The Wilderness · c. 1406 BC
Chapter 16
The Place He Chooses
You shall follow that which is altogether just, that you may live and inherit the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
For parents
Moses gives laws with the death penalty. A prophet or dreamer who urges Israel to follow other gods is to be put to death, and a family member or close friend who urges it in secret is to be stoned (13:1–11). A town that turns to other gods is to be put to the sword and burned (13:12–17). Death is also the penalty for serving other gods, for defying the priest or the judge, and for a false prophet (17:2–12; 18:20). The nations burn their children in the fire to their gods (12:31), and Israel is forbidden to make a child ‘pass through the fire’ (18:10).
went on speaking to . “Here are the laws and rules you must be careful to keep,” he said, “for as long as you live in the land the , the God of your ancestors, has given you.
“The nations you are driving out served their gods on high mountains and hills and under every green tree. Destroy all those places. Tear down their , smash their stone pillars, burn their , cut down the images of their gods, and wipe their names out of those places. But don’t treat the Lord your God that way.
“Instead, go to the place the Lord your God will choose from all your tribes, to put his name there and make it his home. That is where you are to bring your and , your and , the gifts you have , the freewill offerings you choose to give, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. Eat there in his presence with your households, and rejoice in all your work, which he has blessed.
“Don’t go on as we do here today, everyone doing whatever he thinks is right. You haven’t yet reached the place of rest, the land the Lord is giving you to be your own. But you will cross the and settle in that land. When he has given you rest from your enemies on every side, and you live in safety, bring everything I command you to the place he chooses as a home for his name. Rejoice there in his presence, with your children, your servants and the in your towns, because they have no land of their own among you. Be careful not to offer burnt offerings at just any spot you see. Offer them only at the place the Lord chooses, in the land of one of your tribes.
“Still, as the Lord blesses you, you may kill animals and eat as much meat as you want in any of your towns. Anyone, or clean, may eat it, the way people eat gazelle or deer. But don’t eat the blood. Pour it out on the earth like water.
“But the tithes, the firstborn and your other offerings are not to be eaten in your towns. Eat them in the Lord’s presence at the place he chooses, with your children, your servants and the Levites in your towns, and rejoice there. As long as you live in your land, be careful not to abandon the Levites.
“When the Lord makes your land larger, as he promised, and you want meat, eat as much as you like. If the place he chooses is too far away, kill animals from your herds and flocks in the way I have commanded, and eat them at home, as gazelle and deer are eaten. Anyone, unclean or clean, may eat it. Only be sure you don’t eat the blood, because the blood is the life. Pour it out on the earth like water. That way it may go well for you and your children after you, as you do what the Lord sees as right.
“But take your things and the gifts you have vowed to the place the Lord chooses, and offer your burnt offerings, meat and blood, on his altar. The blood of your sacrifices is to be poured out on his altar, and you are to eat the meat. Listen to all these words and keep them, so that it goes well for you and your children after you forever, as you do what the Lord your God sees as good and right.”
“When the Lord your God has wiped out the nations ahead of you, and you have taken their land and settled there,” Moses said, “be careful not to be trapped into following them after they are destroyed. Don’t ask about their gods, ‘How do these nations serve their gods? I’ll do the same.’ Don’t treat the Lord your God that way. In serving their gods, they have done every detestable thing the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire for their gods.
“Be careful to do all I command you, without adding to it or taking anything away.
“A , or someone who dreams dreams, may appear among you and give you a sign or a wonder. The sign or wonder he told you about may come true. Then he may say, ‘Let’s follow other gods and serve them.’ They are gods you have never known. Don’t listen to that prophet or that dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
“Follow the Lord your God and fear him. Keep his commandments, obey his voice, serve him and hold on to him. That prophet or dreamer is to be put to death, because he called for rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of and rescued you from slavery. He tried to turn you off the road the Lord commanded you to walk. In this way you are to get rid of the evil among you.”
“Someone close to you may try in secret to lead you away,” Moses said. “It may be your own brother, your son or your daughter, the wife you hold in your arms, or the friend who is as dear to you as your own life. He may say, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods.’ They are gods that you and your ancestors have never known, gods of the peoples near or far, anywhere on earth. Don’t give in to him or listen to him. Don’t pity him, don’t spare him, and don’t cover for him.
“You must kill him. Your own hand must be the first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people. You are to stone him to death, because he tried to pull you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, where you were slaves. Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and they won’t do anything wicked like this among you again.
“You may hear about one of the towns the Lord gives you to live in. Some wicked men from among you may have led the people of their town away, saying, ‘Let’s go and serve other gods.’ These are gods you haven’t known. Then look into it carefully. If it is true and certain that such a detestable thing was done among you, then kill the people of that town with the sword. Destroy it completely, with everything in it and its animals too.
“Gather all its plunder into the middle of its street. Then burn the town and all the plunder for the Lord your God. It is to be a heap of ruins forever, and never be built again. Don’t keep any of the things for yourselves. Then the Lord may turn from his burning anger and show you mercy. He may have compassion on you and make you grow in number, as he swore to your ancestors. That is how it will be when you listen to his voice, keep his commandments, and do what is right in his eyes.”
“You are the children of the Lord your God,” Moses said. “Don’t cut yourselves or shave a bald spot on your foreheads when someone dies. You are a holy people to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the peoples on earth to be his own people. Don’t eat anything detestable.
“You may eat these animals: the ox, the sheep and the goat, the deer, the gazelle and the , the wild goat, the , the antelope and the . You may eat any animal that has a split hoof and chews the . But the camel, the hare and the rabbit chew the cud and don’t have a split hoof, so they are unclean to you. The pig has a split hoof but doesn’t chew the cud, so it is unclean to you. Don’t eat the meat of these animals or touch their dead bodies.
“From the water you may eat whatever has fins and scales. Anything without fins and scales is unclean to you. Don’t eat it.
“You may eat any bird. But there are birds you must not eat, among them the eagle and the vultures, the falcon, every kind of raven, the ostrich, the owls, the seagull, every kind of hawk, the pelican, the stork, the heron and the bat. Every creeping thing with wings is unclean to you. Don’t eat them. But you may eat any clean bird.
“You are a holy people to the Lord your God, so don’t eat anything that has died on its own. You may give it to a foreigner who lives in your towns to eat, or sell it to a foreigner. Don’t boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
“Every year, be sure to set aside a tithe, a tenth, of everything your fields grow,” Moses said. “In the Lord’s presence, at the place he chooses, eat the tithe of your grain, your new wine and your oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. That way you will learn to fear the Lord your God always.
“When the Lord has blessed you, the place he chooses may be too far, and the journey too long, for you to carry your tithe there. If so, turn it into money. Take the money with you to the place he chooses, and spend it on whatever you want: cattle or sheep, wine or strong drink. Eat there in his presence and rejoice, you and your household.
“Don’t abandon the Levites in your towns, because they have no land of their own among you. When every third year comes to an end, bring out the whole tithe of what you grew that year and store it in your towns. Then the Levites, the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows there are to come and eat until they are full. Do this so that the Lord your God may bless everything you do.”
“At the end of every seven years, cancel debts,” Moses said. “Whoever has lent something to his neighbor is to let it go. He must not make his neighbor, a fellow Israelite, pay it back, because the Lord’s time for canceling debts has been announced. You may make a foreigner pay, but whatever a fellow Israelite owes you, let it go.
“But there will be no poor among you, if only you listen carefully to the Lord your God and keep this whole commandment I give you today. The Lord will certainly bless you in the land he is giving you to own, as he promised. You will lend to many nations and borrow from none. You will rule many nations, and none will rule you.
“If one of your fellow Israelites in any of your towns is poor, don’t be heartless toward him or keep your hand shut. Open your hand to him, and lend him enough for whatever he needs. Watch out for a wicked thought like this: ‘The seventh year is almost here, the year when debts are canceled.’ Don’t let it turn you against the poor man so that you give him nothing. He might cry out to the Lord against you, and you would be guilty of sin. Give to him freely, and don’t be sorry about it. Because of this, the Lord your God will bless all your work and everything you do. The poor will never be gone from the land. That is why I command you to open your hand to your fellow Israelites, to the needy and the poor in your land.
“If a man or woman, one of your own people, is sold to you and serves you six years, set that servant free in the seventh year, and not empty-handed. Load him with gifts from your flock, your and your winepress. The Lord your God has blessed you, so give to him in the same way. Remember this: you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God rescued you. That is the reason for this command.
“But your servant may tell you, ‘I won’t leave you,’ because he loves you and your household and is happy with you. Then take an awl, a sharp, pointed tool, and drive it through his ear into the door, and he will be your servant forever. Do the same for a woman who serves you. Don’t feel it is too hard to set a servant free. In his six years he has been worth twice as much as a hired worker. The Lord your God will bless you in all that you do.
“Set apart every firstborn male of your herds and flocks for the Lord. Don’t put a firstborn ox to work or shear a firstborn sheep. You and your household are to eat it in his presence every year, at the place he chooses. But if it has any defect, if it is lame or blind, don’t sacrifice it to him. Eat it at home. Anyone, unclean or clean, may eat it, as they would eat gazelle or deer. Only don’t eat its blood. Pour it out on the ground like water.”
“In the month of ,” Moses said, “hold the for the Lord your God, because that is the month he brought you out of Egypt by night. Sacrifice the Passover animals from your flocks and herds at the place he chooses. For seven days, eat with it, not bread made with yeast. Eat the bread of hard times, because you left Egypt in a hurry. Then you will remember, all your life, the day you came out of Egypt. Let no yeast be seen anywhere in your land for seven days. And don’t let any of the meat you sacrifice on that first evening be left until morning.
“Don’t sacrifice the Passover in just any of your towns. Sacrifice it at the place he chooses, in the evening as the sun goes down, at the time of year you came out of Egypt. Roast it and eat it there, and in the morning go back to your tents. For six days, eat unleavened bread. On the seventh day, hold a sacred gathering for the Lord your God, and do no work.
“Count seven weeks from the day you start cutting the grain in your fields with a sickle, a curved blade. Then keep the for the Lord your God, with a freewill offering as large as his blessing on you. Rejoice in his presence at the place he chooses, you and your children, your servants, the Levite in your towns, and the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow who are among you. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and keep these rules carefully.
“Keep the for seven days, once you have gathered in the harvest from your threshing floor and your winepress. Rejoice at your feast, you and your children, your servants, the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow in your towns. Keep it for the Lord your God at the place he chooses, because he will bless all your harvest and all the work you do, and you will be full of joy.
“Three times a year all your males are to appear in the Lord’s presence at the place he chooses: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. No one is to come empty-handed. Each man is to give what he can, to match the blessing the Lord your God has given you.”
“In every town the Lord gives you, appoint judges and officials for your tribes,” Moses said, “to judge the people fairly. Don’t make justice crooked or play favorites. Don’t take a bribe, because a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and it twists the words of those who are in the right. Follow what is just, entirely just, so that you may live and take the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own.
“Don’t plant any kind of tree as an Asherah next to the altar you build for the Lord your God. Don’t set up a sacred stone either, a thing the Lord your God hates. Don’t sacrifice an ox or a sheep to him if it has a defect or any flaw. That is detestable to him.
“A man or a woman in one of your towns may be found doing what the Lord your God sees as evil and breaking his . That person may have served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun or the moon or any of the stars in the sky. I have never commanded that. If you hear of it, look into it carefully. If it is true and certain that this detestable thing was done in Israel, bring that man or woman out to your town gates and stone that person to death.
“A person may be put to death only on the word of two or three witnesses. Never put anyone to death on the word of just one. The witnesses’ hands are to be the first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. In this way you are to get rid of the evil among you.
“A case may come up in your towns that is too hard for you to judge. It may be about a killing, a lawsuit or an attack. Then get up and go to the place the Lord chooses, to the , who are Levites, and to the judge serving at that time. Ask them, and they will give you the verdict. Be careful to do all they teach you and follow their decision. Don’t turn aside from it, to the right or the left.
“Someone may arrogantly refuse to listen to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, or to the judge. That person is to die. In this way you are to get rid of the evil in Israel. When all the people hear of it, they will be afraid, and won’t act arrogantly again.”
“When you have come into the land the Lord your God is giving you, taken it and settled in it,” Moses said, “you might say, ‘We will set a king over us, like all the nations that are around us.’ Then be sure the king you set over you is the one the Lord your God chooses, one of your own brothers, a fellow Israelite. You may not put a foreigner over you, a man who isn’t one of your own people.
“But the king must not get himself many horses, or send the people back to Egypt to get more, because the Lord has told you, ‘Don’t go back that way again.’ He is not to take many wives either, so that his heart won’t turn away. And he must not pile up great amounts of silver and gold.
“Once he takes the throne, he is to write out for himself a copy of this law in a book. He is to copy it from the one kept by the priests, who are Levites. He must keep it with him and read from it all his life. It will teach him to fear the Lord his God and to keep every word of this law and these rules. Then he won’t think he is better than his fellow Israelites, and he won’t turn away from the commandment, to the right or the left. That way he and his children may reign over Israel for a long time.”
“The priests and the Levites, the whole tribe of Levi, are to have no share of the land, no inheritance, among the rest of Israel,” Moses said. “They are to eat the offerings made by fire to the Lord, and his share. The Lord is their inheritance, as he told them.
“Everyone who offers an ox or a sheep as a sacrifice is to give the priest his share: the shoulder, the two cheeks and the inner parts. Give him the first of your grain, your new wine and your oil, and the first wool you shear from your sheep. The Lord your God chose him and his sons out of all your tribes to stand and serve in the Lord’s name forever.
“A Levite from any town in Israel may want with all his heart to come to the place the Lord chooses. If he comes, he is to serve in the name of the Lord his God, the same as all the other Levites who stand there in the Lord’s presence. He is to have an equal share of the food, besides what he gets from selling what his family owns.
“When you come into the land the Lord is giving you, don’t learn to copy the detestable things those nations do. No one among you is to make his son or his daughter pass through the fire. No one is to practice , tell fortunes, be an enchanter or a sorcerer, cast spells, consult spirits, be a or call up the dead. Anyone who does such things is detestable to the Lord. These detestable things are the reason the Lord your God is driving those nations out ahead of you.
“Be blameless before the Lord your God. Those nations you are going to drive out listen to sorcerers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not let you do that.
“The Lord your God will raise up a prophet for you from among your own people, a prophet like me. Listen to him. That is what you asked the Lord your God for at , when you were all gathered there and said, ‘Don’t let me hear the voice of the Lord my God again, or see this great fire anymore, so that I don’t die.’
“The Lord told me, ‘What they said is good. I will raise up a prophet for them from among their own people, a prophet like you. I will put my words in his mouth. He is to tell them all that I command him. If anyone won’t listen to my words when the prophet speaks them in my name, I will make that person answer to me for it. But if a prophet arrogantly speaks a word in my name that I haven’t commanded him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet must die.’
“You may ask yourselves, ‘How will we know when a message is not from the Lord?’ If a prophet speaks in the Lord’s name and what he says doesn’t happen or come true, then that message is not from the Lord. The prophet spoke it arrogantly. Don’t be afraid of him.”