Deuteronomy 17:14-20

The King

14 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”

15 be sure to appoint over you a king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite.

16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”

17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests.

19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees

20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

Deuteronomy 17:14-20 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 17

This chapter begins with a caution not to sacrifice anything to the Lord that is blemished or ill favoured, De 17:1, an order is given to put to death men or women guilty of idolatry, where it is clearly proved upon them, De 17:2-7 and it is directed that when cases are too hard for inferior judges to determine, they should be brought to Jerusalem to the priests, Levites, and judges, which formed the great consistory there, whose sentence was to be adhered unto on pain of death, De 17:8-13, and rules are given about the choice of a king, and he is informed what he must not do, and what he should do, De 17:14-20.

Cross References

• 1. S Numbers 33:53
• 2. Joshua 21:43
• 3. Deuteronomy 11:31; 1Sa 8:5,19-20; 1 Samuel 10:19
• 4. 1 Samuel 16:3; 2 Samuel 5:3
• 5. Jeremiah 30:21
• 6. Isaiah 2:7; Isaiah 30:16
• 7. 1 Samuel 8:11; 1 Kings 4:26; 1 Kings 9:19; 1 Kings 10:26; 2 Chronicles 1:14; Psalms 20:7
• 8. 1 Kings 10:29; Isaiah 31:1; Jeremiah 42:14; Hosea 11:5
• 9. 1 Kings 10:28; Isaiah 31:1; Ezekiel 17:15
• 10. S Exodus 13:17
• 11. S Exodus 34:16; 2 Samuel 5:13; 2 Samuel 12:11; 1 Kings 11:3; 2 Chronicles 11:21
• 12. 1 Kings 11:2; Proverbs 31:3
• 13. 1 Kings 10:27
• 14. 2 Chronicles 1:11; Isaiah 2:7
• 15. 1 Kings 1:46; 1 Chronicles 29:23
• 16. Deuteronomy 31:22,24; Joshua 24:26; 1 Samuel 10:25
• 17. 2 Chronicles 23:11
• 18. Deuteronomy 4:9-10; Joshua 1:8
• 19. Deuteronomy 11:13; 1 Kings 3:3; 1 Kings 11:38; 2 Kings 22:2
• 20. Joshua 23:6; Job 23:12; Psalms 119:102; 1 Kings 15:5
• 21. S Deuteronomy 5:32; S 1 Kings 9:4
• 22. 1 Samuel 8:5; 1 Samuel 10:25; 1 Kings 2:3; 1 Chronicles 28:8