Deuteronomy 21

Atonement for Unsolved Murders

1 "If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone 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 out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities. 3 And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer z that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a 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 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen a them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and b by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. 6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man c 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, nor did our eyes see it shed. 8 Accept atonement, O Lord, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and d do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.' 9 So e you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.

Marrying Female Captives

10 "When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife, 12 and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails. 13 And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and f lament 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 But if you no longer delight in her, you shall g let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you h treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.

Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn

15 "If a man has two wives, i the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 1 16 then on the day when j he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is k the firstfruits of his strength. l The right of the firstborn 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 discipline him, will not listen 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 m Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. n So you shall purge the evil from your midst, o and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed

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 p his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for q a hanged man is cursed by God. r You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

  1. Cross References
    Numbers 19:2
    This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come.
  2. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 10:8
    At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord to stand before the Lord to minister to him and to bless in his name, to this day.
  3. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 17:8 - 9
    If any case arises requiring decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to the place that the Lord your God will choose.
    Deuteronomy 19:17
    Then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days.
  4. Cross References
    Psalms 26:6
    I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O Lord.
    Psalms 73:13
    All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
    Matthew 27:24
    So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.
  5. Cross References
    Jonah 1:14
    Therefore they called out to the Lord, "O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not on us innocent blood, for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.
  6. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 19:13
    Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, so that it may be well with you.
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 45:10
    Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear: forget your people and your father's house.
  8. Cross References
    Jeremiah 34:16
    But then you turned around and profaned my name when each of you took back his male and female slaves, whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your slaves.
  9. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 24:7
    If a man is found stealing one of his brothers of the people of Israel, and if he treats him as a slave or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
  10. Cross References
    Genesis 29:30
    So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years.
    Genesis 29:33
    She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.
    1 Samuel 1:4 - 5
    On the day when Elkanah sacrificed, he would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and daughters.
  11. Cross References
    1 Chronicles 5:1 - 2
    The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel ( for he was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father's couch, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel, so that he could not be enrolled as the oldest son.
    1 Chronicles 26:10
    And Hosah, of the sons of Merari, had sons: Shimri the chief (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him chief).
    2 Chronicles 11:19 - 20
    And she bore him sons, Jeush, Shemariah, and Zaham.
    2 Chronicles 11:22
    And Rehoboam appointed Abijah the son of Maacah as chief prince among his brothers, for he intended to make him king.
  12. Cross References
    Genesis 49:3
    Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
  13. Cross References
    Genesis 25:31
    Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright now.
    Genesis 25:33
    Jacob said, "Swear to me now." So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.
    Genesis 27:36
    Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?
  14. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 13:10
    You shall stone him to death with stones, because he sought to draw you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
    Joshua 7:25
    And Joshua said, "Why did you bring trouble on us? The Lord brings trouble on you today." And all Israel stoned him with stones. They burned them with fire and stoned them with stones.
  15. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 13:5
    But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
  16. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 13:11
    And all Israel shall hear and fear and never again do any such wickedness as this among you.
    Deuteronomy 17:13
    And all the people shall hear and fear and not act presumptuously again.
    Deuteronomy 19:20
    And the rest shall hear and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you.
  17. Cross References
    Joshua 8:29
    And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree and threw it at the entrance of the gate of the city and raised over it a great heap of stones, which stands there to this day.
    Joshua 10:26 - 27
    And afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees. And they hung on the trees until evening.
    John 19:31
    Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away.
  18. Cross References
    Galatians 3:13
    Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree" -
  19. Cross References
    Numbers 35:34
    You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.
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