1 I f one is found slain in the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it is not known who has killed him,

“If a person has been killed and is found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own and it is not known who killed him,

2 T hen your elders and judges shall come forth and measure the distance to the cities around him who is slain.

then your leaders and judges will go out and see how far it is to the cities that are around the dead man.

3 A nd the city which is nearest to the slain man, the elders of that city shall take a heifer which has never been worked, never pulled in the yoke,

The leaders of the city that is nearest to the dead man will take a young cow from the cattle. The cow must never have been worked or pulled a plow.

4 A nd 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 leaders of that city will bring the young cow down to a valley with flowing water, which has not been plowed or planted. They will break the cow’s neck there in the valley.

5 A nd the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, 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 shall every controversy and every assault be settled.

Then the religious leaders, the sons of Levi, will come near for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bring good in the name of the Lord. Every question about what is right and every fight will be decided upon by them.

6 A nd 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,

All the leaders of that city nearest to the dead man will wash their hands over the young cow whose neck was broken in the valley.

7 A nd they shall testify, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.

Then they will say, ‘Our hands have not killed him. Our eyes have not seen it.

8 F orgive, O Lord, Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not allow the shedding of innocent blood to be charged to Your people Israel. And the guilt of blood shall be forgiven them.

O Lord, forgive Your people Israel whom You have set free. Do not put the guilt of killing a man who did no wrong on Your people Israel.’ And they will be forgiven from the guilt of the man’s death.

9 S o shall you purge the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.

So you must take away the guilt of taking the life of a good man by doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Marrying a Woman Taken in Battle

10 W hen you go forth to battle against your enemies and the Lord your God has given them into your hands and you carry them away captive,

“When you go out to battle against those who hate you, and the Lord your God gives them to you, and you make them go with you,

11 A nd you see among the captives a beautiful woman and desire her, that you may have her as your wife,

and you see a beautiful woman and have a desire for her as a wife,

12 T hen you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and pare her nails

bring her home to your house. There she will cut off all the hair from her head and cut her nails.

13 A nd put off her prisoner’s garb, and shall remain in your house and bewail 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.

She will change the clothes she wore when you took her away, and stay in your house. She will have sorrow for her father and mother for one month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband and she will be your wife.

14 A nd if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go absolutely free. You shall not sell her at all for money; you shall not deal with her as a slave or a servant, because you have humbled her.

If you are not pleased with her, you should let her go wherever she wants. But do not sell her for money or act as if she were a servant because you have put her to shame.

15 I f a man has two wives, one loved and the other disliked, and they both have borne him children, and if the firstborn son is the son of the one who is disliked,

“If a man has two wives, one loved and the other not loved, and both the loved and the one not loved have borne him sons, and if the first-born son belongs to the wife who is not loved,

16 T hen on the day when he wills his possessions to his sons, he shall not put the firstborn of his loved wife in place of the firstborn of the disliked wife—her firstborn being older.

on the day when the man divides what he has for his sons, he cannot make the first-born of his loved wife the first-born before the son of the wife who is not loved, who is the first-born.

17 B ut he shall acknowledge the son of the disliked as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he was the first issue of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

He must respect the first-born, the son of the wife who is not loved, by giving him twice the share of all he has. He is the beginning of his strength and the right of the first-born belongs to him.

18 I f a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or his mother and though they chasten him will not listen to them,

“If a man has a strong-willed son who goes against him and does not obey his father or mother and when they punish him he will not even listen to them,

19 T hen his father and 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,

then his father and mother will take hold of him and bring him to the leaders of his city at the gate of his city.

20 A nd they shall say to the elders of his city, This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey our voice. He is a glutton and a drunkard.

They will say to the leaders of his city, ‘This son of ours is strong-willed and goes against us. He will not obey us. He eats and drinks too much.’

21 T hen all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall cleanse out the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear and fear.

Then all the men of his city will kill him with stones. You must get rid of the sin from among you. All Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

22 A nd if a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree,

“If a man has sinned and should be put to death and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree,

23 H is body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day, for a hanged man is accursed by God. Thus you shall not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.

his body must not hang all night on the tree. You should be sure to bury him on the same day (for he who hangs is cursed by God). So do not make your land unclean which the Lord your God is giving you.