Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version If someone is found slain, lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who the killer was, New Living Translation “When you are in the land the LORD your God is giving you, someone may be found murdered in a field, and you don’t know who committed the murder. English Standard Version “If in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, Berean Standard Bible If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, King James Bible If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: New King James Version “If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, New American Standard Bible “If a person who has been killed by someone is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who struck him, NASB 1995 “If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, NASB 1977 “If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, Legacy Standard Bible “If a slain person is found fallen in the open country in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, Amplified Bible “If someone is found slain, lying in the field, in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has killed him, Christian Standard Bible “If a murder victim is found lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, Holman Christian Standard Bible If a murder victim is found lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, American Standard Version If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him; Contemporary English Version Suppose the body of a murder victim is found in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you, and no one knows who the murderer is. English Revised Version If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him: GOD'S WORD® Translation This is what you must do if you find a murder victim lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. If no one knows who committed the murder, Good News Translation "Suppose someone is found murdered in a field in the land that the LORD your God is going to give you, and you do not know who killed him. International Standard Version "If a murder victim is found fallen in the open country of the land that the LORD your God is about to give you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, Majority Standard Bible If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, NET Bible If a homicide victim should be found lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you, and no one knows who killed him, New Heart English Bible If one be found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it isn't known who has struck him; Webster's Bible Translation If one shall be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: World English Bible If someone is found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him, Literal Translations Literal Standard Version“When one is found slain, fallen in a field on the ground which your God YHWH is giving to you to possess it, [and] it is not known who has struck him, Young's Literal Translation 'When one is found slain on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it -- fallen in a field -- it is not known who hath smitten him, Smith's Literal Translation When there shall be found a wounded in the land which Jehovah thy God gave to thee, to possess it, fallen in the field, not knowing who smote him: Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleWhen there shall be found in the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee, the corpse of a man slain, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder, Catholic Public Domain Version “When there will have been found in the land, which the Lord your God will give to you, the corpse of a man who has been killed, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder, New American Bible If the corpse of someone who has been slain is found lying in the open, in the land the LORD, your God, is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed the person, New Revised Standard Version If, in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, a body is found lying in open country, and it is not known who struck the person down, Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleIF a person is found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it is not known who has slain him; Peshitta Holy Bible Translated "And when someone who was killed will be found in the land that LORD JEHOVAH your God gives to you to inherit, lying in a field, and it is not known who killed him: OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him; Brenton Septuagint Translation And if one be found slain with the sword in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, having fallen in the field, and they do not know who has smitten him; Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Atonement for an Unsolved Murder1If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, 2your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities.… Cross References Numbers 35:33-34 Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. / Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.” Genesis 4:10 “What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. Leviticus 17:4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before His tabernacle—that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people. Exodus 21:12-14 Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death. / If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. / But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death. Numbers 35:9-15 Then the LORD said to Moses, / “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, / designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there. ... Joshua 20:1-9 Then the LORD said to Joshua, / “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, / so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood. ... 1 Samuel 26:9-11 But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can extend a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?” / David added, “As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. / But the LORD forbid that I should extend my hand against the LORD’s anointed. Instead, take the spear and water jug by his head, and let us go.” 2 Samuel 21:1-14 During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.” / At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.) / So David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?” ... 1 Kings 2:31-32 And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed. / The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. Ezekiel 24:7-8 For the blood she shed is still within her; she poured it out on the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust. / In order to stir up wrath and take vengeance, I have placed her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.’ Matthew 23:35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Luke 11:50-51 As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, / from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation. Acts 28:4 When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” Romans 13:4 For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer. Hebrews 12:24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. Treasury of Scripture If one be found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who has slain him: Psalm 5:6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. Psalm 9:12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble. Proverbs 28:17 A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him. Jump to Previous Body Country Dead Idea Killed Lying Open Possess Slain Smitten StruckJump to Next Body Country Dead Idea Killed Lying Open Possess Slain Smitten StruckDeuteronomy 21 1. The Atonement for an Unsolved Murder10. The usage of a captive taken to wife 15. The firstborn is not to be disinherited upon private affection 18. A rebellious son is to be stoned to death 22. The malefactor must not hang all night on a tree If a man is found slain The phrase begins with a conditional "if," indicating a situation that may arise, requiring specific action. The Hebrew word for "man" here is "אָדָם" (adam), which can refer to humanity in general, emphasizing the value of human life. The term "slain" translates from the Hebrew "חָלָל" (chalal), meaning pierced or fatally wounded, suggesting a violent death. This sets the stage for a legal and moral obligation to address the sanctity of life and justice. in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess lying in the field and it is not known who killed him Deuteronomy 21:1-9. UNDETECTED HOMICIDES. (1) If one be found slain--It is remarkable that in our own time the most effectual remedy against outrages of which the perpetrators cannot be discovered is a fine upon the district in which they occur. (2) Thy elders and thy judges shall come forth.--Rashi says these were to be special commissioners, members of the great Sanhedrin. (3-4) An heifer, which hath not been wrought with . . . a rough valley which is neither eared nor sown.--Rashi's note on this is curious: "The Holy One, blessed be He! said, 'A yearling heifer which hath borne no fruit shall come and be beheaded in a place which yieldeth no fruit, to atone for the murder of the man whom they did not suffer to bear fruit.' Some have thought that the valley was neither to be eared (ploughed) nor sown from that time forward." The verbs are not past in the Hebrew, and the words may bear this meaning. If so, the district in which the murder occurred would be mulcted in that portion of land for ever. (5) And the priests.--See on Deuteronomy 21:8. (7) Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.--"Not that the chief magistrates of the city are supposed to have shed this blood; but that they have not contrived or procured the murder by any maintenance or partnership in the deed" (Rashi). We cannot but feel how impossible such solemn public declarations would be if the murderer had been harboured by the inhabitants of the place. (8) Be merciful, O Lord.--In the sense of the publican's prayer in St. Luke 18 "be propitiated," literally, cover. The mercy seat is the "covering" of the Law, which protects Israel from it. The sacrifices are a "covering" for the sinner from a punishment of sin. According to Rashi, the prayer in the eighth verse is spoken by the priests; and it seems probable enough. No part in the transaction is assigned to them, unless it be this. And their presence was certainly necessary. And the blood shall be forgiven them.--Literally, shall be covered for them. Not the same expression as Leviticus 4:20; Leviticus 4:26; Leviticus 4:31; Leviticus 4:35. But we can hardly follow the Jewish commentators into the question whether, if the perpetrator of the murder were afterwards discovered, the blood of the heifer which had been shed already could be allowed to atone for it, so that the murderer need not be punished. . . . Verses 1-9. - If a body was found lying dead from a wound, and it was not known by whom the wound had been inflicted, the whole land would be involved in the guilt of the murder, unless it was duly expiated as here directed. First, the elders and judges (presumably of the neighboring towns; of Josephus, 'Antiq.' 4:8, 16) were to meet, the former as magistrates representing the communities, the latter as administrators of the law, and were to measure the distance from the body of the slain man to each of the surrounding towns, in order to ascertain which was the nearest. This ascertained, upon that town was to be laid the duty of expiating the crime.Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Ifכִּי־ (kî-) Conjunction Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction [one] is found יִמָּצֵ֣א (yim·mā·ṣê) Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 4672: To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present slain, חָלָ֗ל (ḥā·lāl) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 2491: Pierced, polluted lying נֹפֵ֖ל (nō·p̄êl) Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular Strong's 5307: To fall, lie in a field בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה (baś·śā·ḏeh) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 7704: Field, land in the land בָּאֲדָמָה֙ (bā·’ă·ḏā·māh) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular Strong's 127: Ground, land the LORD יְהוָ֨ה (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel your God אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ (’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā) Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative is giving נֹתֵ֤ן (nō·ṯên) Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular Strong's 5414: To give, put, set you לְךָ֙ (lə·ḵā) Preposition | second person masculine singular Strong's Hebrew to possess, לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּ (lə·riš·tāh) Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person feminine singular Strong's 3423: To occupy, to seize, to rob, to inherit, to expel, to impoverish, to ruin and it is not לֹ֥א (lō) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no known נוֹדַ֖ע (nō·w·ḏa‘) Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 3045: To know who מִ֥י (mî) Interrogative Strong's 4310: Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix killed him, הִכָּֽהוּ׃ (hik·kā·hū) Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular Strong's 5221: To strike Links Deuteronomy 21:1 NIVDeuteronomy 21:1 NLT Deuteronomy 21:1 ESV Deuteronomy 21:1 NASB Deuteronomy 21:1 KJV Deuteronomy 21:1 BibleApps.com Deuteronomy 21:1 Biblia Paralela Deuteronomy 21:1 Chinese Bible Deuteronomy 21:1 French Bible Deuteronomy 21:1 Catholic Bible OT Law: Deuteronomy 21:1 If one be found slain (Deut. 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