8. “Suppose a case arises in a local court that is too hard for you to decide—for instance, whether someone is guilty of murder or only of manslaughter, or a difficult lawsuit, or a case involving different kinds of assault. Take such legal cases to the place the lord your God will choose,
9. and present them to the Levitical priests or the judge on duty at that time. They will hear the case and declare the verdict.
10. You must carry out the verdict they announce and the sentence they prescribe at the place the lord chooses. You must do exactly what they say.
11. After they have interpreted the law and declared their verdict, the sentence they impose must be fully executed; do not modify it in any way.
12. Anyone arrogant enough to reject the verdict of the judge or of the priest who represents the lord your God must die. In this way you will purge the evil from Israel.
13. Then everyone else will hear about it and be afraid to act so arrogantly.
14. “You are about to enter the land the lord your God is giving you. When you take it over and settle there, you may think, ‘We should select a king to rule over us like the other nations around us.’
15. If this happens, be sure to select as king the man the lord your God chooses. You must appoint a fellow Israelite; he may not be a foreigner.