1You must not sacrifice an ox or a sheep to Yahweh your God if it has a defect or anything evil, because that is offensive to Yahweh your God.
2If a man or woman among you, within any of the towns Yahweh your God is giving you, is found doing evil in the sight of Yahweh your God by breaking his covenant,
3and has gone to worship and serve other gods, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky—things I have not commanded—
4and you hear about it, then you must investigate thoroughly. If it is true and certain that such a detestable act has been done in Israel,
5then you must bring that man or woman who committed this evil act to your town gates and stone them to death.
6Someone who is to die must be put to death based on the testimony of two or three witnesses. No one can be put to death based on the testimony of only one witness.
7The witnesses must be the first to put him to death, and after them, all the people. In this way, you will remove evil from among you.
8If there is a case that is too difficult for you to judge—whether it's a dispute over bloodshed, different claims, or an assault, any kind of controversy within your towns—then you must go up to the place Yahweh your God chooses.
9You will come to the priests who are Levites and to the judge who is serving at that time. You will inquire, and they will give you their verdict.
10You must act according to the decision they give you from the place Yahweh chooses. You must be careful to do everything they instruct you to do.
11You must act according to the instructions of the law they teach you and the judgment they tell you. Do not deviate from their verdict, either to the right or to the left.
12Any man who acts defiantly by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve Yahweh your God, or to the judge, must die. You must remove this evil from Israel.
13Then all the people will hear about it, be afraid, and never act defiantly again.
14When you come to the land Yahweh your God is giving you, and you take possession of it, live in it, and then say, 'I want to appoint a king over me, just like all the nations around me,'
15you must appoint as king over you the person Yahweh your God chooses. Appoint a king from among your own people; you must not appoint a foreigner who is not one of your own.
16However, he must not acquire many horses for himself, nor make the people return to Egypt to get more horses, because Yahweh has told you, 'You must never go back that way again.'
17He must not take many wives, or his heart will turn away. Also, he must not accumulate vast amounts of silver and gold for himself.
18When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he must write a copy of this law for himself in a book, from the one kept by the Levite priests.
19He must keep it with him and read from it all the days of his life so that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God and carefully follow all the words of this law and these rules.
20This is so his heart doesn't become proud compared to his people, and so he doesn't turn away from the command, either to the right or to the left. Then he and his children will rule for many years in his kingdom in Israel.