Deuteronomy 25:1-9 ▼

1 If there be strife betweene men, they shall come vnto the lawe, and let the Iudges geue sentence betwene them: and iustifie the righteous, & condemne the vngodly.

2 And if any man be vngodly, and worthy of strypes, then let the Iudge cause him to lye downe and to be beaten before his face, accordyng to his trespasse, vnto a certayne number.

3 Fourtie stripes he shall geue hym, and not passe: lest if he shoulde exceede, and beate hym aboue that with many stripes, thy brother should appeare despised and vile before thyne eyes.

4 Thou shalt not moosell the oxe that treadeth out the corne.

5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them dye, and haue no chylde, the wyfe of the dead shall not marry without vnto a straunger: but his kinsman shall go in vnto her, & take her to wife, and occupie the rowme of his kinsman.

6 And the eldest sonne whiche she beareth, shall succeede in the name of his brother whiche is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.

7 And if the man wyll not take his kinswoman, then let her go vp to the gate vnto the elders, and say: My kinsman refuseth to stirre vp vnto his brother a name in Israel, neither wyll he marry me.

8 Then the elders of his citie shall call hym, and commune with hym: and if he stande and say, I wyll not take her:

9 Then shall his kinswoman come vnto hym in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe of his foote, and spit in his face, and aunswere, and say: So shal it be done vnto that man, that doth not buylde vp his brothers house.