1 ` When one is found slain on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it -- fallen in a field -- it is not known who hath smitten 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 have thine elders and thy judges gone out and measured unto the cities which round about 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 a nd it hath been, the city which near unto the slain one, even the elders of that city have taken a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, which hath not drawn in the 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 have brought down the heifer unto a hard valley, which is not tilled nor sown, and have beheaded there the heifer 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 ` And the priests, sons of Levi, have come nigh -- for on them hath Jehovah thy God fixed to serve Him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah, and by their mouth is every strife, and every stroke --

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 nd all the elders of that city, who are near unto the slain one, do wash their hands over the heifer which is beheaded 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 have answered and said, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen --

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

8 r eceive atonement for Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast ransomed, O Jehovah, and suffer not innocent blood in the midst of Thy people Israel; and the blood hath been pardoned to 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 a nd thou dost put away the innocent blood out of thy midst, for thou dost that which right in the eyes of Jehovah.

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 thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God hath given them into thy hand, and thou hast taken captive its captivity,

“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 hast seen in the captivity a woman of fair form, and hast delighted in her, and hast taken to thee for a wife,

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

12 t hen thou hast brought her in unto the midst of thy household, and she hath shaved her head, and prepared her nails,

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

13 a nd turned aside the raiment of her captivity from off her, and hath dwelt in thy house, and bewailed her father and her mother a month of days, and afterwards thou dost go in unto her and hast married her, and she hath been to thee for a 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 ` And it hath been -- if thou hast not delighted in her, that thou hast sent her away at her desire, and thou dost not at all sell her for money; thou dost not tyrannize over her, because that thou hast 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 ` When a man hath two wives, the one loved and the other hated, and they have borne to him sons (the loved one and the hated one), and the first-born son hath been to the hated one;

“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 hath been, in the day of his causing his sons to inherit that which he hath, he is not able to declare first-born the son of the loved one, in the face of the son of the hated one -- the first-born.

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 the first-born, son of the hated one, he doth acknowledge, to give to him a double portion of all that is found with him, for he the beginning of his strength; to him the right of the first-born.

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 ` When a man hath a son apostatizing and rebellious -- he is not hearkening to the voice of his father, and to the voice of his mother, and they have chastised him, and he doth not hearken unto 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 laid hold on him have his father and his mother, and they have brought him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place,

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 a nd have said unto the elders of his city, Our son -- this one -- is apostatizing and rebellious; he is not hearkening to our voice -- a glutton and 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 a nd all the men of his city have stoned him with stones, and he hath died, and thou hast put away the evil out of thy midst, and all Israel do hear 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 ` And when there is in a man a sin -- a cause of death, and he hath been put to death, and thou hast hanged 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 doth not remain on the tree, for thou dost certainly bury him in that day -- for a thing lightly esteemed of God the hanged one -- and thou dost not defile thy ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee -- 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.