Deuteronomy 26 King James Version (KJV)
26 And it shall be, when thou art come in unto the land which the Lordthy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and possessest it, and dwellest therein;
2 That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place his name there.
3 And thou shalt go unto the priest that shall be in those days, and say unto him, I profess this day unto the Lord thy God, that I am come unto the country which the Lord sware unto our fathers for to give us.
4 And the priest shall take the basket out of thine hand, and set it down before the altar of the Lord thy God.
5 And thou shalt speak and say before the Lord thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:
6 And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:
7 And when we cried unto the Lord God of our fathers, the Lord heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression:
8 And the Lord brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:
9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.
10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O Lord, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the Lord thy God, and worship before the Lord thy God:
11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house, thou, and the Levite, and the stranger that is among you.
12 When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;
13 Then thou shalt say before the Lord thy God, I have brought away the hallowed things out of mine house, and also have given them unto the Levite, and unto the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all thy commandments which thou hast commanded me: I have not transgressed thy commandments, neither have I forgotten them.
14 I have not eaten thereof in my mourning, neither have I taken away ought thereof for any unclean use, nor given ought thereof for the dead: but I have hearkened to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that thou hast commanded me.
15 Look down from thy holy habitation, from heaven, and bless thy people Israel, and the land which thou hast given us, as thou swarest unto our fathers, a land that floweth with milk and honey.
16 This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.
17 Thou hast avouched the Lord this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice:
18 And the Lord hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments;
19 And to make thee high above all nations which he hath made, in praise, and in name, and in honour; and that thou mayest be an holy people unto the Lord thy God, as he hath spoken.
Commentary
Declarations by Israel and by God (26:1-19)
The first harvest season after the Israelites settled in Canaan would be of particular importance, bringing to a climax the fulfilment of God’s promise to Israel of a permanent homeland (26:1-4). The harvest firstfruits offered to God on this occasion would have special significance as the people recalled their humble beginnings, their slavery in Egypt, and the miraculous release that allowed them to possess the land God had prepared for them (5-11).
Besides offering the firstfruits to God, the people had to make an annual offering of tithes. Every third year this tithe (or an additional tithe) was not taken to the central place of worship, but was given to the Levites and the poor in the offerer’s own locality (see 14:28-29). This meant that the distribution of this tithe was not under the general supervision of the priests. The law therefore laid down a special requirement to prevent dishonesty and ensure that people kept in mind the religious nature of the offering. According to this requirement, the offerer, after distributing his tithe, had to go to the central place of worship and declare before God that he had carried out his responsibilities fully (12-15).
Moses had now finished his instruction on the covenant’s detailed requirements. The two parties to the covenant then made declarations that bound them together. The people declared that Yahweh was their God and they would keep his commandments, and God declared that they were his people and he would exalt them above all nations (16-19; see also 29:10-15).