Deuteronomy 21
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1“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,1"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,
2then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities.2then let your elders and judges go out and measure the distance from the dead body to the neighboring cities.
3And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a yoke.3Then the elders of the city nearest the body are to take a heifer that hasn't been put to work or hasn't pulled a yoke
4The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.4and are to lead the heifer to a flowing stream in a valley that has never been tilled or planted. They are to break the heifer's neck there.
5Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.5Then the priests of the sons of Levi are to step forward, because the LORD your God chose them to serve and pronounce blessings in his name. Every case of dispute and assault is to be subject to their ruling.
6And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.6All the elders of the city nearest the dead body are to wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,
7Then they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it.7and they are to make this declaration: 'Our hands didn't shed this blood, nor were we witnesses to the crime.
8Provide atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people Israel.’ And atonement shall be provided on their behalf for the blood.8Make atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, LORD, and don't charge the blood of an innocent man against them.' Then the blood shed will be atoned for.
9So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.9This is how you will remove the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right in the sight of the LORD."
10“When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive,10"If you go to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your control, you may take some prisoners captive.
11and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your wife,11If you see among the prisoners a beautiful woman and you desire her, then you may take her as your wife.
12then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails.12Bring her to your house, but shave her head and trim her nails.
13She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.13Remove her prisoner's clothing and let her remain for a month in your house, mourning her parents. After that, you may become her husband and she is to become your wife.
14And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her.14If you aren't pleased with her and you send her away, you must not sell her for money or mistreat her, since you will have dishonored her."
15“If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved,15"If a man has two wives where one is loved but the other is unloved, and both of them bear him sons, but the firstborn is the son of the unloved wife,
16then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn.16then when he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, he must not give preference to the firstborn of the beloved wife over the firstborn of the unloved wife.
17But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.17Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn of the unloved wife by giving him double of everything he owns, because he is really the first fruit of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him."
18“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them,18"If a man has a stubborn son who does not obey his parents, and although they try to discipline him, he still refuses to pay attention to them,
19then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city.19then his parents are to seize him and bring him before the elders at the gate of his city.
20And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’20Then they are to declare to the elders of their city: 'Our son is stubborn and rebellious. He does not obey us. He lives wildly and is a drunkard.'
21Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.21Then all the men of his city are to stone him with stones so that he dies. This is how you will remove this evil from among you. Then all Israel will hear of it and will be afraid."
22“If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,22"If a man is guilty of a capital offense, is executed, and then is impaled on a tree,
23his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.23his body must not remain overnight on the tree. You must bury him that same day, because cursed of God is the one who has been hanged on a tree. Don't defile your land that the LORD is about to give you as your inheritance."
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.The Holy Bible: International Standard Version® Release 2.1 Copyright © 1996-2012 The ISV Foundation
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY.
Deuteronomy 20
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