The First Harvest
26 When you go into the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own, to take it over and live in it, 2 you must take some of the first harvest of crops that grow from the land the Lord your God is giving you. Put the food in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God will choose to be worshiped. 3 Say to the priest on duty at that time, “Today I declare before the Lord your God that I have come into the land the Lord promised our ancestors that he would give us.” 4 The priest will take your basket and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5 Then you shall announce before the Lord your God: “My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt with only a few people, but they became a great, powerful, and large nation there. 6 But the Egyptians were cruel to us, making us suffer and work very hard. 7 So we prayed to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he heard us. When he saw our trouble, hard work, and suffering, 8 the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his great power and strength, using great terrors, signs, and miracles. 9 Then he brought us to this place and gave us this fertile land. 10 Now I bring part of the first harvest from this land that you, Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. 11 Then you and the Levites and foreigners among you should rejoice, because the Lord your God has given good things to you and your family.
12 Bring a tenth of all your harvest the third year (the year to give a tenth of your harvest). Give it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows so that they may eat in your towns and be full. 13 Then say to the Lord your God, “I have taken out of my house the part of my harvest that belongs to God, and I have given it to the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows. I have done everything you commanded me; I have not broken your commands, and I have not forgotten any of them. 14 I have not eaten any of the holy part while I was in sorrow. I have not removed any of it while I was unclean, and I have not offered it for dead people. I have obeyed you, the Lord my God, and have done everything you commanded me. 15 So look down from heaven, your holy home. Bless your people Israel and bless the land you have given us, which you promised to our ancestors—a fertile land.”
Obey the Lord’s Commands
16 Today the Lord your God commands you to obey all these rules and laws; be careful to obey them with your whole being. 17 Today you have said that the Lord is your God, and you have promised to do what he wants you to do—to keep his rules, commands, and laws. You have said you will obey him. 18 And today the Lord has said that you are his very own people, as he has promised you. But you must obey his commands. 19 He will make you greater than all the other nations he made. He will give you praise, fame, and honor, and you will be a holy people to the Lord your God, as he has said.
