¹⁸“And then^g when he is sitting^h on the throne of his kingdom, then he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll beforeⁱ the Levitical priests. ¹⁹And it shall be with him, and he shall read it^j all the days of his life, so that he may learn to revere Yahweh your God by diligently observing^k all the word of this law and these rules, ²⁰so as not to exalt his heart above his countrymen^l and not to turn aside from the commandment to the right or to the left, so that he may reign long over his kingdom,^m he and his children in the midst of Israel.”

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Footnotes

gLiterally “And it shall happen”
hLiterally “as/when his sitting”
iLiterally “to the face of”
jHebrew “in it”
kLiterally “by keeping ... to do them”
lOr “brothers”
mLiterally “he may make long his days over his kingdom”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests. And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them, that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, either to the right hand or to the left, so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

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. 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 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.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

When he is seated on his royal throne, he is to write a copy of this instruction for himself on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. It 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, to observe all the words of this instruction, and to do these statutes. Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, he will not turn from this command to the right or the left, and he and his sons will continue reigning many years in Israel.

NLTNew Living Translation

“When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees. This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel.

KJV 1900King James 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: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

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