Deuteronomy 21

1If 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;

1If a dead body is found lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and no one knows who killed the person,

2then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:

2your elders and judges must go out and measure the distance from the body to the surrounding cities.

3and 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;

3The elders of the city closest to the body must take a young cow that has never been worked or used to pull a plow.

4and 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.

4They shall lead the cow down to a valley with flowing water that has not been plowed or planted, and there in the valley they must break the cow’s neck.

5And 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.

5The priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, because the LORD your God has chosen them to serve him, to pronounce blessings in his name, and to decide all cases of disputes and assaults.

6And 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;

6Then all the elders of the city nearest to the victim shall wash their hands over the cow whose neck was broken in the valley.

7and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.

7They shall declare: 'Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see it happen.

8Forgive, 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.

8Accept this atonement, LORD, for your people Israel whom you redeemed, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent person.' So they will be cleared of the guilt of bloodshed.

9So 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.

9By doing this, you will remove the guilt of shedding innocent blood from among you, for you will be doing what is right in the LORD’s eyes.

10When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou carriest them away captive,

10When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God hands them over to you and you take captives,

11and seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and thou hast a desire unto her, and wouldest take her to thee to wife;

11if you see a beautiful woman among the captives and are attracted to her, you may take her to be your wife.

12then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

12Bring her into your home. She must shave her head, trim her nails,

13and 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.

13and set aside the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, you may go to her and be her husband, and she will be your wife.

14And 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.

14However, if you are no longer pleased with her, you must let her go wherever she wants. You must not sell her for money or treat her like a slave, since you have humbled her.

15If 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;

15Suppose a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons. If the firstborn son belongs to the wife he does not love,

16then 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:

16when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in place of his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love.

17but 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.

17He must acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of everything he owns. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him.

18If 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;

18If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father or mother and will not listen to them even when they discipline him,

19then 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;

19his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city.

20and 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.

20They shall say to the elders, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.'

21And 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.

21Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

22And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree;

22If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole,

23his 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.

23you must not leave the body on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.