Re'eh

11:26 See, today I am setting before you a blessing and a curse — 11:27 a blessing if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, 11:28 but a curse if you disobey the commandments of the LORD your God and turn aside from the path I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known. 11:29 When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess, you are to proclaim the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal. 11:30 Are not these mountains across the Jordan, west of the road toward the sunset, in the land of the Canaanites who live in the Arabah opposite Gilgal near the Oak of Moreh? 11:31 For you are about to cross the Jordan to enter and possess the land that the LORD your God is giving you. When you take possession of it and settle in it, 11:32 be careful to follow all the statutes and ordinances that I am setting before you today. 12:1 These are the statutes and ordinances you must be careful to follow all the days you live in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess. 12:2 Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods— atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. 12:3 Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the idols of their gods, and wipe out their names from every place. 12:4 You shall not worship the LORD your God in this way. 12:5 Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go. 12:6 To that place you are to bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and heave offerings, your vow offerings and freewill offerings, as well as the firstborn of your herds and flocks. 12:7 There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your households shall eat and rejoice in all you do, because the LORD your God has blessed you. 12:8 You are not to do as we are doing here today, where everyone does what seems right in his own eyes. 12:9 For you have not yet come to the resting place and the inheritance that the LORD your God is giving you. 12:10 When you cross the Jordan and live in the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and He gives you rest from all the enemies around you and you dwell securely,

12:11 then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice offerings you vow to the LORD. 12:12 And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God — you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you. 12:13 Be careful not to offer your burnt offerings in just any place you see; 12:14 you must offer them only in the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribal territories, and there you shall do all that I command you. 12:15 But whenever you want, you may slaughter and eat meat within any of your gates, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Both the ceremonially clean and unclean may eat it as they would a gazelle or deer, 12:16 but you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water. 12:17 Within your gates you must not eat the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, the firstborn of your herds or flocks, any of the offerings that you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. 12:18 Instead, you must eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose— you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates. Rejoice before the LORD your God in all you do, 12:19 and be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land. 12:20 When the LORD your God expands your territory as He has promised, and you crave meat and say, “ I want to eat meat,” you may eat it whenever you want. 12:21 If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His Name is too far from you, then you may slaughter any of the herd or flock He has given you, as I have commanded you, and you may eat it within your gates whenever you want. 12:22 Indeed, you may eat it as you would eat a gazelle or deer; both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. 12:23 Only be sure not to eat the blood, because the blood is the life, and you must not eat the life with the meat. 12:24 You must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water. 12:25 Do not eat it, so that it may go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD. 12:26 But you are to take your holy things and your vow offerings and go to the place the LORD will choose. 12:27 Present the meat and blood of your burnt offerings on the altar of the LORD your God. The blood of your other sacrifices must be poured out beside the altar of the LORD your God, but you may eat the meat. 12:28 Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that it may always go well with you and your children after you, because you will be doing what is good and right in the eyes of the LORD your God. A Warning against Idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:15–31; Ezekiel 6:1–7)

12:29 When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations you are entering to dispossess, and you drive them out and live in their land, 12:30 be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “ How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.” 12:31 You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. 12:32 See that you do everything I command you; do not add to it or subtract from it. 13:1 If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, 13:2 and if the sign or wonder he has spoken to you comes about, but he says, “ Let us follow other gods ( which you have not known) and let us worship them,” 13:3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul. 13:4 You are to follow the LORD your God and fear Him. Keep His commandments and listen to His voice; serve Him and hold fast to Him. 13:5 Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you. 13:6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “ Let us go and worship other gods” ( which neither you nor your fathers have known, 13:7 the gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, whether from one end of the earth or the other), 13:8 you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him. 13:9 Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people. 13:10 Stone him to death for trying to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13:11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such a wicked thing among you. Idolatrous Cities to Be Destroyed 13:12 If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said 13:13 that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “ Let us go and serve other gods” ( which you have not known), 13:14 then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you, 13:15 you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock. 13:16 And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt. 13:17 Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers, 13:18 because you obey the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments I am giving you today and doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

14:1 You are sons of the LORD your God; do not cut yourselves or shave your foreheads on behalf of the dead, 14:2 for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth. 14:3 You must not eat any detestable thing. 14:4 These are the animals that you may eat: The ox, the sheep, the goat, 14:5 the deer, the gazelle, the roe deer, the wild goat, the ibex, the antelope, and the mountain sheep. 14:6 You may eat any animal that has a split hoof divided in two and that chews the cud. 14:7 But of those that chew the cud or have a completely divided hoof, you are not to eat the following: the camel, the rabbit, or the rock badger. Although they chew the cud, they do not have a divided hoof. They are unclean for you, 14:8 as well as the pig; though it has a divided hoof, it does not chew the cud. It is unclean for you. You must not eat its meat or touch its carcass. 14:9 Of all the creatures that live in the water, you may eat anything with fins and scales, 14:10 but you may not eat anything that does not have fins and scales; it is unclean for you. 14:11 You may eat any clean bird, 14:12 but these you may not eat: the eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, 14:13 the red kite, the falcon, any kind of kite, 14:14 any kind of raven, 14:15 the ostrich, the screech owl, the gull, any kind of hawk, 14:16 the little owl, the great owl, the white owl, 14:17 the desert owl, the osprey, the cormorant, 14:18 the stork, any kind of heron, the hoopoe, or the bat. 14:19 All flying insects are unclean for you; they may not be eaten. 14:20 But you may eat any clean bird. 14:21 You are not to eat any carcass; you may give it to the foreigner residing within your gates, and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. For you are a holy people belonging to the LORD your God. You must not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk. Giving Tithes (Leviticus 27:30–34; Deuteronomy 26:1–15; Nehemiah 13:10–14)

14:22 You must be sure to set aside a tenth of all the produce brought forth each year from your fields. 14:23 And you are to eat a tenth of your grain, new wine, and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks, in the presence of the LORD your God at the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 14:24 But if the distance is too great for you to carry that with which the LORD your God has blessed you, because the place where the LORD your God will choose to put His Name is too far away, 14:25 then exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. 14:26 Then you may spend the money on anything you desire: cattle, sheep, wine, strong drink, or anything you wish. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your household. 14:27 And do not neglect the Levite within your gates, since he has no portion or inheritance among you. 14:28 At the end of every three years, bring a tenth of all your produce for that year and lay it up within your gates. 14:29 Then the Levite ( because he has no portion or inheritance among you), the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow within your gates may come and eat and be satisfied. And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands.

15:1 At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. 15:2 This is the manner of remission: Every creditor shall cancel what he has loaned to his neighbor. He is not to collect anything from his neighbor or brother, because the LORD ’s time of release has been proclaimed. 15:3 You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you. 15:4 There will be no poor among you, however, because the LORD will surely bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, 15:5 if only you obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all these commandments I am giving you today. 15:6 When the LORD your God blesses you as He has promised, you will lend to many nations but borrow from none; you will rule over many nations but be ruled by none. Generosity in Lending and Giving (Matthew 6:1–4) 15:7 If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. 15:8 Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs. 15:9 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “ The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin. 15:10 Give generously to him, and do not let your heart be grieved when you do so. And because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything to which you put your hand. 15:11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land. Hebrew Servants (Exodus 21:1–11) 15:12 If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you must set him free. 15:13 And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. 15:14 You are to furnish him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor, and your winepress. You shall give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. 15:15 Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today. 15:16 But if your servant says to you, ‘ I do not want to leave you,’ because he loves you and your household and is well off with you, 15:17 then take an awl and pierce it through his ear into the door, and he will become your servant for life. And treat your maidservant the same way. 15:18 Do not regard it as a hardship to set your servant free, because his six years of service were worth twice the wages of a hired hand. And the LORD your God will bless you in all you do. Firstborn Animals (Exodus 13:1–16)

15:19 You must set apart to the LORD your God every firstborn male produced by your herds and flocks. You are not to put the firstborn of your oxen to work, nor are you to shear the firstborn of your flock. 15:20 Each year you and your household are to eat it before the LORD your God in the place the LORD will choose. 15:21 But if an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God. 15:22 Eat it within your gates; both the ceremonially unclean and clean may eat it as they would a gazelle or a deer. 15:23 But you must not eat the blood; pour it on the ground like water. 16:1 Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover to the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib the LORD your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 16:2 You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name. 16:3 You must not eat leavened bread with it; for seven days you are to eat with it unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left the land of Egypt in haste — so that you may remember for the rest of your life the day you left the land of Egypt. 16:4 No leaven is to be found in all your land for seven days, and none of the meat you sacrifice in the evening of the first day shall remain until morning. 16:5 You are not to sacrifice the Passover animal in any of the towns that the LORD your God is giving you. 16:6 You must only offer the Passover sacrifice at the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His Name. Do this in the evening as the sun sets, at the same time you departed from Egypt. 16:7 And you shall roast it and eat it in the place the LORD your God will choose, and in the morning you shall return to your tents. 16:8 For six days you must eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day you shall hold a solemn assembly to the LORD your God, and you must not do any work. The Feast of Weeks (Numbers 28:26–31) 16:9 You are to count off seven weeks from the time you first put the sickle to the standing grain. 16:10 And you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the LORD your God with a freewill offering that you give in proportion to how the LORD your God has blessed you, 16:11 and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in the place He will choose as a dwelling for His Name — you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite within your gates, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you. 16:12 Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes. The Feast of Tabernacles (Numbers 29:12–40) 16:13 You are to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress. 16:14 And you shall rejoice in your feast — you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levite, as well as the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widows among you. 16:15 For seven days you shall celebrate a feast to the LORD your God in the place He will choose, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that your joy will be complete. 16:16 Three times a year all your men are to appear before the LORD your God in the place He will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. No one should appear before the LORD empty-handed. 16:17 Everyone must appear with a gift as he is able, according to the blessing the LORD your God has given you. Judges and Justice