Deuteronomy

If one be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him:

1Someone may be found dead in a field. This will be in the land the LORD your God is giving you. And no one knows who killed him.

2Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:

2Then your elders and judges must come out. Elders are the older leaders of a town. They must measure how far the body is from each nearby town.

3And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;

3The leaders of the closest town must take a young cow. It must be a cow that has never worked or pulled a plow.

4And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley:

4They must bring the cow down to a valley with a stream running through it. No one has ever plowed or planted that ground. There they must break the cow's neck.

NoteThe King James Bible says the valley was "neither eared nor sown." "Eared" is an old word for plowed. It means no one had ever farmed that ground.

5And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:

5Then the priests must come near. Priests are men from the family of Levi. The LORD your God chose them to serve him and to bless people in his name. They also decide every argument and every case of someone being hurt.

6And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:

6All the leaders of the closest town must wash their hands over the dead cow in the valley.

7And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.

7They must say out loud, "Our hands did not kill this man. Our eyes did not see it happen."

8Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.

8"Please forgive your people Israel, LORD. You set them free. Do not blame them for this death." Then the death will be forgiven.

9So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.

9That is how you clear away the blame for the death of an innocent person. You do it by doing what the LORD says is right.

10When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,

10You will go out to fight your enemies. The LORD your God will help you beat them. You will take some of them as prisoners.

11And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;

11Among the prisoners you may see a beautiful woman. You may want her to be your wife.

12Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

12Then bring her into your house. She must shave her head and cut her nails short.

13And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

13She must take off the clothes she wore when she was captured. She must live in your house for a whole month. During that month she cries for her father and mother. After that you may marry her, and she becomes your wife.

14And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

14Later you may not be happy with her. Then you must let her go wherever she wants. You may not sell her for money. You may not treat her like something you own. You have already shamed her.

15If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:

15A man may have two wives. He loves one and does not love the other. Both wives have sons. The oldest son belongs to the wife he does not love.

NoteThe King James Bible says one wife was "hated." That old word does not mean the man wished her harm. It means he loved her less than the other wife.

16Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:

16One day the man will divide his things among his sons. He may not treat the loved wife's son as the oldest.

17But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.

17He must accept the son of the unloved wife as the oldest. He must give that son twice as much as the others. That son was his father's first child. The oldest son's share belongs to him.

18If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

18A man may have a son who is stubborn and will not obey. The son will not listen to his father or his mother. Even when they correct him, he still will not listen.

19Then 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;

19Then his father and mother must take hold of him. They must bring him to the leaders at the town gate.

20And they shall say unto 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.

20They must say to the leaders, "This son of ours is stubborn and will not obey us. He eats and drinks far too much."

21And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

21Then all the men of the town must throw stones at him until he dies. That is how you take evil away from among you. All Israel will hear about it and be afraid.

22And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:

22A man may do something so wrong that he is put to death. After he dies, his body may be hung on a tree for people to see.

NoteThe King James Bible says "thou hang him on a tree." The hanging is not how the man died. His body was hung up after he was already put to death.

23His 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 accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

23Do not leave his body on the tree all night. Be sure to bury him that same day. Anyone hung on a tree is under God's curse. Do not make the land dirty with sin. The LORD your God is giving you that land to keep.