Deuteronomy 21; Deuteronomy 22; Deuteronomy 23

Deuteronomy 21

1 Suppose you find someone who has been killed. The body is lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to take as your own. But no one knows who the killer was.

2 Then your elders and judges will go out and measure how far it is from the body to the nearby towns.

3 The elders from the town that is nearest to the body will get a young cow. It must never have been used for work. It must never have pulled a load.

4 The elders must lead it down into a valley. The valley must not have been farmed. There must be a stream flowing through it. There in the valley the elders must break the cow's neck.

5 The priests, who are sons of Levi, will step forward. The LORD your God has chosen them to serve him. He wants them to bless the people in his name. He wants them to decide all cases that have to do with people arguing and attacking others.

6 Then all of the elders from the town that is nearest to the body will wash their hands. They will wash them over the young cow whose neck they broke in the valley.

7 They'll say to the Lord, "We didn't kill that person. We didn't see it happen.

8 Accept this payment for the sin of your people Israel. Lord, you have set your people free. Don't hold them guilty for spilling the blood of someone who hasn't done anything wrong." That will pay for the death of that person.

9 So you will get rid of the guilt of killing someone who didn't do anything wrong. That's because you have done what is right in the LORD's eyes.

10 Suppose you go to war against your enemies. And the LORD your God hands them over to you and you take them as prisoners.

11 Then you notice a beautiful woman among them. If you like her, you can get married to her.

12 Bring her home. Have her shave her head. Have her cut her nails.

13 Have her throw away the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. Let her live in your house and sob over her parents for a full month. Then you can go to her and be her husband. And she will be your wife.

14 But suppose you aren't pleased with her. Then let her go where she wants to. You must not sell her. You must not treat her as a slave. You have already brought shame on her.

15 Suppose a man has two wives. He loves one but not the other. And both of them have sons by him. But the oldest son is the son of the wife the man doesn't love.

16 Someday he'll leave his property to his sons. When he does, he must not give the rights of the oldest son to the son of the wife he loves. He must give those rights to his oldest son. He must do it even though his oldest son is the son of the wife he doesn't love.

17 He must recognize the full rights of the oldest son, even though that son is the son of the wife he doesn't love. He must give that son a double share of everything he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. So the rights of the oldest son belong to him.

18 Suppose someone has a very stubborn son. He doesn't obey his father and mother. And he won't listen to them when they try to correct him.

19 Then his parents will take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.

20 They will say to the elders, "This son of ours is very stubborn. He won't obey us. He wastes his money. He's always getting drunk."

21 Then all of the people in his town will put him to death by throwing stones at him. Get rid of that evil person. All of the people of Israel will hear about it. And they will be afraid to disobey their parents.

22 Suppose a man is put to death for a crime that is worthy of death. And a pole is stuck through his body and set up where people can see it.

23 Then you must not leave the body on the pole all night. Make sure you bury it that same day. Everyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse. You must not make the land "unclean." The LORD your God is giving it to you as your own.

Deuteronomy 22

1 Suppose you see your neighbor's ox or sheep wandering away. Then don't act as if you didn't see it. Instead, make sure you take it back to him.

2 Your neighbor might not live near you. Or you might not know who he is. Then take the animal home with you. Keep it until he comes looking for it. Then give it back.

3 Do the same thing if you find his donkey, coat or anything he loses. Don't act as if you didn't see it.

4 Suppose you see your neighbor's donkey or ox that has fallen down on the road. Then don't act as if you didn't see it. Help him get it up on its feet again.

5 A woman must not wear men's clothes. And a man must not wear women's clothes. The LORD your God hates it when anyone does that.

6 Suppose you happen to find a bird's nest beside the road. It might be in a tree or on the ground. And suppose the mother bird is sitting on her little birds or on the eggs. Then don't take the mother along with the little ones.

7 You can take the little ones. But make sure you let the mother go. Then things will go well with you. You will live for a long time.

8 If you build a new house, put a low wall around the edge of your roof. Then you won't be held accountable if someone falls off your roof and dies.

9 Don't plant two kinds of seeds in your vineyard. If you do, the crops you grow there will be polluted. Your grapes will also be polluted.

10 Don't let an ox and a donkey pull the same plow together.

11 Don't wear clothes made of wool and linen that are woven together.

12 Make tassels on the four corners of the coat you wear.

13 Suppose a man gets married to a woman and makes love to her. But then he doesn't like her.

14 So he tells lies about her and says she's a bad woman. He says, "I got married to this woman. But when I made love to her, I discovered she wasn't a virgin."

15 Then the woman's parents must bring proof that she was a virgin. They must give the proof to the elders at the gate of the town.

16 The woman's father will speak to the elders. He'll say, "I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife. But he doesn't like her.

17 So now he has told lies about her. He has said, 'I discovered that your daughter wasn't a virgin.' But here's the proof that my daughter was a virgin." Then her parents will show the elders of the town the cloth that has her blood on it.

18 The elders will punish the man.

19 They'll make him weigh out two and a half pounds of silver. They'll give it to the woman's father. That's because the man has said an Israelite virgin is a bad woman. She will continue to be his wife. He must not divorce her as long as he lives.

20 But suppose the charge is true. And there isn't any proof that the woman was a virgin.

21 Then she must be brought to the door of her father's house. There the people of her town will put her to death by throwing stones at her. She has done a very terrible thing in Israel. She has had sex before she got married. Get rid of that evil person.

22 Suppose a man is seen having sex with another man's wife. Then the man and the woman must both die. Get rid of those evil people.

23 Suppose a man happens to see a virgin in a town. And she has promised to get married to another man. But the man who happens to see her has sex with her.

24 Then you must take both of them to the gate of that town. You must put them to death by throwing stones at them. You must kill the woman because she was in a town and didn't scream for help. And you must kill the man because he had sex with another man's wife. Get rid of those evil people.

25 But suppose a man happens to see a woman out in the country. And she has promised to marry another man. But the man who happens to see her rapes her. Then only the man who has done that will die.

26 Don't do anything to the woman. She hasn't committed a sin that is worthy of death. That case is like the case of someone who attacks and murders his neighbor.

27 The man found the woman out in the country. And she screamed. But there wasn't anyone around who could save her.

28 Suppose a man happens to see a virgin who hasn't promised to marry another man. And the man who happens to see her rapes her. But someone discovers them.

29 Then the man must weigh out 20 ounces of silver. He must give it to the woman's father. The man must marry the woman, because he raped her. And he can never divorce her as long as he lives.

30 A man must not get married to his stepmother. He must not bring shame on his father by having sex with her.

Deuteronomy 23

1 No man whose sex organs have been crushed or cut can join in worship with the LORD's people.

2 No one who was born to a woman who wasn't married can join in worship with the LORD's people. That also applies to the person's children for all time to come.

3 The people of Ammon and Moab can't join in worship with the LORD's people. That also applies to their children after them for all time to come.

4 The Ammonites and Moabites didn't come to meet you with food and water on your way out of Egypt. They even hired Balaam from Pethor in Aram Naharaim to call down a curse on you. Balaam was the son of Beor

5 The LORD your God wouldn't listen to Balaam. Instead, he turned the curse into a blessing for you. He did it because he loves you.

6 So don't make a peace treaty with the Ammonites and Moabites as long as you live.

7 Don't hate the people of Edom. They are your relatives. Don't hate the people of Egypt. After all, you lived as outsiders in their country.

8 The great-grandchildren of the Edomites and Egyptians can join in worship with the LORD's people.

9 There will be times when you are at war with your enemies. And your soldiers will be in camp. Then keep away from anything that isn't pure and clean.

10 Suppose semen flows from the body of one of your soldiers during the night. Then that will make him "unclean." He must go outside the camp and stay there.

11 But as evening approaches, he must wash himself. When the sun goes down, he can return to the camp.

12 Choose a place outside the camp where you can go to the toilet.

13 Keep a shovel among your tools. When you go to the toilet, dig a hole. Then cover up your waste.

14 The LORD your God walks around in your camp. He's there to keep you safe. He's also there to hand your enemies over to you. So your camp must be holy. Then he won't see anything among you that is shameful. He won't turn away from you

15 If a slave comes to you for safety, don't hand him over to his master.

16 Let him live among you anywhere he wants to. Let him live in any town he chooses. Don't crush him.

17 A man or woman in Israel must not become a temple prostitute.

18 The LORD your God hates the money that men and women get for being prostitutes. So don't take that money into the house of the LORD to pay what you promised to give.

19 Don't charge your own people any interest. Don't charge them when they borrow money, food or anything else

20 You can charge interest to people from another country. But don't charge your own people. Then the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do. He will bless you in the land you are entering to take as your own.

21 Don't put off giving to the LORD your God everything you promise him. He will certainly require it from you. And you will be guilty of committing a sin

22 But if you don't make a promise, you won't be guilty.

23 Make sure you do what you promised to do. With your own mouth you made the promise to the LORD your God. No one forced you to do it.

24 When you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you can eat all of the grapes you want. But don't put any of them in your basket.

25 When you enter your neighbor's field, you can pick heads of grain. But don't cut down his standing grain.