Deuteronomy 21 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

Chapter 21

Sacrifice for Untraceable Killing.[a] 1 If the body of a dead man is found lying on the ground of the land that the Lord, your God, has given you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, 2 have your elders and judges go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 3 The elders of the town that is nearest to the body are to take a heifer that has never worked nor worn a yoke. 4 The elders of that town will then lead it down to a valley with a flowing stream that has not been plowed nor planted. In that valley they are to slit the heifer’s throat. 5 The priests, the sons of Levi, will then come forward, for the Lord, your God, has chosen them to minister to him and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord and to decide all disputes and cases of assault. 6 The elders of the town that is nearest to the body will wash their hands[b] over the heifer whose throat had been slit in the valley, 7 and they will proclaim, “Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it shed. 8 Accept this atonement for your people Israel, O Lord, whom you have redeemed, and do not hold your people responsible for the shedding of innocent blood.” This shall atone for the bloodshed. 9 In this way you will have purged yourself of the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you will have done what is right in the sight of the Lord.

10 Marrying a Female Captive. When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord, your God, delivers them into your hands and you take them captive, 11 if you see a beautiful woman among them and you desire her, you can take her as your wife. 12 Bring her into your house, and have her shave her head and trim her nails 13 and have her throw out the clothes she was wearing when she was taken captive. She is to live in your house for a full month and mourn her father and her mother. Then you may go to her and be her husband and she will be your wife. 14 If you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. You are not to sell her or treat her like a slave, for you have already humbled her.

15 Law of the Firstborn.[c] If a man has two wives, and he loves one and dislikes the other, and they both bear him children, both the one who is loved and the one who is disliked, and the son of the one who is disliked is the firstborn, 16 then when he gives his inheritance to his sons, he is not to give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the woman he loves in preference to the true firstborn, the son of the woman he dislikes. 17 He must acknowledge the son of the woman whom he disliked as the firstborn, giving him a double portion of everything that he owned. That son is the first sign of his strength, and the right of firstborn belongs to him.

18 Punishing a Rebellious Son. If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not listen to his father or his mother, and will not heed them even when he is disciplined, 19 then his father and mother are to take hold of him and bring him out to the elders at the town gate. 20 They are to say to the town elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not listen to us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of that town will stone him to death. You must purge the evil from your midst. All of Israel will hear of it and be filled with fear.

22 Burying a Criminal.[d] If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hanging from a tree, 23 you are not to leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that day, for anyone who is hung from a tree is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you as an inheritance.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 21:1 The final section of the Deuteronomic law brings together prescriptions that cannot be reduced to any order; they deal with all sorts of matters and have fairly diverse origins. Two more clearly defined groups can, however, be distinguished: laws regarding the family and social norms.
  2. Deuteronomy 21:6 Wash their hands: in cases where the one responsible for taking someone’s life cannot be found, the community can offer sacrifice to obtain forgiveness while maintaining their innocence.
  3. Deuteronomy 21:15 While Scripture in no way condones polygamy, recognition of the firstborn’s rights of inheritance are here defined when a man has more than one wife and children from them.
  4. Deuteronomy 21:22 This is why the body of Jesus was buried before nightfall (Jn 19:31). See the application of the entire passage to Jesus in Gal 3:13.

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Deuteronomy 21 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

21 `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, 2 then have thine elders and thy judges gone out and measured unto the cities which [are] round about the slain one, 3 and it hath been, the c...
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Deuteronomy 21 - Wycliffe Bible (WYC)

21 When the carrion of a man slain is found in the land which thy Lord God shall give to thee, and he that is guilty of his death is unknown, (When the corpse of a slain man is found in the land which the Lord thy God shall give to thee, and he who is guilty of his death is unknown,) 2 the greater m...
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Deuteronomy 21 - World English Bible (WEB)

21 If someone is found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain. 3 It shall be that the elders o...
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Deuteronomy 21 - The Voice (VOICE)

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Deuteronomy 21 - Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Purging Innocent Blood21 “Suppose a slain person is found fallen in a field, on the land Adonai your God is giving you to possess—who struck him is unknown. 2 Then your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance to the towns that are around the slain one. 3 Now the town nearest to th...
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Deuteronomy 21 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Law concerning Murder by Persons Unknown21 “If in the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess, any one is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall come forth, and they shall measure the distance to the cities whic...
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Deuteronomy 21 - New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised (NRSVA)

Law concerning Murder by Persons Unknown21 If, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess, a body is found lying in open country, and it is not known who struck the person down, 2 then your elders and your judges shall come out to measure the distances to the towns that are near th...
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Deuteronomy 21 - New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Law concerning Murder by Persons Unknown21 “If, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess, a body is found lying in open country, and it is not known who struck the person down,(A)2 then your elders and your judges shall come out to measure the distances to the towns that are near ...
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Deuteronomy 21 - New Living Translation (NLT)

Cleansing for Unsolved Murder21 “When you are in the land the Lord your God is giving you, someone may be found murdered in a field, and you don’t know who committed the murder. 2 In such a case, your elders and judges must measure the distance from the site of the crime to the nearby towns. 3 When ...
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Deuteronomy 21 - New Life Version (NLV)

About Killing Someone21 “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 then your leaders and judges will go out and see how far it is to the cities that are around the dead man. 3 The leaders...
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Deuteronomy 21 - New King James Version (NKJV)

The Law Concerning Unsolved Murder21 “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 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities....
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Deuteronomy 21 - New International Version - UK (NIVUK)

Atonement for an unsolved murder21 If someone is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who the killer was, 2 your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighbouring towns. 3 Then the elders o...
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Deuteronomy 21 - New International Version (NIV)

Atonement for an Unsolved Murder21 If someone is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who the killer was,(A) 2 your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 3 Then the elders o...
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Deuteronomy 21 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

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Deuteronomy 21 - New English Translation (NET)

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