Study Desk

The Lord your God is giving you cities in which to live, and you might hear something about one of them. Someone might say

that evil people have moved in among you. And they might lead the people of that city away from God, saying, "Let's go and worship other gods." (These are gods you have not known.)

Gather up everything those people owned, and put it in the middle of the city square. Then completely burn the city and everything they owned as a burnt offering to the Lord your God. That city should never be rebuilt; let it be ruined forever.

You will have obeyed the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving to you today, and you will be doing what the Lord says is right.

You are the children of the Lord your God. When someone dies, do not cut yourselves or shave your heads to show your sadness.

You are holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on earth to be his very own.

Do not eat anything you find that is already dead. You may give it to a foreigner living in your town, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. But you are holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Do not cook a baby goat in its mother's milk.

Take it to the place the Lord your God will choose where he is to be worshiped. There, where you will be together with the Lord , eat the tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and eat the animals born first to your herds and flocks. Do this so that you will learn to respect the Lord your God always.

exchange your one-tenth for silver. Then take the silver with you to the place the Lord your God shall choose.

Use the silver to buy anything you wish—cattle, sheep, wine, beer, or anything you wish. Then you and your family will eat and celebrate there before the Lord your God.

This is for the Levites so they may eat and be full. (They have no land of their own among you.) It is also for strangers, orphans, and widows who live in your towns so that all of them may eat and be full. Then the Lord your God will bless you and all the work you do.

But there should be no poor people among you, because the Lord your God will richly bless you in the land he is giving you as your own.

He will bless you if you obey the Lord your God completely, but you must be careful to obey all the commands I am giving you today.

The Lord your God will bless you as he promised, and you will lend to other nations, but you will not need to borrow from them. You will rule over many nations, but none will rule over you.

If there are poor among you, in one of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not be selfish or greedy toward them.

Give freely to the poor person, and do not wish that you didn't have to give. The Lord your God will bless your work and everything you touch.

Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God saved you. That is why I am commanding this to you today.

Do not think of it as a hard thing when you let your slaves go free. After all, they served you six years and did twice the work of a hired person. The Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

Save all the first male animals born to your herds and flocks. They are for the Lord your God. Do not work the first calf born to your oxen, and do not cut off the wool from the first lamb born to your sheep.

Each year you and your family are to eat these animals in the presence of the Lord your God, in the place he will choose to be worshiped.