Deuteronomy 21

1 If there be found a slain person in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, [and] it be not known who hath slain 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 shall thy elders and thy judges go forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about the one 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 the nearest unto the slain person, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer, which hath not been wrought with, which hath not drawn in a 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 is neither tilled nor sown, and they shall break there the neck of the heifer 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 after their decision shall be done [at] every controversy and every injury;

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 person shall wash their hands over the heifer, the neck of which is 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 commence and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen it.

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

8 Grant pardon unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, O Lord, and lay not innocent blood in the midst of thy people Israel: and the blood shall be forgiven unto 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 And thou shalt put away the [guilt of] the innocent blood from the midst of thee, when thou wilt do what 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 war against thy enemies, and the Lord thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou takest captives of them;

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 thou seest among the captives a woman of handsome form, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldst take her to thee for 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 shalt thou bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and let grow her nails;

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

13 And she shall put off the raiment of her captivity from her, and she shall remain in thy house, and weep for her father and her mother a full month; and after that thou mayest go in unto her, and be her husband, that she may become 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 shalt thou let her go whither she will; but thou shalt nowise sell her for money; thou shalt not make a servant of her, 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, one beloved, and the other hated, and they bear him children, both the beloved and the hated; so that the first-born son be hers that is 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 shall it be, when he divideth as inheritance among his sons what he hath, that he shall not institute the son of the beloved as the first-born before the son of the hated, the firstborn;

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 the first-born, the son of the hated woman, shall he acknowledge, to give him a double portion of all that is found in his possession; for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongeth the right of the first birth.

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, who hearkeneth not to the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and they chastise him, and he 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 will 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; and thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and be afraid.

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 for which there is a punishment of death, and he be to 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 Then shall his body not remain all night on the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him on that day; [for he that is hanged is a dishonor of God; ] and thou shalt not defile 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.