Deuteronomy 21

1 'When one is found slain on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it — fallen in a field — it is not known who hath smitten him,

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:

2 then have thine elders and thy judges gone out and measured unto the cities which [are] round about the slain one,

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.

3 and it hath been, the city which [is] near unto the slain one, even the elders of that city have taken a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, which hath not drawn in the yoke,

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;

4 and the elders of that city have brought down the heifer unto a hard valley, which is not tilled nor sown, and have beheaded there the heifer in the valley.

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;

5 'And the priests, sons of Levi, have come nigh — for on them hath Jehovah thy God fixed to serve Him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah, and by their mouth is every strife, and every stroke —

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;

6 and all the elders of that city, who are near unto the slain one, do wash their hands over the heifer which is beheaded in the valley,

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.

7 and they have answered and said, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen —

And they shall commence and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen it.

8 receive atonement for Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast ransomed, O Jehovah, and suffer not innocent blood in the midst of Thy people Israel; and the blood hath been pardoned to them,

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.

9 and thou dost put away the innocent blood out of thy midst, for thou dost that which [is] right in the eyes of Jehovah.

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.

10 'When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God hath given them into thy hand, and thou hast taken captive its captivity,

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;

11 and hast seen in the captivity a woman of fair form, and hast delighted in her, and hast taken to thee for a wife,

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:

12 then thou hast brought her in unto the midst of thy household, and she hath shaved her head, and prepared her nails,

Then shalt thou bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and let grow her nails;

13 and turned aside the raiment of her captivity from off her, and hath dwelt in thy house, and bewailed her father and her mother a month of days, and afterwards thou dost go in unto her and hast married her, and she hath been to thee for a wife:

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.

14 'And it hath been — if thou hast not delighted in her, that thou hast sent her away at her desire, and thou dost not at all sell her for money; thou dost not tyrannize over her, because that thou hast humbled her.

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.

15 'When a man hath two wives, the one loved and the other hated, and they have borne to him sons (the loved one and the hated one), and the first-born son hath been to the hated one;

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:

16 then it hath been, in the day of his causing his sons to inherit that which he hath, he is not able to declare first-born the son of the loved one, in the face of the son of the hated one — the first-born.

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;

17 But the first-born, son of the hated one, he doth acknowledge, to give to him a double portion of all that is found with him, for he [is] the beginning of his strength; to him [is] the right of the first-born.

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.

18 'When a man hath a son apostatizing and rebellious — he is not hearkening to the voice of his father, and to the voice of his mother, and they have chastised him, and he doth not hearken unto them —

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:

19 then laid hold on him have his father and his mother, and they have brought him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place,

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;

20 and have said unto the elders of his city, Our son — this one — is apostatizing and rebellious; he is not hearkening to our voice — a glutton and drunkard;

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.

21 and all the men of his city have stoned him with stones, and he hath died, and thou hast put away the evil out of thy midst, and all Israel do hear and fear.

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.

22 'And when there is in a man a sin — a cause of death, and he hath been put to death, and thou hast hanged him on a tree,

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:

23 his corpse doth not remain on the tree, for thou dost certainly bury him in that day — for a thing lightly esteemed of God [is] the hanged one — and thou dost not defile thy ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee — an inheritance.

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.