Deuteronomy 21 - Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Law concerning Murder by Persons Unknown

21 “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 which are around him that is slain; 3 and the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer which has never been worked and which has not pulled in the yoke. 4 And 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. 5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come forward, 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 every dispute and every assault shall be settled. 6 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 and they shall testify, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, neither did our eyes see it shed. 8 Forgive, O Lord, thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and set not the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of thy people Israel; but let the guilt of blood be forgiven them.’ 9 So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.

Female Captives

10 “When you go forth to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hands, and you take them captive, 11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you have desire for her and would take her for yourself as wife, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and pare her nails. 13 And she shall put off her captive’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. 14 Then, if you have no delight in her, you shall let her go where she will; but you shall not sell her for money, you shall not treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.

The Right of the Firstborn

15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other disliked, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the disliked, and if the first-born son is hers that is disliked, 16 then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the first-born in preference to the son of the disliked, who is the first-born, 17 but he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the disliked, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the first issue of his strength; the right of the first-born is his.

A Rebellious Son

18 “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, though they chastise him, will not give heed to them, 19 then his father and his 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, 20 and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall purge the evil from your midst; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Miscellaneous Laws

22 “And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is accursed by God; you shall not defile your land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.

You Might Also Like:

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

Deuteronomy 21 - The Voice (VOICE)

Israelite teachers and scribes are fond of organizing material using mnemonic devices. If two writings share a key word, phrase, or idea, it is considered clever and attractive to put them next to one another. This principle is applied often as the first law in Deuteronomy 21:1 begins by using some ...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

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 ...
Read More

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...
Read More

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....
Read More

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...
Read More

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...
Read More

Deuteronomy 21 - New International Reader's Version (NIRV)

What to Do When You Don’t Know Who Killed Someone21 Suppose you find someone who has been killed. The body is lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own. But no one knows who the killer was. 2 Then your elders and judges will go out to the field. They will measure the ...
Read More

Deuteronomy 21 - New English Translation (NET)

Laws Concerning Unsolved Murder21 If a homicide victim[a] should be found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you,[b] and no one knows who killed[c] him, 2 your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse.[d] 3 Then the e...
Read More