The XVII. Chapter.
[ A] IVdges & officers shalt thou ordeyne within all ye gates, which ye LORDE thy God geueth the amōge thy try∣bes, yt they maye iudge the people with righ¦teous iudgment. Thou shalt not wrest the lawe. Thou shalt knowe no personne also, ner take giftes. For * 1.1 giftes blynde the eyes of ye wyse, & peruerte ye righteous causes. Lo¦ke what righte is, yt shalt thou folowe, that thou mayest lyue & possesse the londe, which the LORDE thy God shal geue the.
Thou shalt plante no groue (of what so euer trees it be) nye vnto the altare of the LORDE thy God, which thou makest the. Thou shalt set the vp no piler, which ye LOR¦DE ye God hateth. * 1.2 Thou shalt offre vnto the LORDE thy God no oxe or shepe, that hath a blemish or eny euell fauourednesse on it: for that is abhominacion vnto the LOR∣DE thy God.
[ B] Yf there be founde amonge you (within eny of thy gates which the LORDE ye God shal geue ye) a man or woman,* 1.3 that worketh wickednesse in ye sighte of the LORDE thy God, so that he transgresseth his couenaūte and goeth, and serueth other goddes, & wor∣shippeth them,* 1.4 whether it be Sōne or Mo¦ne, or eny of the hooste of heauen, which I haue not commaunded, and it is tolde the, & thou hearest of it,* 1.5 Then shalt thou make di∣ligent search therfore. And yf thou fyndest that it is so of a trueth, that soch abhomina¦cion is wroughte in Israel, then shalt thou brynge forth the same man or ye same womā (which haue done soch euell) vnto thy gates and shalt stone them to death.* 1.6 At the mouth of two or thre witnesses shal he dye, that is worthy of death. At the mouth of one wit∣nes shal he not dye. The handes of the wit∣nesses shal be the first to kyll him, and thē ye handes of all the people, that thou mayest put awaye the euell from the.
Yf a matter be to harde for the in iud∣gmēt [ C] betwixte bloude and bloude, betwixte plee and plee, betwixte stroke and stroke, and yf there be matters of stryfe within thy ga∣tes * 1.7 then shalt thou ryse, and go vp vnto ye place that ye LORDE thy God hath chosen: and shalt come to the prestes the Leuites, & to the iudge which shalbe at that tyme, and shalt axe. They shal shewe the how to iudge,* 1.8 and thou shalt do therafter, as they saye vn¦to the, in ye place which the LORDE hath cho¦sen: and thou shalt take hede that thou do a∣cordinge vnto all yt they teach the. Acor∣dinge to the lawe yt they teach the, & after the iudgment that they tell ye, shalt thou do * 1.9 so that thou turne not asyde from ye same, nether to the righte hande ner to the lefts.
And yf eny man deale presumptuously, so that he herkeneth not vnto the prest (which stondeth to do seruyce vnto the LORDE thy God) or to the Iudge, the same shal dye: and thou shalt put awaye the euell from Israel, that all ye people maye heare, and feare, and be nomore presumptuous.
Whan thou art come in to ye londe which the LORDE thy God shal geue the, & takest it in possession, and dwellest therin, and shalt saie: * 1.10 I wil set a kinge ouer me, as all the na¦cions haue aboute me, thē shalt thou set him to be kynge ouer the, whom the LORDE thy God shal chose.
One of thy brethren shalt thou sett to be kynge ouer the. Thou mayest not set a straū¦ger [ D] ouer the, which is not thy brother. Onely let him not haue many horses, yt he brynge not ye people againe in to Egipte thorow ye multitude of horses,* 1.11 for as moch as ye LORDE hath sayde vnto you, that from hence forth ye shulde come nomore this waye agayne.