Deuteronomy 21

1 If [one] shall 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 slain 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 thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure to the cities which [are] around him that is 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 [which is] next to the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer which hath not been wrought with, [and] which hath not drawn in the 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 bring down the heifer to a rough valley, which is neither tilled nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley;

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 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near (for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister to him, and to bless in the name of the LORD) and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be [tried];

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 [that are] next to the slain [man], shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:

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

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

8 Be merciful, O LORD, to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to the charge of thy people Israel. And the blood shall be forgiven them.

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 So shalt thou remove the [guilt of] innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do [that which is] right in the sight of the LORD.

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 goest forth to war against thy enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thy hands, and thou hast taken 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 [thou] seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire to her, that thou wouldest have her for thy wife:

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

12 Then thou shalt bring her home to 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 she shall put off from her the raiment of her captivity, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that, thou shalt go in to 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 shalt 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 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 If a man shall have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have borne him children, [both] the beloved and the hated; and [if] the first-born son be hers that was 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 it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit [that] which he hath, [that] he may not prefer the son of the beloved first-born, before the son of the hated, [which is indeed] the first-born:

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 he shall acknowledge the son of the hated [for] the first-born, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he [is] the beginning of his strength; the right of the first-born [is] his.

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 If a man shall have a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and [who], when they have chastened him, will not hearken to 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 on him, and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to 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 they shall say to the elders of his city, This our son [is] stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; [he is] a glutton, and a drunkard.

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 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he may die: so shalt thou remove evil from among you, 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 And if a man shall have committed a sin worthy of death, and he must 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 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] accursed of God; ) that thy land may not be defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth 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.