The Fifth Book of Moses: Deuteronomy

⭑ Berean Study Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 21 -

If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,

your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities.

Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work,

bring the heifer to a valley with running water that has not been plowed or sown, and break its neck there by the stream.

And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault.

Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken,

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

Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for.

So you shall purge from among you the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

Marrying a Captive Woman

When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand and you take them captive,

if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife,

then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails,

and put aside the clothing of her captivity. After she has lived in your house a full month and mourned her father and mother, you may have relations with her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.

And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn

If a man has two wives, one beloved and the other unloved, and both bear him sons, but the unloved wife has the firstborn son,

when that man assigns his inheritance to his sons he must not appoint the son of the beloved wife as the firstborn over the son of the unloved wife.

Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of his unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he has. For that son is the firstfruits of his father’s strength; the right of the firstborn belongs to him.

A Rebellious Son

(Luke 15:11–32)

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and does not listen to them when disciplined,

his father and mother are to lay hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city, to the gate of his hometown,

and say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”

Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you,(a) and all Israel will hear and be afraid.

Cursed Is Anyone Hung on a Tree

If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,(b)

you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse.(c) You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Footnotes

(a)21:21 Cited in 1 Corinthians 5:13

(b)21:22 Or impale his body on a pole; similarly in verse 23

If someone is found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him,

then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain.

It shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with and which has not drawn in the yoke.

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.

The priests the sons of Levi shall come near, for them the LORD your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in the LORD’s name; and according to their word shall every controversy and every assault be decided.

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.

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

Forgive, LORD, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood among your people Israel.” The blood shall be forgiven them.

So you shall put away the innocent blood from among you, when you shall do that which is right in the LORD’s eyes.

Marrying a Captive Woman

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

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

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

She shall take off the clothing of her captivity, and shall remain in your house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month. After that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.

It shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she desires; but you shall not sell her at all for money. You shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn

If a man has two wives, the one beloved and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and if the firstborn son is hers who was hated,

then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which he has, that he may not give the son of the beloved the rights of the firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn;

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

A Rebellious Son

(Luke 15:11–32)

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 chasten him, will not listen to them,

then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city and to the gate of his place.

They shall tell 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.”

All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel shall hear, and fear.

Cursed Is Anyone Hung on a Tree

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

his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. Don’t defile your land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance.