Deuteronomy 21

1 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,

Then 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,

2 your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities.

Thy ancients and judges shall go out, and shall measure from the place where the body lieth the distance of every city round about:

3 Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work,

And the ancients of that city which they shall perceive to be nearer than the rest, shall take a heifer of the herd, that hath not drawn in the yoke, nor ploughed the ground,

4 bring the heifer to a valley with running water that has not been plowed or sown, and break its neck there by the stream.

And they shall bring her into a rough and stony valley, that never was ploughed, nor sown: and there they shall strike off the head of the heifer:

5 And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault.

And the priests the sons of Levi shall come, whom the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister to him, and to bless in his name, and that by their word every matter should be decided, and whatsoever is clean or unclean should be judged.

6 Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken,

And the ancients of that city shall come to the person slain, and shall wash their hands over the heifer that was killed in the valley,

7 and they shall declare, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.

And shall say: Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.

8 Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.

Be merciful to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, O Lord, and lay not innocent blood to their charge, in the midst of thy people Israel. And the guilt of blood shall be taken from them:

9 So you shall purge from among you the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

And thou shalt be free from the innocent’s blood, that was shed, when thou shalt have done what the Lord hath commanded thee.

10 When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand and you take them captive,

If thou go out to fight against thy enemies, and the Lord thy God deliver them into thy hand, and thou lead them away captives,

11 if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife,

And seest in the number of the captives a beautiful woman, and lovest her, and wilt have her to wife,

12 then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails,

Thou shalt bring her into thy house: and she shall shave her hair, and pare her nails,

13 and put aside the clothing of her captivity. After she has lived in your house a full month and mourned her father and mother, you may have relations with her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.

And shall put off the raiment, wherein she was taken: and shall remain in thy house, and mourn for her father and mother one month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and shalt sleep with her, and she shall be thy wife.

14 And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

Rut if afterwards she please thee not, thou shalt let her go free, but thou mayst not sell her for money nor oppress her by might because thou hast humbled her.

15 If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son,

If a man have two wives, one beloved, and the other hated, and they have had children by him, and the son of the hated be the firstborn,

16 when that man assigns his inheritance to his sons he must not appoint the son of the beloved wife as the firstborn over the son of the unloved wife.

And he meaneth to divide his substance among his sons: he may not make the son of the beloved the firstborn, and prefer him before the son of the hated.

17 Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of his unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he has. For that son is the firstfruits of his father’s strength; the right of the firstborn belongs to him.

But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, and shall give him a double portion of all he hath: for this is the first of his children, and to him are due the first birthrights.

18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined,

If a man have a stubborn and unruly son, who will not hear the commandments of his father or mother, and being corrected, slighteth obedience:

19 his father and mother are to lay hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown,

They shall take him and bring him to the ancients of his city, and to the gate of judgment,

20 and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”

And shall say to them: This our son is rebellious and stubborn, he slighteth hearing our admonitions, he giveth himself to revelling, and to debauchery and banquetings:

21 Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

The people of the city shall stone him: and he shall die, that you may take away the evil out of the midst of you, and all Israel hearing it may be afraid.

22 If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,

When a man hath committed a crime for which he is to be punished with death, and being condemned to die is hanged on a gibbet:

23 you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

His body shall not remain upon the tree, but shall be buried the same day: for he is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree: and thou shalt not defile thy land, which the Lord thy God shall give thee in possession.