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 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 have thine elders and thy judges gone out and measured unto the cities which round about the slain one,

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 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,

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

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

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 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 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 ` 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 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 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 a beautiful woman and have a desire for her as a 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,

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

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 ` 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 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 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.

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 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.

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 ` 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 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 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 mother will take hold of him and bring him to the leaders of his city at 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;

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 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 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 ` 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 sinned and should be put to 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 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.