HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 548
D EU T ERO N O MY 2 1
in the worship of their gods, which would cause
you to sin deeply against the Lord your God.
19 “When you are attacking a town and the
war drags on, you must not cut down the trees
with your axes. You may eat the fruit, but do not
cut down the trees. Are the trees your enemies,
that you should attack them? 20 You may only
cut down trees that you know are not valuable
for food. Use them to make the equipment you
need to attack the enemy town until it falls.
Cleansing for Unsolved Murder
“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. 2 In such a case, your elders and judges must measure the distance from
the site of the crime to the nearby towns. 3 When
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.
4 They 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. 5 Then 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.
6 “The elders of the town must wash their
hands over the heifer whose neck was broken.
7 Then they must say, ‘Our hands did not shed
this person’s blood, nor did we see it happen.
8 O 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. 9 By following these instructions, you
will do what is right in the Lord’s sight and will
cleanse the guilt of murder from your community.
21
Marriage to a Captive Woman
10 “Suppose you go out to war against your enemies and the Lord your God hands them over
• Environment
D E U T E R O NO MY 2 0 :1 9 -2 0
In the middle of a passage that instructs
soldiers in the art of besieging and
destroying enemy cities, we find the
surprising command not to destroy
fruit trees. Even in times of conflict and
war God’s people were warned against
an unnecessary destruction of the
environment. How might you become
more sensitive in expressing love for
God by caring for his world?
page 178
to you, and you take some of them as captives.
11 And suppose you see among the captives a
beautiful woman, and you are attracted to her
and want to marry her. 12 If this happens, you
may take her to your home, where she must
shave her head, cut her nails, 13 and 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. 14 But
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
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. 16 When 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.
17 He 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
18 “Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious
son who will not obey his father or mother, even
though they discipline him. 19 In such a case, the
father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. 20 The
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.’ 21 Then 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
22 “If someone has committed a crime worthy
of death and is executed and hung on a tree,*
23 the 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.
22
“If you see your neighbor’s ox or sheep
or goat wandering away, don’t ignore
your responsibility.* Take it back to its owner.
2 If its owner does not live nearby or you don’t
know who the owner is, take it to your place
and keep it until the owner comes looking for
it. Then you must return it. 3 Do the same if
you find your neighbor’s donkey, clothing, or
21:22 Or impaled on a pole; similarly in 21:23. 21:23 Greek
version reads for everyone who is hung on a tree. Compare
Gal 3:13. 22:1 Hebrew don’t hide yourself; similarly in 22:3.