Deuteronomy 26 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.

When you enter the land that Yahweh your God is giving you as your inheritance, and you take possession of it and settle in it,

you must take some of the first produce from everything your soil yields — from the land that Yahweh your God is giving you — put it in a basket, and go to the place Yahweh your God will choose to establish his name.

Go to the priest serving at that time and say to him, 'I am declaring today to Yahweh your God that I have entered the land Yahweh promised our ancestors he would give us.'

The priest will take the basket from your hand and set it down in front of the altar of Yahweh your God.

Then you must recite in the presence of Yahweh your God: 'My ancestor was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt with just a few people and lived there as a foreigner, but there he became a great nation — numerous and powerful.

But the Egyptians treated us badly, oppressed us, and forced brutal labor on us.

So we cried out to Yahweh, the God of our ancestors, and Yahweh heard our voice. He saw our misery, our exhausting labor, and our oppression.

Then Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with a powerful hand, an outstretched arm, with terrifying displays, with signs and wonders.

He brought us to this place and gave us this land — a land flowing with milk and honey.

So now — look — I am bringing the first produce of the soil that you, Yahweh, have given me.' Then set it down before Yahweh your God and bow down before Yahweh your God.

Then celebrate all the good things Yahweh your God has given you and your household — you, the Levite, and the foreigner living among you.

When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year — the year for giving a tenth — and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, so they can eat their fill in your towns,

then say in the presence of Yahweh your God: 'I have removed the dedicated portion from my house. I have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow, exactly as you commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten any of your commands.

I have not eaten any of it while mourning, I have not removed any of it while unclean, and I have not offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of Yahweh my God. I have done everything you commanded me.

Look down from your dwelling place — from the skies above — and bring good to your people Israel and to the ground you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors — a land flowing with milk and honey.'

Today Yahweh your God is commanding you to follow these rules and standards. Guard them and do them with your whole heart and your whole life.

Today you have declared that Yahweh is your God, that you will walk in his ways, guard his rules, his commands, and his standards, and that you will listen to his voice.

And Yahweh has declared today that you are his treasured people, just as he promised you, and that you are to guard all his commands.

He will set you high above all the nations he has made — in praise, in reputation, and in honor — and you will be a people set apart for Yahweh your God, just as he promised.