the gods of the surrounding people (whether near you or far from you, from one end of the earth<n id="1" /> to the other).

<t /><p class="bodytext">Suppose you should hear in one of your cities, which the <sc>Lordsc> your God is giving you as a place to live, that

some evil people<n id="1" /> have departed from among you to entice the inhabitants of their cities,<n id="2" /> saying, &#8220;Let&#8217;s go and serve other gods&#8221; (whom you have not known before).<n id="3" />

you may convert the tithe into money, secure the money,<n id="1" /> and travel to the place the <sc>Lordsc> your God chooses for himself.

However, there should not be any poor among you, for the <sc>Lordsc><n id="1" /> will surely bless<n id="2" /> you in the land that he<n id="3" /> is giving you as an inheritance,<n id="4" />

if you carefully obey<n id="1" /> him<n id="2" /> by keeping<n id="3" /> all these commandments that I am giving<n id="4" /> you today.

Instead, you must be sure to open your hand to him and generously lend<n id="1" /> him whatever he needs.<n id="2" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">You must set apart<n id="1" /> for the <sc>Lordsc> your God every firstborn male born to your herds and flocks. You must not work the firstborn of your bulls or shear the firstborn of your flocks.

You must sacrifice the Passover animal<n id="1" /> (from the flock or the herd) to the <sc>Lordsc> your God in the place where he<n id="2" /> chooses to locate his name.

There must not be a scrap of yeast within your land<n id="1" /> for seven days, nor can any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until the next morning.<n id="2" />

Then you are to celebrate the Festival of Weeks<n id="1" /> before the <sc>Lordsc> your God with the voluntary offering<n id="2" /> that you will bring, in proportion to how he<n id="3" /> has blessed you.

You are to rejoice in your festival, you, your son, your daughter, your male and female slaves, the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows who are in your villages.<n id="1" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">You must appoint judges and civil servants<n id="1" /> for each tribe in all your villages<n id="2" /> that the <sc>Lordsc> your God is giving you, and they must judge the people fairly.<n id="3" />

You must pursue justice alone<n id="1" /> so that you may live and inherit the land the <sc>Lordsc> your God is giving you.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">You must not plant any kind of tree as a sacred Asherah pole<n id="1" /> near the altar of the <sc>Lordsc> your God which you build for yourself.

You must not sacrifice to him<n id="1" /> a bull or sheep that has a blemish or any other defect, because that is considered offensive<n id="2" /> to the <sc>Lordsc> your God.

by serving other gods and worshiping them &#8211; the sun,<n id="1" /> moon, or any other heavenly bodies which I have not permitted you to worship.<n id="2" />

You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

<t /><p class="bodytext">When you enter the land the <sc>Lordsc> your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations.

I will raise up a prophet like you for them from among their fellow Israelites. I will put my words in his mouth and he will speak to them whatever I command.