Deuteronomy, 26

1. 'When you have entered the country which Yahweh your God is giving you as heritage, when you have taken possession of it and are living in it,

1. "When you come into the land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance, and have taken possession of it, and live in it,

2. you must set aside the first-fruits of all the produce of the soil raised by you in your country, given you by Yahweh your God. You must put these in a basket and go to the place where Yahweh your God chooses to give his name a home.

2. you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from your land that the LORD your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket, and you shall go to the place which the LORD your God will choose, to make his name to dwell there.

3. You will go to the priest then in office and say to him, "Today I declare to Yahweh my God that I have reached the country which Yahweh swore to our ancestors that he would give us."

3. And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, `I declare this day to the LORD your God that I have come into the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.'

4. 'The priest will then take the basket from your hand and lay it before the altar of Yahweh your God.

4. Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand, and set it down before the altar of the LORD your God.

5. In the presence of Yahweh your God, you will then pronounce these words: "My father was a wandering Aramaean, who went down to Egypt with a small group of men, and stayed there, until he there became a great, powerful and numerous nation.

5. "And you shall make response before the LORD your God, `A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.

6. The Egyptians ill-treated us, they oppressed us and inflicted harsh slavery on us.

6. And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage.

7. But we called on Yahweh, God of our ancestors. Yahweh heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression;

7. Then we cried to the LORD the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression;

8. and Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders.

8. and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror, with signs and wonders;

9. He brought us here and has given us this country, a country flowing with milk and honey.

9. and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10. Hence, I now bring the first-fruits of the soil that you, Yahweh, have given me." 'You will then lay them before Yahweh your God, and prostrate yourself in the presence of Yahweh your God.

10. And behold, now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground, which thou, O LORD, hast given me.' And you shall set it down before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God;

11. You must then rejoice in all the good things that Yahweh your God has bestowed on you and your family-you, the Levite and the foreigner living with you.

11. and you shall rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given to you and to your house, you, and the Levite, and the sojourner who is among you.

12. 'In the third year, the tithing year, when you have finished taking the tithe of your whole income and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow so that, in your towns, they may eat to their heart's content,

12. "When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within your towns and be filled,

13. in the presence of Yahweh your God, you must say: "I have cleared my house of what was consecrated. Yes, I have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, in accordance with all the commandments you have imposed on me, neither going beyond your commandments nor neglecting them.

13. then you shall say before the LORD your God, `I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all thy commandment which thou hast commanded me; I have not transgressed any of thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them;

14. When in mourning, I have not eaten any of it; when unclean, I have taken none of it away; I have given none of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh my God and I have behaved in every way as you have commanded me.

14. I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead; I have obeyed the voice of the LORD my God, I have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.

15. Look down from your holy dwelling, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the country which you have given us, as you swore to our ancestors, a country flowing with milk and honey." '

15. Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel and the ground which thou hast given us, as thou didst swear to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.'

16. 'Yahweh your God commands you today to observe these laws and customs; you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.

16. "This day the LORD your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances; you shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul.

17. 'Today you have obtained this declaration from Yahweh: that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his customs, and listen to his voice.

17. You have declared this day concerning the LORD that he is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his ordinances, and will obey his voice;

18. And today Yahweh has obtained this declaration from you: that you will be his own people -- as he has said -- but only if you keep all his commandments;

18. and the LORD has declared this day concerning you that you are a people for his own possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments,

19. then for praise and renown and honour, he will raise you higher than every other nation he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to Yahweh, as he has promised.'

19. that he will set you high above all nations that he has made, in praise and in fame and in honor, and that you shall be a people holy to the LORD your God, as he has spoken."