Deuteronomy, Chapter 26:

Verses from Deuteronomy, Chapter 26 of the book of Deuteronomy of the Bible.

Deuteronomy - Old Testament — Deuteronomy – Old Testament

First fruits and tithes

1. “When you have entered the land that the Lord your God has given you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and made your home there,
2. Separate some of the firstfruits of everything you produce in the land that the Lord your God has given you, and put them in a basket. Then take them to the place that the Lord your God has chosen as a dwelling place for His name.
3. Present the basket to the priest who is in charge at that time and declare before the Lord your God: 'Today I testify before the Lord my God that I have entered the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors that he would give us.'
4. The priest will take the basket from your hands and place it before the altar of the Lord your God.
5. Then you will say before the Lord your God, 'My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt with a small group and lived there, becoming a great and powerful nation.
6. The Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, imposing hard work on us.
7. We cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our cry and saw our suffering, our affliction and our oppression.
8. Therefore, the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, performing signs and wonders, with great terror.
9. He led us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey in abundance.
10. Now I bring the first fruits of the land that You, O Lord, gave me.' Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before Him.
11. You, together with the Levites and the foreigners among you, will rejoice in all the good things that the Lord your God has given to you and to your families.
12. When you set aside a tenth of the produce you harvest in the third year, the year of tithing, give it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan and the widow, so that they can eat until they are satisfied in your cities.
13. Then say to the Lord your God, 'I have removed the consecrated portion from my house and given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan and the widow, as you commanded. I have not transgressed nor forgotten any of Your commandments.
14. I did not eat the consecrated portion when I was in mourning, nor did I take anything from it when it was unclean. I didn't offer any of it to the dead. I observed all Your instructions and obeyed everything You commanded me.
15. Look down from Your holy dwelling in heaven and bless Your people Israel and the land that You gave us, as You swore to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey.'

Obedience to the Lord's commandments

16. “The Lord your God commands you today to obey these statutes and decrees. Fulfill them with all your heart and all your soul.
17. Today you declared that the Lord is your God, that you will walk in His ways, keep His commandments, statutes and decrees, and obey Him.
18. And today the Lord declared that you are His people, His personal treasure, as He promised, and that you must obey all His commandments.
19. He has declared that He will give you fame and renown and honor above all the nations that He has made, and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as He has promised.”