3J

3J

But the King rehearsed in the ears of the people commandments that the scroll said had been given to Moshe in the days before the twelve tribes were apportioned their lands.

This said Yahweh to Moshe, according to this scroll: "You shall be seen at the Temple on Shavuot and Sukkot. You shall bring all avowed and freewill offerings to the Temple on the first subsequent holy day. You shall bring all sacrifices from outside Israel to the Temple.

"You shall not appear at the temple without offerings. You shall not drink wine poured in service to idols. You shall not eat sacrifices which have become disfigured. You shall not eat the meat of the lesser sacrifices before sprinkling the blood.

"You shall not leave the meat of the holy day offering of the 14th until the 16th. You shall not shear the fleece of consecrated animals. You shall give the first sheering of sheep and the shoulder, two cheeks, and stomach of slaughtered animals to the sons of Aaron.

"You shall read the confession of tithes every fourth and seventh year. You shall set aside Terumah Gedolah, the tithe for the sons of Aaron. You shall set aside the Second Tithe. You shall not eat the meat of an animal that died without ritual slaughter.

"You shall not offer animals bought with the wages of a male or female prostitute. You shall not offer any sacrifices outside the courtyard. You shall not refrain from rejoicing with and giving gifts to the Levites.

"You shall marry a wife only by means of kiddushin. You shall obtain a divorce only by means of a Get document. You shall break the neck of a calf by a stream following an unsolved murder. You shall appoint priests to speak with the soldiers during wartime."

And on the following Day of Atonement Hilkiah the High Priest appeared before the Table of the Covenant to beg God Most High to forgive the sins of the people.

But Bat-El said, "This have I done, for I am your God. But the sin of the king I will not forgive because his transgression is renewed daily, whenever a priest recites again from the scroll the king unveiled to the people."

And the high priest said, "Please, Lord, let me understand."