Chapter 26
1 It shall be , when you have come in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance , possess it , and dwell in it ,
2 that you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground , which you shall bring in from your land that Yahweh your God gives you . You shall put it in a basket , and shall go to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there .
3 You shall come to the priest who shall be in those days , and tell him , " I profess today to Yahweh your God , that I have come to the land which Yahweh swore to our fathers to give us ."
4 The priest shall take the basket out of your hand , and set it down before Yahweh your God ’s altar .
5 You shall answer and say before Yahweh your God , " My father was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt , and lived there , few in number . There he became a great , mighty , and populous nation .
6 The Egyptians mistreated us , afflicted us , and imposed hard labor on us .
7 Then we cried to Yahweh , the God of our fathers. Yahweh heard our voice , and saw our affliction , our toil , and our oppression .
8 Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand , with an outstretched arm , with great terror , with signs, and with wonders ;
9 and he has brought us into this place , and has given us this land , a land flowing with milk and honey .
10 Now , behold , I have brought the first of the fruit of the ground , which you , Yahweh , have given me ." You shall set it down before Yahweh your God , and worship before Yahweh your God .
11 You shall rejoice in all the good which Yahweh your God has given to you , and to your house , you , and the Levite , and the foreigner who is among you .
12 When you have finished tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year , which is the year of tithing , then you shall give it to the Levite , to the foreigner , to the fatherless , and to the widow, that they may eat within your gates and be filled .
13 You shall say before Yahweh your God , " I have put away the holy things out of my house , and also have given them to the Levite , to the foreigner , to the fatherless , and to the widow, according to all your commandment which you have commanded me . I have not transgressed any of your commandments , neither have I forgotten them .
14 I have not eaten of it in my mourning, neither have I removed any of it while I was unclean , nor given of it for the dead . I have listened to Yahweh my God ’s voice . I have done according to all that you have commanded me .
15 Look down from your holy habitation , from heaven , and bless your people Israel , and the ground which you have given us , as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey ."
16 Today Yahweh your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances . You shall therefore keep and do them with all your heart and with all your soul .
17 You have declared today that Yahweh is your God , and that you would walk in his ways , keep his statutes , his commandments , and his ordinances , and listen to his voice .
18 Yahweh has declared today that you are a people for his own possession , as he has promised you , and that you should keep all his commandments .
19 He will make you high above all nations that he has made , in praise , in name , and in honor , and that you may be a holy people to Yahweh your God , as he has spoken .