Deuteronomy 17:18

Verse

When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

American Standard Version (1901)

And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

Bible in Basic English

And when he has taken his place on the seat of his kingdom, he is to make in a book a copy of this law, from that which the priests, the Levites, have in their care:

Douay-Rheims 1899

But after he is raised to the throne of his kingdom, he shall copy out to himself the Deuteronomy of this law in a volume, taking the copy of the priests of the Levitical tribe,

Free Bible Version

Once he is king and sits on his royal throne, he must make a copy for himself of these instructions, writing them on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

Geneva Bible 1599

And when he shall sit vpon the throne of his kingdo, then shall he write him this Law repeted in a booke, by the Priests of the Leuites.

King James (Authorized) Version

And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

One Unity Resource Bible

It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this Torah ·Teaching· in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites [Descendants of United with].

Translation for Translators

“When he becomes your king, he must appoint someone to copy these laws. He must copy them from the scroll that is kept by the priests who are descended from Levi.

Unlocked Literal Bible

When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he must write for himself in a scroll a copy of this law, from the law that is before the priests, who are Levites.

Noah Webster Bible

And it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites.

World English Bible

It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the Levitical priests.

Young's Literal Translation

'And it hath been, when he sitteth on the throne of his kingdom, that he hath written for himself the copy of this law, on a book, from [that] before the priests the Levites,

Context

Guidelines for a King

¹⁷He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.¹⁸When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.¹⁹It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes.

Sermons

(Through the Bible) 1 Kings 9-16

Chuck Smith

1.8K

Week of Meetings 1986-01

Stan Ford

708

(Through the Bible) Deuteronomy

Zac Poonen

651

Summary

In this verse, God instructs the future kings of Israel to write for themselves a copy of the law, which is the Torah, taken from the priests and Levites. By doing so, the kings would have a personal connection to God's Word and be reminded to follow it faithfully. This act of copying the law was meant to ensure that the kings would govern justly, in accordance with God's commands, and not turn aside from them. It underscores the importance of leaders being grounded in God's Word and seeking guidance from it in their rule.

Commentary

Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

And thirdly, instead of hanging his heart upon these earthly things, when he at upon his royal throne he was to have a copy of the law written out by the Levitical priests, that he might keep the law by him, and read therein all the days of his life. כּתב does not involve writing with his own hand (Philo), but simply having it written. הזּאת התּורה משׁנה does not mean τὸ δευτερονόμιον τοῦτο (lxx), "this repetition of the law," as הזּאת cannot stand for הזּה; but a copy of this law, as most of the Rabbins correctly explain it in accordance with the Chaldee version, though they make mishneh to signify duplum, two copies (see Hvernick, Introduction). - Every copy of a book is really a repetition of it. "From before the priests," i.e., of the law which lies before the priests or is kept by them. The object of the daily reading in the law (Deu 17:19 and Deu 17:20) was "to learn the fear of the Lord, and to keep His commandments" (cf. Deu 5:25; Deu 6:2; Deu 14:23), that his heart might not be lifted up above his brethren, that he might not become proud (Deu 8:14), and might not turn aside from the commandments to the right hand or to the left, that he and his descendants might live long upon the throne.

Deuteronomy 17:18

Guidelines for a King

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

American Standard Version (1901)

And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

Bible in Basic English

And when he has taken his place on the seat of his kingdom, he is to make in a book a copy of this law, from that which the priests, the Levites, have in their care:

Douay-Rheims 1899

But after he is raised to the throne of his kingdom, he shall copy out to himself the Deuteronomy of this law in a volume, taking the copy of the priests of the Levitical tribe,

Free Bible Version

Once he is king and sits on his royal throne, he must make a copy for himself of these instructions, writing them on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.

Geneva Bible 1599

And when he shall sit vpon the throne of his kingdo, then shall he write him this Law repeted in a booke, by the Priests of the Leuites.

King James (Authorized) Version

And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

One Unity Resource Bible

Translation for Translators

“When he becomes your king, he must appoint someone to copy these laws. He must copy them from the scroll that is kept by the priests who are descended from Levi.

Unlocked Literal Bible

When he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he must write for himself in a scroll a copy of this law, from the law that is before the priests, who are Levites.

Noah Webster Bible

And it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites.

World English Bible

It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the Levitical priests.

Young's Literal Translation

'And it hath been, when he sitteth on the throne of his kingdom, that he hath written for himself the copy of this law, on a book, from [that] before the priests the Levites,

Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Deuteronomy 17:18

Verse

Context

Guidelines for a King

Sermons

Summary

Commentary

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Deuteronomy 17:18

Guidelines for a King

(Through the Bible) 1 Kings 9-16

Week of Meetings 1986-01

(Through the Bible) Deuteronomy

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes