Deuteronomy 21 NIV NLT Parallel

◄ Deuteronomy 21 ►

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1If 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,

1“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.

2your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns.

2In such a case, your elders and judges must measure the distance from the site of the crime to the nearby towns.

3Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke

3When the nearest town has been determined, that town’s elders must select from the herd a heifer that has never been trained or yoked to a plow.

4and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck.

4They must lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and that has a stream running through it. There in the valley they must break the heifer’s neck.

5The Levitical priests shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.

5Then the Levitical priests must step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in the LORD’s name. They are to decide all legal and criminal cases.

6Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,

6“The elders of the town must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken.

7and they shall declare: "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done.

7Then they must say, ‘Our hands did not shed this person’s blood, nor did we see it happen.

8Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, LORD, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent person." Then the bloodshed will be atoned for,

8O LORD, forgive your people Israel whom you have redeemed. Do not charge your people with the guilt of murdering an innocent person.’ Then they will be absolved of the guilt of this person’s blood.

9and you will have purged from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

9By following these instructions, you will do what is right in the LORD’s sight and will cleanse the guilt of murder from your community. Marriage to a Captive Woman

10When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives,

10“Suppose you go out to war against your enemies and the LORD your God hands them over to you, and you take some of them as captives.

11if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife.

11And suppose you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you are attracted to her and want to marry her.

12Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails

12If this happens, you may take her to your home, where she must shave her head, cut her nails,

13and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife.

13and change the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. She will stay in your home, but let her mourn for her father and mother for a full month. Then you may marry her, and you will be her husband and she will be your wife.

14If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

14But if you marry her and she does not please you, you must let her go free. You may not sell her or treat her as a slave, for you have humiliated her. Rights of the Firstborn

15If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love,

15“Suppose a man has two wives, but he loves one and not the other, and both have given him sons. And suppose the firstborn son is the son of the wife he does not love.

16when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love.

16When the man divides his inheritance, he may not give the larger inheritance to his younger son, the son of the wife he loves, as if he were the firstborn son.

17He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.

17He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son of his father’s virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him. Dealing with a Rebellious Son

18If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him,

18“Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him.

19his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.

19In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate.

20They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard."

20The parents must say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’

21Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.

21Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid. Various Regulations

22If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole,

22“If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree,

23you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

23the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defilement of the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession.

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