Deuteronomy 26

NEW JERUSALEM	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 'When you have entered the country which Yahweh your God is giving you as heritage, when youhave taken possession of it and are living in it,	1 "When you have come into the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you as a heritage, and have occupied it and settled in it,
2 you must set aside the first-fruits of al the produce of the soil raised by you in your country, given youby Yahweh your God. You must put these in a basket and go to the place where Yahweh your God chooses togive his name a home.	2 you shall take some first fruits of the various products of the soil which you harvest from the land which the LORD, your God, gives you, and putting them in a basket, you shall go to the place which the LORD, your God, chooses for the dwelling place of his name.
3 You wil go to the priest then in office and say to him, "Today I declare to Yahweh my God that I havereached the country which Yahweh swore to our ancestors that he would give us."	3 There you shall go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, 'Today I acknowledge to the LORD, my God, that I have indeed come into the land which he swore to our fathers he would give us.'
4 'The priest will then take the basket from your hand and lay it before the altar of Yahweh your God.	4 The priest shall then receive the basket from you and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God.
5 In the presence of Yahweh your God, you will then pronounce these words: "My father was awandering Aramaean, who went down to Egypt with a smal group of men, and stayed there, until he therebecame a great, powerful and numerous nation.	5 Then you shall declare before the LORD, your God, 'My father was a wandering Aramean who went down to Egypt with a small household and lived there as an alien. But there he became a nation great, strong and numerous.
6 The Egyptians ill-treated us, they oppressed us and inflicted harsh slavery on us.	6 When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us, imposing hard labor upon us,
7 But we called on Yahweh, God of our ancestors. Yahweh heard our voice and saw our misery, our toiland our oppression;	7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and he heard our cry 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, andwith signs and wonders.	8 He brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand and outstretched arm, with terrifying power, with signs and wonders;
9 He brought us here and has given us this country, a country flowing with milk and honey.	9 and bringing us into this country, he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.
10 Hence, I now bring the first-fruits of the soil that you, Yahweh, have given me." 'You wil then laythem before Yahweh your God, and prostrate yourself in the presence of Yahweh your God.	10 Therefore, I have now brought you the first fruits of the products of the soil which you, O LORD, have given me.' And having set them before the LORD, your God, you shall bow down in his presence.
11 You must then rejoice in al the good things that Yahweh your God has bestowed on you and yourfamily-you, the Levite and the foreigner living with you.	11 Then you and your family, together with the Levite and the aliens who live among you, shall make merry over all these good things which the LORD, your God, has given you.
12 'In the third year, the tithing year, when you have finished taking the tithe of your whole income andhave given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow so that, in your towns, they may eat to theirheart's content,	12 "When you have finished setting aside all the tithes of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithes, and you have given them to the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow, that they may eat their fill in your own community,
13 in the presence of Yahweh your God, you must say: "I have cleared my house of what wasconsecrated. Yes, I have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, in accordance with althe commandments you have imposed on me, neither going beyond your commandments nor neglecting them.	13 you shall declare before the LORD, your God, 'I have purged my house of the sacred portion and I have given it to the Levite, the alien, the orphan and the widow, just as you have commanded me. In this I have not broken or forgotten any of your commandments:
14 When in mourning, I have not eaten any of it; when unclean, I have taken none of it away; I havegiven none of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of Yahweh my God and I have behaved in every way asyou have commanded me.	14 I have not eaten any of the tithe as a mourner; I have not brought any of it out as one unclean; I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have thus hearkened to the voice of the LORD, my God, doing just as you have commanded me.
15 Look down from your holy dwel ing, 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, then, from heaven, your holy abode, and bless your people Israel and the soil you have given us in the land flowing with milk and honey which you promised on oath to our fathers.'
16 'Yahweh your God commands you today to observe these laws and customs; you must keep andobserve them with al your heart and with al your soul.	16 "This day the LORD, your God, commands you to observe these statutes and decrees. Be careful, then, to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
17 'Today you have obtained this declaration from Yahweh: that he wil be your God, but only if youfol ow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his customs, and listen to his voice.	17 Today you are making this agreement with the LORD: he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to his voice.
18 And today Yahweh has obtained this declaration from you: that you will be his own people -- as hehas said -- but only if you keep all his commandments;	18 And today the LORD is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you; and provided you keep all his commandments,
19 then for praise and renown and honour, he wil raise you higher than every other nation he hasmade, and you wil be a people consecrated to Yahweh, as he has promised.'	19 he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made, and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God, as he promised."