The first fruits
1Moses said: ‘When you come into the land that the Lord your God gives you and you take the land and live in it, 2then you must take some of the first fruits that you pick and you must put the fruit in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God has chosen for you to worship Him. 3Go to the priest and tell him: “Today, I say to the Lord our God that I have come into the land, this land that the Lord promised to give our forefathers.”
4The priest will then take the basket from you and put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. 5Then you must say these words there:
“My forefather, Jacob,
was a man from Aram
who went from one place to another.
He went with a small group
of people to Egypt where they were strangers.
But we became a big and strong nation there.
There are many people now.
6The Egyptians made us suffer
and they did bad things to us.
They made us work as slaves.
7Then we prayed to the Lord,
the God of our forefathers,
and we asked Him to help us.
He listened to our prayers and He saw
how the Egyptians oppressed us.
He saw how we suffered
and how difficult it was for us.
8Then the Lord saved us
and He brought us out of Egypt
with his great power.
He made those people afraid
with signs and miracles,
9and He brought us to this place
and He gave us this land.
This is a land with a lot of food,
milk and honey.
10And now I bring the first fruits
of this land which the Lord gave me.”
Then you must put the basket down in front of the Lord your God and bow down before Him. 11Then you, the Levites and the strangers who live among you must rejoice and you must enjoy all the good things that the Lord gives you and your family.’
Giving 10ths
12‘You must give your 10ths every 3rd year. Take a 10th of the wheat that you have harvested in that year and give it to the Levites, to the strangers, the orphans and the widows. They must eat it in your towns and they must have enough. 13Then you must pray and say to the Lord your God: “I have taken the holy gift that I must give to the Lord and I have given it to the Levites, the strangers, the orphans and the widows. I have done what You said in your laws. I have obeyed your laws and I have not forgotten them.
14I did not eat that food when I was mourning, I did not take any of it away when I was impure and I have not given any of it to someone who was dying. I have listened to the Lord my God, and I have done everything that You said. 15Lord, please look down on us from your holy home in heaven. Please bless your people and the land that You have given us. You promised our forefathers that You would give us a land that would have a lot of food, milk and honey.” ’
The Israelites are the holy people of the Lord
16‘Today the Lord your God has told you to do what He said and what He decided. You must do that with all your heart and everything in your life. 17Today you have said that the Lord will be your God. You have promised that you will live as He wants and that you will do everything that his laws say and that you will listen to Him. 18The Lord said that you will be his people. He said that you belong to Him and that you are precious to Him. He also told you to do everything that He says. 19He will make you more important than all the other nations whom He has made. Everyone will praise you, everyone will know about you and they will respect you. You will be the holy people of the Lord your God, as He has promised.’
