Deuteronomy 21

1 If one be founde slaine in the lande, which the Lord thy God giueth thee to possesse it, lying in the field, and it is not knowe who hath slaine him,

“Suppose someone has been murdered in a field in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, and you do not know who killed that person.

2 Then thine Elders and thy Iudges shall come forth, and measure vnto the cities that are round about him that is slayne.

[If that happens], your elders and judges must go out to where that person’s corpse was found and measure the distance from there to each of the nearby towns.

3 Aud let ye Elders of that citie, which is next vnto the slaine man, take out of the droue an heifer that hath not bene put to labour, nor hath drawen in the yoke.

Then the elders in the town that is closest to where the corpse was found must select a young cow that has never been used for doing work.

4 And let the Elders of that citie bring the heifer vnto a stonie valley, which is neyther eared nor sowen, and strike off the heifers necke there in the valley.

They must take it to a place near a stream where the ground has never been plowed or planted. They must break its neck there in that valley.

5 Also the Priests the sonnes of Leui (whom the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister, and to blesse in the name of the Lord) shall come forth, and by their word shall all strife and plague be tried.

The priests must go there also, because Yahweh our God has chosen them from the tribe of Levi to serve him and to be his representatives [MTY] when they bless people. And he has also chosen them to settle disputes in which someone has been injured.

6 And all the Elders of that citie that came neere to the slayne man, shall wash their hands ouer the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:

The elders from the closest town must wash their hands over the young cow whose neck was broken,

7 And shall testifie, and say, Our handes haue not shed this blood, neither haue our eies seene it.

and they must say, ‘We did not murder this person [MTY], and we did not see who did it.

8 O Lord, be mercifull vnto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay no innocent blood to the charge of thy people Israel, and the blood shalbe forgiuen them.

Yahweh, forgive us, your Israeli people whom you rescued [from Egypt]. Do not consider (us to be guilty/that we should be punished because) of murdering someone who (is innocent/had not done something that is wrong). Instead, forgive us.’

9 So shalt thou take away the cry of innocet blood from thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the Lord.

By doing that, you will be doing what Yahweh considers to be right, and you will not be considered to be guilty for murdering that person.”

10 Whe thou shalt go to warre against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God shall deliuer them into thine hands, and thou shalt take the captiues,

“When you [soldiers] go to fight against your enemies, and Yahweh our God enables you to defeat them [IDM], and (they become your prisoners/you capture them),

11 And shalt see among the captiues a beautifull woman, and hast a desire vnto her, and wouldest take her to thy wife,

one of you may see among them a beautiful woman that he likes, and he may want to marry her.

12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shaue her head, and pare her nayles,

He should take her to his home, and there she must shave [all the hair off] her head and cut her fingernails [to signify that now she does not belong to her people-group any more, but instead she is becoming an Israeli].

13 And she shall put off the garment that shee was taken in, and she shall remaine in thine house, and bewaile her father and her mother a moneth long: and after that shalt thou go in vnto her, and marry her, and she shalbe thy wife.

She must take off the clothes that she was wearing when she was captured, [and put on Israeli clothes]. She must stay in that man’s house and mourn for a month because of [leaving] her parents. After that, he will be allowed to marry her.

14 And if thou haue no fauour vnto her, then thou mayest let her go whither she will, but thou shalt not sell her for money, nor make marchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

Later, if he no longer is pleased with her, he will be permitted to allow her to leave him. But because she was forced to have sex with him, he will not be allowed to treat her like a slave [and sell her to someone else].”

15 If a man haue two wiues, one loued and another hated, and they haue borne him children, both the loued and also the hated: if the first borne be the sonne of the hated,

“Suppose that a man has two wives, but he likes one of them and dislikes the other one. And suppose that they both give birth to sons, and the oldest son is the child of the woman that he does not like.

16 Then when the time commeth, that hee appointeth his sonnes to be heires of that which he hath, he may not make the sonne of the beloued first borne before the sonne of the hated, which is the first borne:

On the day when that man decides how he will divide his possessions for his sons to possess [after he dies], he must not favor the son of the wife that he loves by giving him [a bigger share, ] the share that the older son should receive.

17 But he shall acknowledge the sonne of the hated for the first borne, and giue him double portion of all that he hath: for hee is the first of his strength, and to him belongeth the right of the first borne.

He must give to the older son, the son of the wife whom he does not like, twice as much of his possessions. That son is his firstborn son, and he must be given the share that he should receive because of his being that man’s firstborn son.”

18 If any man haue a sonne that is stubburne and disobedient, which wil not hearken vnto the voice of his father, nor the voyce of his mother, and they haue chastened him, and he would not obey them,

“Suppose there is a boy who is very stubborn and always (rebelling against/disobeying) [his parents], and who will not heed what they say to him. And suppose that they punish him but he still does not pay attention to what they tell him [MTY].

19 Then shall his father and his mother take him, and bring him out vnto the Elders of his citie, and vnto the gate of the place where he dwelleth,

If that happens, his parents must take him to the (gate of/central meeting place in) the city where he lives and have him stand in front of the elders of the city.

20 And shall say vnto the Elders of his citie, This our sonne is stubburne and disobedient, and he wil not obey our admonition: he is a riotour, and a drunkard.

Then the parents must say to the elders of that city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and always rebelling against us. He will not pay attention to what we tell him [MTY]. He wastes a lot of money (OR, eats too much food) and gets drunk.’

21 Then all the men of his citie shall stone him with stones vnto death: so thou shalt take away euill from among you, that all Israel may heare it, and feare.

Then all the elders of that city must execute him by throwing stones at him. By doing that, you will get rid of this evil practice among you. And everyone in Israel will hear [about what happened] and they will be afraid [to do what he did].”

22 If a man also haue committed a trespasse worthy of death, and is put to death, and thou hangest him on a tree,

“If someone is executed for having committed a crime for which he deserves to die, and you hang his corpse on a post,

23 His body shall not remaine all night vpon the tree, but thou shalt bury him the same day: for the curse of God is on him that is hanged. Defile not therfore thy land which the Lord thy God giueth thee to inherite.

you must not allow his corpse to remain there all night. You must bury it on the day that he died, because [God] has cursed anyone whose corpse is allowed to remain on a post. [You must bury the corpse that day], in order that you do not defile the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you.”