Deuteronomy 26
1NOW, when thou art come to the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for a possession, and hast taken possession of it, and dwelt therein,
2thou shalt take some of the first fruits of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and put them in a basket, and go to the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen for His name to be there invoked,
3and thou shalt go to the priest, who shall be in those days, and say to him, I acknowledge this day to the Lord my God, that I am come to the land which the Lord solemnly promised our fathers to give us.
4Thereupon the priest shall take the basket out of thy hands, and set it down over against the altar of the Lord thy God,
5and in the presence of the Lord shall answer, and say, My father left Syria, and went down into Egypt, and sojourned there, with a small number, and became there a great nation, and a vast multitude.
6And when the Egyptians afflicted us, and humbled us, and imposed upon us hard labours,
7and we cried to the Lord our God, the Lord heard our voice. When He saw our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression,
8the Lord Himself brought us out of Egypt with His great power, and with His strong hand, and outstretched arm, and with great visions, and with signs, and with wonders,
9and brought us to this place, and gave us this land—a land flowing with milk and honey.
10Now therefore, behold, I have brought this offering of the products of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me—a land flowing with milk and honey.
11Then thou shalt leave it before the Lord thy God; and when thou hast worshipped before the Lord thy God, thou shalt regale thyself with all the good things which the Lord thy God hath given thee. thou, and thy family, and the Levite, and the proselyte who is with thee.
12And when thou hast finished tithing the tenth of all thy produce in the third year, thou shalt give another tenth to the Levite, and the proselyte, and the orphan, and the widow, that they may eat in thy cities, and be regaled.
13Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have removed the hallowed things clean out of my house, and have given them to the Levite, and the proselyte, and the orphan, and the widow, according to all the commands which Thou hast commanded me. I have not transgressed Thy command, nor forgot it.
14I have not, in my mourning, eaten any of them, nor offered any of them in homage to an unclean thing, nor given any of them to the dead. I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God. I have done as Thou hast commanded me.
15Look down from Thy holy habitation—from heaven, and bless Thy people Israel, and this land which Thou hast given them, as Thou didst solemnly promise our fathers to give us a land flowing with milk and honey.
16This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to practise all these rules of rectitude and these judgments; you shall therefore keep, and perform them, with your whole heart, and with your whole soul.
17Thou hast this day chosen God to be thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to keep His rules of rectitude, and His judgments, and to hearken to His voice.
18And the Lord hath this day chosen thee to be a peculiar people to Himself, as He hath said, that thou mayst keep His commandments, and be, as He hath made thee,
19renowned above all the nations, and a boast, and glorious, and that thou mayst be a people dedicated to the Lord, as He hath spoken.