H) Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice(I) and saw(J) our misery,(K) toil and oppression.(L) So the Lord brought us out of Egypt(M) with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,(N) with great terror and with signs and wonders.(O) He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;(P) 10 and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.(Q)” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites(R) and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice(S) in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

12 When you have finished setting aside a tenth(T) of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe,(U) you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 Then say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.(V) 14 I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean,(W) nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. 15 Look down from heaven,(X) your holy dwelling place, and bless(Y) your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.”

Follow the Lord’s Commands

16 The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.(Z) 17 You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him.(AA) 18 And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession(AB) as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. 19 He has declared that he will set you in praise,(AC) fame and honor high above all the nations(AD) he has made and that you will be a people holy(AE) to the Lord your God, as he promised.

26 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;

That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there.

And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.

And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.

And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:

And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:

And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:

And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.

10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God:

11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.

12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

13 Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.

14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.

15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.

16 This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

17 Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:

18 And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;

19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.