English Standard Version

New American Standard Bible

Atonement for Unsolved Murders

“If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him,

1

Expiation of a Crime

“If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him,

2

then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities.

2

then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one.

3

And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke.

3

“It shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke;

4

And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.

4

and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.

5

Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled.

5

“Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them.

6

And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,

6

“All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

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and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed.

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and they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.

8

Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’

8

‘Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O LORD, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the bloodguiltiness shall be forgiven them.

9

So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.

9

“So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

10

Marrying Female Captives

“When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive,

10

Domestic Relations

“When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take them away captive,

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and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife,

11

and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and have a desire for her and would take her as a wife for yourself,

12

and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails.

12

then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails.

13

And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.

13

“She shall also remove the clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house, and mourn her father and mother a full month; and after that you may go in to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife.

14

But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.

14

“It shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; but you shall certainly not sell her for money, you shall not mistreat her, because you have humbled her.

15

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn

“If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,a

15

“If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,

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then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn,

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then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the firstborn before the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn.

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but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.

17

“But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn.

18

A Rebellious Son

“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them,

18

“If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them,

19

then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives,

19

then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown.

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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.’

20

“They shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’

21

Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

21

“Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.

22

A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed

“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,

22

“If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,

23

his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

23

his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

Parallel

English Standard Version

New American Standard Bible

Deuteronomy 21

Deuteronomy 21