Deuteronomy Chapter 21
Other Translations
asv (asv) - eBible.org engASV USFM
1
Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor’s landmark, which they of old time have set, in thine inheritance which thou shalt inherit, in the land that Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it.
2
One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall a matter be established.
3
If an unrighteous witness rise up against any man to testify against him of wrong-doing,
4
then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before Jehovah, before the priests and the judges that shall be in those days;
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and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and have testified falsely against his brother;
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then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to do unto his brother: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
7
And those that remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil in the midst of thee.
8
And thine eyes shall not pity; life
9
shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
10
When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots,
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and a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
12
And it shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
13
and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint; fear not, nor tremble, neither be ye affrighted at them;
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for Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
15
And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
16
And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not used the fruit thereof? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit thereof.
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And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.
18
And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart melt as his heart.
19
And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall appoint captains of hosts at the head of the people.
20
When thou drawest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
21
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.
22
And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
23
and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
darby (darby) - eBible.org Darby 1890 plaintext
1
If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thyGod giveth thee to possess, lying in the field, [and] it be not known who hath smitten him,
2
then thine elders and thy judges shall go forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain;
3
and the city that is nearest unto him that is slain, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer that hath not been wrought with, that hath not drawn in the yoke;
4
and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto an ever-flowing watercourse, which is not tilled, nor is it sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the watercourse;
5
and the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thyGod hath chosen to do service unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall be every controversy and every stroke.
6
And all the elders of that city, that are nearest unto him that is slain, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck is broken in the watercourse,
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and shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
8
Forgive thy people Israel, whom thou, Jehovah, hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to the charge of thy people Israel; and the blood shall be expiated for them.
9
So shalt thou put away innocent blood from thy midst, when thou shalt do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah.
10
When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and Jehovah thyGod delivereth them into thy hands, and thou hast taken captives of them,
11
and thou seest among the captives a woman of beautiful form, and hast a desire unto her, and takest her as thy wife;
12
then thou shalt bring her home to thy house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
13
and she shall put the clothes of her captivity from off her, and shall abide in thy house, and bewail her father and mother a full month, and afterwards thou mayest go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
14
And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go according to her desire; but thou shalt in no wise sell her for money; thou shalt not treat her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.
15
If a man have two wives, one beloved, and one hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and the firstborn son be hers that was hated;
16
then it shall be, in the day that he maketh his sons to inherit what he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn;
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but he shall acknowledge as firstborn the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that is found with him; for he is the firstfruits of his vigour: the right of the firstborn is his.
18
If a man have an unmanageable and rebellious son, who hearkeneth not unto the voice of his father, nor unto the voice of his mother, and they have chastened him, but he hearkeneth not unto them;
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then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
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and they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is unmanageable and rebellious, he hearkeneth not unto our voice; he is a profligate and a drunkard.
21
And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die. And thou shalt put evil away from thy midst; and all Israel shall hear and fear.
22
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou have hanged him on a tree,
23
his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day (for he that is hanged is a curse ofGod); and thou shalt not defile thy land, which Jehovah thyGod giveth thee for an inheritance.
lxxbrent (lxxbrent) - Septuagint (Brenton 1851) eBible USFM
1
And if one be found slain with the sword in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, having fallen in the field, and they do not know who has smitten [him];
2
thine elders and thy judges shall come forth, and shall measure the distances of the cities round about the slain man:
3
and it shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not laboured, and which has not borne a yoke.
4
And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer into a rough valley, which has not been tilled and is not sown, and they shall slay the heifer in the valley.
5
And the priests the Levites shall come, because the Lord God has chosen them to stand by him, and to bless in his name, and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be [decided].
6
And all the elders of that city who draw nigh to the slain man shall wash their hands over the head of the heifer which was slain in the valley;
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and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen [it].
8
Be merciful to thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, O Lord, that innocent blood may not be charged on thy people Israel: and the blood shall be atoned for to them.
9
And thou shalt take away innocent blood from among you, if thou shouldest do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord thy God.
10
And if when thou goest out to war against thine enemies, the Lord thy God should deliver them into thine hands, and thou shouldest take their spoil,
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and shouldest see among the spoil a woman beautiful in countenance, and shouldest desire her, and take her to thyself for a wife,
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and shouldest bring her within thine house: then shalt thou shave her head, and pare her nails;
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and shalt take away her garments of captivity from off her, and she shall abide in thine house, and shall bewail her father and mother the days of a month; and afterwards thou shalt go in to her and dwell with her, and she shall be thy wife.
14
And it shall be if thou do not delight in her, thou shalt send her out free; and she shall not by any means be sold for money, thou shalt not treat her contemptuously, because thou hast humbled her.
15
And if a man have two wives, the one loved and the other hated, and both the loved and the hated should have born him [children], and the son of the hated should be first-born;
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then it shall be that whensoever he shall divide by inheritance his goods to his sons, he shall not be able to give the right of the first-born to the son of the loved one, having overlooked the son of the hated, which is the first-born.
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But he shall acknowledge the first-born of the hated one to give to him double of all things which shall be found by him, because he is the first of his children, and to him belongs the birthright.
18
And if any man has a disobedient and contentious son, who hearkens not to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother, and they should correct him, and he should not hearken to them;
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then shall his father and his mother take hold of him, and bring him forth to the elders of his city, and to the gate of the place:
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and they shall say to the men of their city, This our son is disobedient and contentious, he hearkens not to our voice, he is a reveller and a drunkard.
21
And the men of his city shall stone him with stones, and he shall die; and thou shalt remove the evil one from yourselves, and the rest shall hear and fear.
22
And if there be sin in any one, [and] the judgment of death [be upon him], and he be put to death, and ye hang him on a tree:
23
his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but ye shall by all means bury it in that day; for every one that is hanged on a tree is cursed of God; and ye shall by no means defile the land which the Lord thy God gives thee for an inheritance.
vul1914 (vul1914) - Vulgate 1914 UTF-8 (sacredbible.org)
1
Quando inventum fuerit in terra, quam Dominus Deus tuus daturus est tibi, hominis cadaver occisi, et ignorabitur cædis reus,
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egredientur maiores natu, et iudices tui, et metientur a loco cadaveris singularum per circuitum spatia civitatum:
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et quam viciniorem ceteris esse perspexerint, seniores civitatis illius tollent vitulam de armento, quæ non traxit iugum, nec terram scidit vomere,
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et ducent eam ad vallem asperam atque saxosam, quæ numquam arata est, nec sementem recepit: et cædent in ea cervices vitulæ:
5
accedentque sacerdotes filii Levi, quos elegerit Dominus Deus tuus ut ministrent ei, et benedicant in nomine eius, et ad verbum eorum omne negotium, et quidquid mundum, vel immundum est, iudicetur.
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Et venient maiores natu civitatis illius ad interfectum, lavabuntque manus suas super vitulam, quæ in valle percussa est,
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et dicent: Manus nostræ non effuderunt sanguinem hunc, nec oculi viderunt.
8
propitius esto populo tuo Israel, quem redemisti Domine, et ne reputes sanguinem innocentem in medio populi tui Israel. Et auferetur ab eis reatus sanguinis:
9
tu autem alienus eris ab innocentis cruore, qui fusus est, cum feceris quod præcepit Dominus.
10
Si egressus fueris ad pugnam contra inimicos tuos, et tradiderit eos Dominus Deus tuus in manu tua, captivosque duxeris,
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et videris in numero captivorum mulierem pulchram, et adamaveris eam, voluerisque habere uxorem,
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introduces eam in domum tuam: quæ radet cæsariem, et circumcidet ungues,
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et deponet vestem, in qua capta est: sedensque in domo tua, flebit patrem et matrem suam uno mense: et postea intrabis ad eam, dormiesque cum illa, et erit uxor tua.
14
Si autem postea non sederit animo tuo, dimittes eam liberam, nec vendere poteris pecunia, nec opprimere per potentiam: quia humiliasti eam.
15
Si habuerit homo uxores duas, unam dilectam, et alteram odiosam, genuerintque ex eo liberos, et fuerit filius odiosæ primogenitus,
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volueritque substantiam inter filios suos dividere: non poterit filium dilectæ facere primogenitum, et præferre filio odiosæ,
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sed filium odiosæ agnoscet primogenitum, dabitque ei de his quæ habuerit cuncta duplicia: iste est enim principium liberorum eius, et huic debentur primogenita.
18
Si genuerit homo filium contumacem et protervum, qui non audiat patris aut matris imperium, et coercitus obedire contempserit:
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apprehendent eum, et ducent ad seniores civitatis illius, et ad portam iudicii,
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dicentque ad eos: Filius noster iste protervus et contumax est, monita nostra audire contemnit, comessationibus vacat, et luxuriæ atque conviviis:
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lapidibus eum obruet populus civitatis: et morietur, ut auferatis malum de medio vestri, et universus Israel audiens pertimescat.
22
Quando peccaverit homo quod morte plectendum est, et adiudicatus morti appensus fuerit in patibulo:
23
non permanebit cadaver eius in ligno, sed in eadem die sepelietur: quia maledictus a Deo est qui pendet in ligno: et nequaquam contaminabis Terram tuam, quam Dominus Deus tuus dederit tibi in possessionem.
web (web) - WorldEnglish.Bible — CC0 modern update of ASV
1
If someone is found slain in the land which the LORD 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 of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with and which has not drawn in the yoke.
4
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
The priests the sons of Levi shall come near, for them the LORD your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in the LORD’s name; and according to their word shall every controversy and every assault be decided.
6
All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.
7
They shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
8
Forgive, LORD, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood among your people Israel.” The blood shall be forgiven them.
9
So you shall put away the innocent blood from among you, when you shall do that which is right in the LORD’s eyes.
10
When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you carry them away captive,
11
and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you are attracted to her, and desire to take her as your wife,
12
then you shall bring her home to your house. She shall shave her head and trim her nails.
13
She shall take off the clothing of her captivity, and shall remain in your house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month. After that you shall go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
14
It shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she desires; but you shall not sell her at all for money. You shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.
15
If a man has two wives, the one beloved and the other hated, and they have borne him children, both the beloved and the hated, and if the firstborn son is hers who was hated,
16
then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which he has, that he may not give the son of the beloved the rights of the firstborn before the son of the hated, who is the firstborn;
17
but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the beginning of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
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 chasten 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 and to the gate of his place.
20
They shall tell 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
All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel shall hear, and fear.
22
If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
23
his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. Don’t defile your land which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance.
ylt (ylt) - Bible.com YLT98 plain UTF-8
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,
2
then have thine elders and thy judges gone out and measured unto the cities which <FI>are<Fi> round about the slain one,
3
and it hath been, the city which <FI>is<Fi> 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,
4
and 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.
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--
6
and 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,
7
and they have answered and said, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen--
8
receive 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,
9
and thou dost put away the innocent blood out of thy midst, for thou dost that which <FI>is<Fi> right in the eyes of Jehovah.
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,
11
and hast seen in the captivity a woman of fair form, and hast delighted in her, and hast taken to thee for a wife,
12
then thou hast brought her in unto the midst of thy household, and she hath shaved her head, and prepared her nails,
13
and 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:
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.
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;
16
then 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.
17
But 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 <FI>is<Fi> the beginning of his strength; to him <FI>is<Fi> the right of the first-born.
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--
19
then 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,
20
and 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;
21
and 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.
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,
23
his corpse doth not remain on the tree, for thou dost certainly bury him in that day--for a thing lightly esteemed of God <FI>is<Fi> the hanged one--and thou dost not defile thy ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee--an inheritance.
Explanations by Age Level
Explain Like I'm 5
A long, long time ago, there was nothing at all - no earth, no sky, no animals, no people. It was all dark and empty. But God was there! God is so powerful that He can make anything just by speaking. So God said "Let there be light!" and BOOM! There was light everywhere! God saw that the light was beautiful and good. He called the light "day" and the darkness "night." This was the very first day when God started making our wonderful world!
Explain Like I'm 10
Before anything existed - no planets, stars, or life - God decided to create the universe. The earth started out as a dark, empty place covered with water. But God's Spirit was there, ready to bring order and beauty to everything. When God spoke and said "Let there be light," light immediately appeared because God's words have incredible power. God looked at the light and was pleased with what He had made. He organized time by separating light (day) from darkness (night), creating the first 24-hour period. This shows us that God is organized and purposeful in everything He does.
Explain Like I'm 15
Genesis 1:1-5 establishes fundamental theological truths about God and creation. The Hebrew word "bara" (created) indicates creation from nothing (ex nihilo), demonstrating God's absolute sovereignty and power. The phrase "without form and void" (tohu wa-bohu) describes a state of chaos that God transforms into order. The Spirit of God "hovering" or "brooding" over the waters suggests active, caring involvement in creation. The creation of light before the sun (created on day 4) indicates that God Himself is the ultimate source of light and energy. The establishment of day and night creates the framework of time, showing that God operates within orderly patterns while transcending them. This passage refutes both atheistic materialism and pantheism, establishing that God is both transcendent (separate from creation) and immanent (actively involved in it).