voting

¹³Offer, from among you, wise and experienced men, those whose conversation has been proven within your tribes, so that I may appoint them as your rulers.’

¹And so I beg you, first of all, to make supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings for all men, ²for kings, and for all who are in high places, so that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all piety and chastity.

²The heart of a wise man is in his right hand, and the heart of a foolish man is in his left hand.

¹Let every soul be subject to higher authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those who have been ordained by God. ²And so, whoever resists authority, resists what has been ordained by God. And those who resist are acquiring damnation for themselves. ³For leaders are not a source of fear to those who work good, but to those who work evil. And would you prefer not to be afraid of authority? Then do what is good, and you shall have praise from them. ⁴For he is a minister of God for you unto good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid. For it is not without reason that he carries a sword. For he is a minister of God; an avenger to execute wrath upon whomever does evil. ⁵For this reason, it is necessary to be subject, not solely because of wrath, but also because of conscience. ⁶Therefore, you must also offer tribute. For they are the ministers of God, serving him in this.

²When just men are multiplied, the common people shall rejoice. When the impious take up the leadership, the people shall mourn.

⁴⁸Then the Gentiles, upon hearing this, were gladdened, and they were glorifying the Word of the Lord. And as many as believed were preordained to eternal life.

¹⁴and if my people, over whom my name has been invoked, being converted, will have petitioned me and sought my face, and will have done penance for their wicked ways, then I will heed them from heaven, and I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land.

¹⁴When you will have entered into the land which the Lord your God will give to you, and you possess it, and you live in it, and you say, ‘I will appoint a king over me, just as all the surrounding nations have done,’ ¹⁵you shall appoint him whom the Lord your God will choose from among the number of your brothers. You cannot make a man of another people king, one who is not your brother. ¹⁶And when he will have been appointed king, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor lead the people back into Egypt, having been exalted by the number of his horsemen, especially since the Lord has instructed you never to return along the same way. ¹⁷He shall not have many wives, who might allure his mind, and he shall not have immense weights of silver and gold. ¹⁸Then, after he has been seated upon the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself the Deuteronomy of this law in a volume, using a copy from the priests of the Levitical tribe. ¹⁹And he shall have it with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, and to keep his words and ceremonies, which are instructed in the law.

¹Admonish them to be subordinate to the rulers and authorities, to obey their dictates, to be prepared for every good work, ²to speak evil of no one, not to be litigious, but to be reserved, displaying all meekness toward all men. ³For, in times past, we ourselves were also unwise, unbelieving, erring, servants of various desires and pleasures, acting with malice and envy, being hateful and hating one another. ⁴But then the kindness and humanity of God our Savior appeared. ⁵And he saved us, not by works of justice that we had done, but, in accord with his mercy, by the washing of regeneration and by the renovation of the Holy Spirit, ⁶whom he has poured out upon us in abundance, through Jesus Christ our Savior,

¹³He has also called you into truth through our Gospel, unto the acquisition of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

³⁴Justice elevates a nation. But sin makes the peoples miserable.

¹⁶You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And I have appointed you, so that you may go forth and bear fruit, and so that your fruit may last. Then whatever you have asked of the Father in my name, he shall give to you.

²⁹For the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he will have dominion over the Gentiles.

²⁰and speaking aloud, he said, “May the name of the Lord be blessed by the present generation and forever; for wisdom and fortitude are his. ²¹And he alters the times and the ages. He takes away kingdoms and he establishes them. He gives wisdom to those who are wise and teaching skills to those who understand.

¹Just as with the dividing of the waters, so also is the heart of the king in the hand of the Lord. He shall bend it whichever way he wills.

⁹who has freed us and has called us to his holy vocation, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus, before the ages of time.

²in accord with the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, with the obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied for you.

²⁹But Peter and the Apostles responded by saying: “It is necessary to obey God, more so than men.