rd

Deuteronomy 17

1 The puniſhment of the idolater. 9 Hard controuerſies are broght to the Prieſt and the iudge. 12 The contemner muſt dye 15 The election of the King. 16 & 17 What things he oght to auoide. 18 And what he oght to embrace.
1.a THou ſhalt offer vnto yͤ Lord thy God no bullocke nor ſhepe wherein is blemiſh or anie euil fauored thing : for that is an abominaciō vnto yͤ Lord thy God.
2.¶ If there be found amōg you in anie of thy cities, which yͤ Lord thy God giueth thee, man or b woman that hathe wroght wickednes in the ſight of the Lord thy God, in tranſgreſſing his couenant,
3.And hathe gone & ſerued other gods, & worſhipped thē: as the ſunne, or the moone, or anie of the hoſte of heauen, which I haue not c commanded,
4.And it be tolde vnto thee, and thou haſt heard it, then ſhalt thou inquire diligently: and if it be true, and the thing certeine, yͭ ſuche abominacion is wroght in Iſraél,
5.Then ſhalt thou bring forthe that mā, or that woman (which haue committed that wicked thing) vnto thy gates, whether it be man or woman, and ſhalt ſtone them with ſtones, til they dye.
6.* At yͤ mouth of two or thre witneſſes ſhal he that is worthy of death, dye: but at the mouth of one witnes, he ſhal not dye.
7.The hands of the d witneſſes ſhalbe firſt vpō him, to kil him: and afterwarde the hands of all the e people: ſo thou ſhalt take the wicked away from among you.
8.¶ If there riſe a matter to hard for thee in iudgement betwene blood and blood, betwene plea and plea, betwene plague and plague, in the matters of controueiſie within thy gates, then ſhalt thou ariſe, and go vp vnto the place which the Lord thy God ſhal choſe,
9.And thou ſhalt come vnto the Prieſts of the Leuites, & vnto the f iudge that ſhalbe in thoſe dayes, and aſke, and thei ſhal ſhewe thee the ſentence of iudgement,
10.And thou ſhalt do according to ye thing which they of that place (which the Lord hathe choſen) ſhewe thee, and thou ſhalt obſerue to do according to all that they informe thee..
11.According to the Lawe, which they ſhal teach thee, and according to the iudgemẽt which thei ſhal tel thee, ſhalt g thou do: thou ſhalt not decline from the thing which they ſhal ſhewe thee, neither to the right hand, nor to the left.
12.And that man that wil do preſumpteouſly, not hearkening vnto the Prieſt (that ſtãdeth before the Lord thy God to h miniſter there) or vnto the iudge, that man ſhal dye, and thou ſhalt take away euil frõ Iſraél.
13.So all the people ſhal heare and feare, and do no more preſumpteouſly.
14.¶ When thou ſhalt come vnto the land which the Lord thy God giueth thee, and ſhalt poſſeſſe it, and dwel therein, if thou ſay, I wil ſet a King ouer me, like as all the nacions that are about me,
15.Then thou ſhalt make him King ouer thee, whome the Lord thy God ſhal choſe: from among thy brethren ſhalt thou make a King ouer thee: thou ſhalt not ſet a i ſtranger ouer thee, wc is not thy brother.
16.In anie wiſe he ſhal not prepare him manie horſes, nor bring the people againe to k Egypt for to increaſe the nõber of horſes, ſeing the Lord hathe ſaid vnto you, Ye ſhal henſforthe go no more again that way.
17.Nether ſhal he take him manie wiues, leſt his heart l turne away, nether ſhal he gather him muche ſiluer and gold.
18.And when he ſhal ſit vpon the throne of his kingdome, then ſhal he write him this m Lawe repeted in a boke, by the n Prieſts of the Leuites.
19.And it ſhalbe with him, and he ſhal read therein all dayes of his life, that he may learne to feare the Lord his God, & to kepe all the wordes of this Lawe, and theſe ordinances, for to do them:
20.That his heart be not lifted vp aboue his o brethren, and that he turne not from the commandement, to the right hand or to the left, but that he may prolong his dayes in his kingdome, he, and his ſonnes in the middes of Iſraél.

Notes

1:a.
Thou ſhalt not ſerue God for facious ſake, as hypocrites do.
2:b.
Shewing that the crime can not be excuſed by the frailtie of the perſone.
3:c.
Whereby he condéneth all religion and ſeruing of God which he hath not commanded,
6:*.
Num. 35.30. chap 19 15. mat 18, 16. 2 cor 13.1.
7:d.
Whereby they declared that they teſtified yͤ trueth
7:e.
To ſignifie a commune conſent to mainteine Gods honour and true religion.
9:f.
Who ſhal giue ſentence as the Prieſts coũſel him by the Lawe of God.
11:g.
Thou ſhalt obey their ſentence that the controuerſie may haue an end.
12:h.
So long as he is the true miniſter of God, and pronounceth according to his worde.
15:i.
Who is not of thy nacion, leſt he change true religion into idolatrie, and bring thee to ſlauerie.
16:k.
To reuenge their iniuries, and to take thẽ of their beſt horſes, 1 King 10.28.
17:l.
From the Lawe of God.
18:m.
Meaning, ye Deuteronomie.
18:n.
He ſhal cauſe it to be writ by them, or, he ſhal write it by their example.
20:o.
Whereby is mãt, that Kĩgs oght to loue their ſubiects, as nature bindeth one brother to loue another.