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,

If someone is found slain in the land which Adonai your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it is not known who has struck him;

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

then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain.

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

It shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked with, and which has not drawn in the yoke.

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.

The leaders of that town are to bring the heifer down to a valley with a stream in it that never dries up, to a place that is neither plowed nor sown; and they are to break the cow’s neck there in the valley

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.

The priests the sons of Levi [United with] shall come near; for them Adonai your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in Adonai’s name; and according to their word shall every controversy and every assault be decided.

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,

All the elders of that city, who are nearest to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.

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

They shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen 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.

Forgive, Adonai, your people Israel [God prevails], whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood among your people Israel [God prevails].” The blood shall be forgiven 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.

So you shall put away the innocent blood from among you, when you shall do that which is right in Adonai’s eyes.

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

When you go out to battle against your enemies, and Adonai your God delivers them into your hands, and you carry them away captive,

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

and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you have chasak ·set your affection· for her, and desire to take her as your wife;

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

then you shall bring her home to your house. She shall shave her head and trim 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.

She shall take the clothing of her captivity off of herself, and shall remain in your house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month. After that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your 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.

It shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she desires; but you shall not sell her at all for money. You shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have 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 has two wives, the one 'ahav ·affectionately loved·, and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the 'ahav ·affectionately loved· and the hated; and if the firstborn son is hers who was hated;

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.

then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which he has, that he may not give the son of the 'ahav ·affectionately loved· the rights of the firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn;

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 firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the beginning of his strength. The mishpat ·right· of the firstborn is his.

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 has a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not sh'ma ·hear obey· the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and though they chasten him, will not listen to them;

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,

then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place.

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.”

They shall tell the elders of his city, “This our son is stubborn and rebellious. He will not sh'ma ·hear obey· our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”

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.

All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel [God prevails] shall sh'ma ·hear obey·, and fear.

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

If a man has committed a crime deserving peanlty, sin ·missing the goal· mishpat ·judged· worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree;

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 all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God; that you don’t defile your land which Adonai your God gives you for an inheritance.