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Deuteronomy 21

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Read Deuteronomy Chapter 21

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1If 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:

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

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;

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:

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:

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:

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

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.

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.

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,

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

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

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.

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.

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:

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:

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.

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:

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;

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.

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.

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:

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.

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Explanation

Deuteronomy 21

In short

This chapter sets out four rules for the community in Israel. It tells how to handle an unsolved murder, how a warrior may marry a captive woman, how a father must treat the firstborn son fairly even if he dislikes the mother, and what must be done with a son who refuses to obey his parents.

What the text says

When a body is found and the killer is unknown (verses 1-2), the nearest city's elders perform a ritual. They take a young heifer that has never worked, kill it in an untilled valley, wash their hands over it, and declare they did not shed this blood (verses 3-7). They ask God to forgive the bloodguilt on the people (verse 8). This removes the guilt of innocent blood from the community (verse 9).

In war, if a soldier wants to marry a captive woman he has seen (verses 10-11), he brings her home. She shaves her head, cuts her nails, removes her captive's clothes, and mourns her family for a month. Then he may marry her (verses 12-13). If he later dislikes her, he must release her, not sell her as a slave (verse 14).

If a man has two wives, one loved and one hated, and the hated wife's son is the firstborn (verse 15), the man cannot make the loved wife's son firstborn instead. He must give the actual firstborn a double share of his property (verses 16-17).

If a son is stubborn and rebellious and will not obey his parents even after discipline (verse 18), his parents bring him to the city elders. They tell the elders he is stubborn, a glutton, and a drunkard (verses 19-20). The men of the city stone him to death, removing evil from the community (verse 21).

Finally, if someone is executed, his body must not remain on the tree overnight but must be buried the same day (verses 22-23).

Takeaways

  • God's law addressed practical matters: unsolved murders, rights of captive women, treatment of firstborn sons, and community order.
  • Several rules in this chapter protect the weaker: the captive woman cannot be sold into slavery, the unloved wife's son keeps his firstborn rights, and even the executed receive burial.
  • The community, through elders and judges, carries responsibility for justice and maintaining the land's holiness.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.

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