Deuteronomy 21

1 If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess, lying in the field, [and] it be not known who hath smitten him,

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,

2 then thine elders and thy judges shall go forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain;

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

3 and the city that is nearest unto him that is slain, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer that hath not been wrought with, that hath not drawn in the yoke;

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

4 and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto an ever-flowing watercourse, which is not tilled, nor is it sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the watercourse;

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

5 and the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to do service unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall be every controversy and every stroke.

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.

6 And all the elders of that city, that are nearest unto him that is slain, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck is broken in the watercourse,

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,

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

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

8 Forgive thy people Israel, whom thou, Jehovah, hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to the charge of thy people Israel; and the blood shall be expiated for them.

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.

9 So shalt thou put away innocent blood from thy midst, when thou shalt do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah.

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.

10 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou hast taken captives of them,

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

11 and thou seest among the captives a woman of beautiful form, and hast a desire unto her, and takest her as thy wife;

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

12 then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

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

13 and she shall put the clothes of her captivity from off her, and shall abide in thy house, and bewail her father and mother a full month, and afterwards thou mayest go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

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.

14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go according to her desire; but thou shalt in no wise sell her for money; thou shalt not treat her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.

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.

15 If a man have two wives, one beloved, and one hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn son be hers that was hated;

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,

16 then it shall be, in the day that he maketh his sons to inherit what he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn;

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.

17 but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.

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.

18 If a man have an unmanageable and rebellious son, who hearkeneth not unto the voice of his father, nor unto the voice of his mother, and they have chastened him, but he hearkeneth not unto them;

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,

19 then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;

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,

20 and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is unmanageable and rebellious, he hearkeneth not unto our voice; he is a profligate and a drunkard.

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.”

21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die. And thou shalt put evil away from thy midst; and all Israel shall hear and fear.

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.

22 And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou have hanged him on a tree,

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

23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day (for he that is hanged is a curse of God); and thou shalt not defile thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

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.