1 “ 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,

“If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,

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

then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities.

3 I t 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;

And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a yoke.

4 a nd 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.

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

5 T hen 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.

Then 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; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.

6 A ll 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;

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.

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

Then they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it.

8 F orgive 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.

Provide atonement, O Lord, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people Israel.’ And atonement shall be provided on their behalf for the blood.

9 S o you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord. Domestic Relations

So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord. Female Captives

10 “ 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,

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

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

and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your wife,

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

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

13 S he 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.

She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn 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.

14 I t 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.

And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her. Firstborn Inheritance Rights

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,

“If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved,

16 t hen 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.

then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn.

17 B ut 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.

But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn 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. The Rebellious Son

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,

“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 who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them,

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

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

20 T hey 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.’

And 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.’

21 T hen 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.

Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. Miscellaneous Laws

22 “ 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 committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,

23 h is 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.

his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.