Deuteronomy 21

1 When there shall be found one slain on the soil which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee to possess, lying prostrate in the field, —it not being known who smote him,

If, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you come across the dead body of a man in the open country, and you have no idea who has put him to death:

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

Then your responsible men and your judges are to come out, and give orders for the distance from the dead body to the towns round about it to be measured;

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

And whichever town is nearest to the body, the responsible men of that town are to take from the herd a young cow which has never been used for work or put under the yoke;

4 and the elders of that city shall take down the heifer into a ravine with an everflowing stream, which is neither tilled nor sown, —and shall behead there the heifer in the ravine.

And they are to take the cow into a valley where there is flowing water, and which is not ploughed or planted, and there the neck of the cow is to be broken:

5 Then shall the priests the sons of Levi come near, for of them, hath Yahweh thy God made choice to wait upon him, and to bless in the name of Yahweh, —and at their bidding, shall be settled every controversy and every punishment;

Then the priests, the sons of Levi, are to come near; for they have been marked out by the Lord your God to be his servants and to give blessings in the name of the Lord; and by their decision every argument and every blow is to be judged:

6 and, all the elders of that city who are nearest unto the slain, shall bathe their hands over the heifer that hath been beheaded in the ravine,

And all the responsible men of that town which is nearest to the dead man, washing their hands over the cow whose neck was broken in the valley,

7 and shall respond, and say, —Our hands, shed not this blood, neither did, our eyes, see [the deed].

Will say, This death is not the work of our hands and our eyes have not seen it.

8 Be propitious unto thy people Israel whom thou hast redeemed, O Yahweh, and do not impute innocent blood in the midst of thy people Israel. So shall they obtain propitiation for the guilt of shedding blood.

Have mercy, O Lord, on your people Israel whom you have made free, and take away from your people the crime of a death without cause. Then they will no longer be responsible for the man's death.

9 Thou, therefore shalt consume the guilt of shedding innocent blood out of thy midst, —when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of Yahweh.

So you will take away the crime of a death without cause from among you, when you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.

10 When thou shalt go forth to war against thine enemies, —and Yahweh thy God shall deliver them into thy hand and thou shalt take them captive;

When you go out to war against other nations, and the Lord your God gives them up into your hands and you take them as prisoners;

11 and shalt see among the captives a woman of beautiful figure, —and shalt have a desire unto her, and wouldest take her to thee to wife,

If among the prisoners you see a beautiful woman and it is your desire to make her your wife;

12 then shalt thou bring her into the midst of thy house, —and she shall shave her head and pare her nails;

Then take her back to your house; and let her hair and her nails be cut;

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

And let her take off the dress in which she was made prisoner and go on living in your house and weeping for her father and mother for a full month: and after that you may go in to her and be her husband and she will be your wife.

14 And it shall be, if thou hast no pleasure in her, then shalt thou let her go whither she will but thou shalt not sell, her for silver, —thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

But if you have no delight in her, you are to let her go wherever she will; you may not take a price for her as if she was your property, for you have made use of her for your pleasure.

15 When a man shall have two wives—the one beloved and, the other hated, and they have borne him sons, both she that is beloved, and she that is hated, —and it shall be that the firstborn son belongeth to her that is hated,

If a man has two wives, one greatly loved and the other hated, and the two of them have had children by him; and if the first son is the child of the hated wife:

16 then shall it be, that in the day when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, he may not treat the son of the beloved, instead of the son of the hated, as the firstborn;

Then when he gives his property to his sons for their heritage, he is not to put the son of his loved one in the place of the first son, the son of the hated wife:

17 but the true firstborn the son of her that is hated, shall he treat as firstborn by giving him double out of all that is found to be his, —for, he, is the beginning of his strength, his, is the right of the firstborn.

But he is to give his first son his birthright, and twice as great a part of his property: for he is the first-fruits of his strength and the right of the first son is his.

18 When a man hath a son, rebellious and insulting, who will not hearken to the voice of his father, and to the voice of his mother, —though they chastise him, yet will not hearken unto them,

If a man has a son who is hard-hearted and uncontrolled, who gives no attention to the voice of his father and mother, and will not be ruled by them, though they give him punishment:

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

Then let his father and mother take him to the responsible men of the town, to the public place;

20 and shall say unto the elders of his city: This our son, is rebellious and insulting, —he will not hearken unto our voice, —a glutton and a tippler.

And say to them, This son of ours is hard-hearted and uncontrolled, he will not give attention to us; he gives himself up to pleasure and strong drink.

21 Then shall all the men of his city stone him with stones that he die, so shalt thou consume the wicked thing out of thy midst, —and, all Israel, shall hear and fear.

Then he is to be stoned to death by all the men of the town: so you are to put away the evil from among you; and all Israel, hearing of it, will be full of fear.

22 But when there shall be in any man a sin worthy of death and he is to be put to death, —and thou shalt hang him on a tree,

If a man does a crime for which the punishment is death, and he is put to death by hanging him on a tree;

23 his dead body shall not remain all night upon the tree but thou shalt bury, him on the same day, for a reproach unto God, is he that is hanged, —so shalt thou not make unclean thy soil which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee for an inheritance.

Do not let his body be on the tree all night, but put it to rest in the earth the same day; for the man who undergoes hanging is cursed by God; so do not make unclean the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage.