Deuteronomy 26 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~1406 BC, immediately before the crossing of the Jordan
Location
The plains of Moab, east of the Jordan, with instructions pointing forward to the central sanctuary in the land
Audience
The second generation of Israelites, imagining their first harvest in a country they do not yet occupy
Situation
Moses closes the body of the law with two ceremonies: bringing the first ripe produce in a basket to the sanctuary while reciting Israel's story, and a declaration made in the third year that the tithe has been given to the Levite, the immigrant, the orphan and the widow. The chapter ends with both parties affirming the covenant.
Key Background
Firstfruits offerings were common across the ancient world as a way of securing a god's favor for the rest of the crop, but here the farmer recites history instead of asking for fertility, tracing the family from a wandering ancestor through slavery in Egypt to the field he is standing in. The line about a wandering Aramean refers to Jacob and became one of Israel's oldest summaries of its own origins, later read at Passover. The third-year tithe was a redistributive tax collected locally rather than carried to the sanctuary, so the poorest households in each town ate from it directly.
When you enter the land that your God is giving you as your and you take possession of it and settle in it,
you must take some of the from everything soil yields — from the land that is giving you — put it in a basket, and go to the will to establish his name.
Go to the priest serving at that time and say to him, 'I am declaring today to Yahweh your God that I have entered the land Yahweh promised our ancestors he would give us.'
The priest will take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the of Yahweh your God.
Then you must recite in the presence of Yahweh your God: 'My ancestor was a He went down to Egypt with just a few people and lived there as a foreigner, but there he became a great nation — numerous and powerful.
But the Egyptians treated us badly, us, and forced brutal labor on us.
So we cried out to Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, and Yahweh heard our voice. He saw our misery, our exhausting labor, and our oppression.
Then Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a an outstretched arm, with terrifying displays, with and
He brought us to this place and gave us this land — a land with and
So now — look — I am bringing the first produce of the soil that you, Yahweh, have given me.' Then set it down before Yahweh your God and down before Yahweh your God.
Then celebrate all the good things Yahweh your God has given you and your household — you, the and the living among you.
When you have finished setting aside a of all your produce in the third year — the year for giving a — and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, so they can eat their fill in your towns,
then say in the presence of Yahweh your God: 'I have removed the from my house. I have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, exactly as you commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten any of your commands.
I have not eaten of it while mourning, I have not removed of it while and I have not of it to the I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God. I have done everything you commanded me.
Look down from your dwelling place — from the skies above — and to your people Israel and to the ground you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors — a land flowing with milk and honey.'
Today Yahweh your God is commanding you to follow these and Guard them and do them with your heart and your
Today you have declared that Yahweh is your God, that you will in guard rules, commands, and standards, and that you will listen to voice.
And Yahweh has declared today that you are his just as he promised you, and that you are to guard all his commands.
He will set you high above all the nations he has made, in in and in honor, and you will be a who to your God, just as he promised.