Study Desk

"Don't ever refuse to help someone simply because the seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near. Don't let an evil thought like that enter your mind. You must never have bad thoughts about someone who needs help. You must not refuse to help them. If you don't help the poor, they might complain to the Lord , and he will judge you guilty of sin.

"So be sure to give to the poor. Don't hesitate to give to them, because the Lord your God will bless you for doing this good thing. He will bless you in all your work and in everything you do.

"You might buy a Hebrew man or woman to serve you as a slave. You may keep that person as a slave for six years. But in the seventh year, you must let that person go free.

"Don't regret letting your slave go free. Remember, he served you six years for half of what you would have paid a hired worker. The Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.

"All the first male animals born in your herd and flock are special. You must give them to the Lord . Don't use any of these animals for your work and don't cut wool from any of these sheep.

But you may eat the meat from that animal at home. Anyone may eat it—people who are clean and people who are unclean. The rules for eating this meat are the same as the rules for eating gazelles and deer.

You must go to the place the Lord your God will choose to be the home for his name. There you must offer the Passover sacrifice to honor the Lord . You must offer the cattle and goats.

Don't eat bread that has yeast in it with this sacrifice. You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. This bread is called ‘Bread of Trouble.' It will help you remember the troubles you had in Egypt. Remember how quickly you had to leave that country. You must remember that day as long as you live.

There must be no yeast in anyone's house anywhere in the country for seven days. And all the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day must be eaten before morning.

You must sacrifice the Passover animal only at the place that the Lord your God will choose to be the home for his name. There you must sacrifice the Passover animal in the evening when the sun goes down. This is the festival when you remember that God brought you out of Egypt.

You must eat unleavened bread six days. On the seventh day you must not do any work. On this day the people will come together for a special meeting to honor the Lord your God.

Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest for the Lord your God. Do this by bringing him some special gift you want to bring. Decide how much to give by thinking about how much the Lord your God has blessed you.

Go to the place the Lord will choose to be the home for his name. You and your people should enjoy yourselves together there with the Lord your God. Take all your people with you—your sons, your daughters, and all your servants. And take the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows living in your towns.

Celebrate this festival for seven days at the special place the Lord will choose. Do this to honor the Lord your God. The Lord your God blessed your harvest and all the work you did, so be very happy!

"Three times a year all your men must come to meet with the Lord your God at the special place he will choose. They must come for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. Everyone who comes to meet with the Lord must bring a gift.

"When you set up an altar for the Lord your God, you must not place beside the altar any of the wooden poles that honor the goddess Asherah.

You must not set up special stones for worshiping false gods. The Lord your God hates them.

"There might be some problems that are too hard for your courts to judge. It might be a murder case or an argument between two people. Or it might be a fight in which someone was hurt. When these cases are argued in your towns, your judges there might not be able to decide what is right. Then you must go to the special place that the Lord your God will choose.

The king must not get more and more horses for himself. And he must not send people to Egypt to get more horses, because the Lord has told you, ‘You must never go back that way.'

"When the king begins to rule, he must write a copy of the law for himself in a book. He must make that copy from the books that the priests from the tribe of Levi keep.