Study Desk

"When you enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you ^(C1)take possession of it and live in it, and you say, '^(C2)I will appoint a king over me like all the nations who are around me,'

you shall in fact appoint a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses. One ^(C1)from among your countrymen you shall appoint as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves, anyone who is not your countryman.

"^(C1)In any case, he is not to acquire many horses for himself, nor shall he ^(C2)make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since ^(C3)the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never again return that way.'

"And ^(C1)he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

"Now it shall come about, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Law on a scroll ^(F1)(C1)in the presence of the Levitical priests.

"And it shall be with him, and he shall read it ^(C1)all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear the LORD his God, ^(F1)by carefully following all the words of this Law and these statutes,

so that his heart will not be haughty toward his countrymen, ^(C1)and that he will not turn away from the commandment to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may ^(F1)live long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.