“When you have entered the land Adonai your God is giving you, have taken possession of it and are living there, you may say, ‘I want to have a king over me, like all the other nations around me.’ In that event, you must appoint as king the one whom Adonai your God will choose. […]

“If a case comes before you at your city gate which is too difficult for you to judge, concerning bloodshed, civil suit, personal injury or any other controversial issue; you are to get up, go to the place which Adonai your God will choose, and appear before the cohanim, who are L’vi’im, and the judge […]

“…and it is told to you, or you hear about it; then you are to investigate the matter diligently. If it is true, if it is confirmed that such detestable things are being done in Israel; then you are to bring the man or woman who has done this wicked thing to your city gates, […]

“If there is found among you, within any of your gates [in any city] that Adonai your God gives you, a man or woman who does what Adonai your God sees as wicked, transgressing his covenant by going and serving other gods and worshipping them, the sun, the moon, or anything in the sky — something […]

Today we begin Deuteronomy Chapter 17. For the Complete Jewish Bible, click here. For the King James version, click here. Before we dive into the content of Deuteronomy Chapter 17, let me remind you of the backdrop of what’s going on here. Deuteronomy Chapters 17-21 deals specifically with the guidelines established for the magistrates and […]