Deuteronomy 21

¹When there shall be found in the Land, which our Lord thy God will give thee, the corpse of a man slain, and he that is guilty of the murder is not known,

²thy ancients and judges shall go forth, and measure from the place of the corpse the distance of every city round about:

³and which they shall perceive to be nearer than the rest, the ancients of that city shall take an heifer out of the herd, that hath not drawn yoke, nor ploughed the ground,

⁴and shall bring her to a rough and stony valley, that never was ploughed, nor received seed: and in it they shall strike off the neck of the heifer:

⁵and the Priests the sons of Levi shall come, whom our Lord thy God hath chosen to minister to him, and to bless in his name, and at their word every matter dependeth, and whatsoever is clean or unclean must be judged.

⁶And the ancients of that city shall come to the slain person, and shall wash their hands over the heifer, that was strucken in the valley,

⁷and shall say: Our hands did not shed this blood nor our eyes see it.

⁸be merciful to thy people Israel whom thou hast redeemed, o Lord, & impute not innocent blood in the midst of thy people Israel. And the guilt of blood shall be taken from them:

⁹and thou shalt be free from the innocent's blood, that was shed, when thou shalt have done that which our Lord hath commanded thee.

¹⁰If thou go forth to fight against thine enemies, and our Lord thy God deliver them in thy hand and thou lead them away captive,

¹¹and seest in the number of the captives a beautiful woman, and lovest her, and wilt have her to wife,

¹²thou shalt bring her into thy house: who shall shave her hair, and pare her nails,

¹³and put off the raiment wherein she was taken: and sitting in thy house, shall mourn her father and mother one month: and afterward thou shalt enter unto her, and shalt sleep with her, and she shall be thy wife.

¹⁴But if afterward she content not thy mind, thou shall let her go free, neither canst thou sell her for money, nor oppress her by might: because thou hast humbled her.

¹⁵If a man have two wives, one beloved, and the other hated, and they have begotten children by him, & the son of the hated be the first-born,

¹⁶and he meaneth to divide his substance among his sons: he cannot make the son of the beloved the first-born, and prefer him before the son of the hated,

¹⁷but the son of the hated he shall acknowledge for the first-born, and shall give to him of those things which he hath, all double: for this is the beginning of his children, & to this are due the first birth rights.

¹⁸If a man beget a stubborn and froward son, that will not hear the commandments of his father and mother, and being chastened, contemneth to be obedient:

¹⁹they shall take him, and bring him to the ancients of his city, and to the gate of judgment,

²⁰and shall say to them: This our son is froward and stubborn, he contemneth to hear our admonitions, he giveth himself to comessation, and to riot and banquetings:

²¹the people of the city shall stone him: and he shall die, that you may take away the evil out of the midst of you, and all Israel hearing it may be afraid.

²²When a man hath offended so that he is to be punished by death, & being condemned to die is hanged on a gibbet:

²³his body shall not remain upon the tree, but the same day shall be buried: because he is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree: and thou shalt not contaminate thy Land, which our Lord thy God giveth thee in possession.