Deuteronomy 21

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

And if one be found slain with the sword in the land, which the Lord your God gives you to inherit, having fallen in the field, and they do not know who has struck [him];

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

your elders and your judges shall come forth, and shall measure the distances of the cities round about the slain man:

3 And it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke.

and it shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not laboured, and which has not borne a yoke.

4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which may neither be plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.

And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer into a rough valley, which has not been tilled and is not sown, and they shall kill the heifer in the valley.

5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near — for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto Him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be.

And the priests the Levites shall come, because the Lord God has chosen them to stand by him, and to bless in his name, and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be [decided].

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

And all the elders of that city who draw near to the slain man shall wash their hands over the head of the heifer which was slain in the valley;

7 And they shall speak and say: 'Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.

and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen [it].

8 Forgive, O LORD, Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the midst of Thy people Israel.' And the blood shall be forgiven them.

Be merciful to your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O Lord, that innocent blood may not be charged on your people Israel: and the blood shall be atoned for to them.

9 So shalt thou put away the innocent blood from the midst of thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of the LORD.

And you shall take away innocent blood from among you, if you should do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord your God.

10 When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou carriest them away captive,

And if when you go out to war against your enemies, the Lord your God should deliver them into your hands, and you should take their spoil,

11 and seest among the captives a woman of goodly form, and thou hast a desire unto her, and wouldest take her to thee to wife;

and should see among the spoil a woman beautiful in countenance, and should desire her, and take her to yourself for a wife,

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

and should bring her within your house: then shall you shave her head, and pare her nails;

13 and she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month; and after that thou mayest go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

and shall take away her garments of captivity from off her, and she shall abide in your house, and shall bewail her father and mother the days of a month; and afterwards you shall go in to her and dwell with her, and she shall be your wife.

14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.

And it shall be if you do not delight in her, you shall send her out free; and she shall not by any means be sold for money, you shall not treat her contemptuously, because you have humbled her.

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

And if a man have two wives, the one loved and the other hated, and both the loved and the hated should have born him [children], and the son of the hated should be firstborn;

16 then it shall be, in the day that he causeth his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved the first-born before the son of the hated, who is the first-born;

then it shall be that whenever he shall divide by inheritance his goods to his sons, he shall not be able to give the right of the firstborn to the son of the loved one, having overlooked the son of the hated, which is the firstborn.

17 but he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath; for he is the first-fruits of his strength, the right of the first-born is his.

But he shall acknowledge the firstborn of the hated one to give to him double of all things which shall be found by him, because he is the first of his children, and to him belongs the birthright.

18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not hearken to the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and though they chasten him, will not hearken unto them;

And if any man has a disobedient and contentious son, who hearkens not to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother, and they should correct him, and he should not listen to them;

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;

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

20 and they shall say unto the elders of his city: 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he doth not hearken to our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.'

and they shall say to the men of their city, This our son is disobedient and contentious, he hearkens not to our voice, he is a reveler and a drunkard.

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

And the men of his city shall stone him with stones, and he shall die; and you shall remove the evil one from yourselves, and the rest shall hear and fear.

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

And if there be sin in any one, [and] the judgment of death [be upon him], and he be put to death, and you hang him on a tree:

23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is a reproach unto God; that thou defile not thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall by all means bury it in that day; for every one that is hanged on a tree is cursed of God; and you shall by no means defile the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.