Deuteronomy 21
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Deuteronomy 21
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| If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten 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: |
| then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about 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; |
| 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 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; |
| and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break 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: |
| And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be. | 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: |
| 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 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, |
| 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. |
| Forgive, O Jehovah, 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. | 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. |
| 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 Jehovah. | 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. |
| When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou carriest them away 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; |
| and seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and thou hast 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; |
| 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; |
| 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 shalt 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. |
| 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. | 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. |
| 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; | 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: |
| 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 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: |
| 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 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. |
| If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, that will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and, though they chasten him, 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: |
| 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 let his father and mother take him to the responsible men of the town, to the public place; |
| and they shall say unto 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. |
| And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; 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. |
| And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou 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; |
| 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 accursed of God; that thou defile not thy land which Jehovah 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. |
