Deuteronomy 25
English Standard Version
25 “If there is a (A)dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, (B)acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, 2 then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. 3 (C)Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.
4 (D)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.
Laws Concerning Levirate Marriage
5 (E)“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her (F)husband's brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that (G)his name may not be blotted out of Israel. 7 And if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife, then his brother's wife shall (H)go up to the gate to the elders and say, ‘My husband's brother refuses to perpetuate his brother's name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, (I)‘I do not wish to take her,’ 9 then his brother's wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders and (J)pull his sandal off his foot and (K)spit in his face. And she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not (L)build up his brother's house.’ 10 And the name of his house[a] shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal pulled off.’
Miscellaneous Laws
11 “When men fight with one another and the wife of the one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of him who is beating him and puts out her hand and seizes him by the private parts, 12 then you shall cut off her hand. (M)Your eye shall have no pity.
13 “You (N)shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, a large and a small. 15 A full and fair[b] weight you shall have, a full and fair measure you shall have, (O)that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For (P)all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, (Q)are an abomination to the Lord your God.
17 (R)“Remember what Amalek did to you (S)on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way when you were faint and weary, and (T)cut off your tail, those who were lagging behind you, and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore (U)when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies around you, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess, you shall (V)blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven; you shall not forget.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 25:10 Hebrew its name
- Deuteronomy 25:15 Or just, or righteous; twice in this verse
Deuteronomy 25
International Children’s Bible
25 Two people may have an argument. They should go to the court. And the judges will decide the case. They will declare one person to be right. And they will punish the one who is guilty. 2 The guilty person might have to be punished with a beating. If so, the judge will make him lie down. They will beat him in front of the judge. The number of lashes should match the crime. 3 But don’t hit him more than 40 times. If he is beaten more than that, it would disgrace him before others.
4 When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.
5 Two brothers might be living together. One of them might die without having a son. His widow must not marry someone outside her husband’s family. Her husband’s brother must marry her. This is his duty for her as a brother-in-law. 6 The first son she has must be named for the dead brother. Then his name will not be forgotten in Israel.
7 But a man might not want to marry his brother’s widow. Then she should go to the elders at the town gate. And she should say, “My brother-in-law will not carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He refuses to do his duty for me.”
8 Then the elders of the town must call for the man and talk to him. But he might be stubborn and say, “I don’t want to marry her.”
9 If he does, the woman must go up to him in front of the elders. She must take off one of his sandals. She must spit in his face and say, “This is for the man who won’t continue his brother’s family!” 10 Then that man’s family shall be known in Israel as the Family of the Unsandaled.
11 Two men might be fighting. And one man’s wife comes to save her husband from his attacker. And she grabs the attacker by his sex organs. 12 You must cut off her hand. Give her no mercy.
13 Don’t carry two sets of weights with you, one heavy and one light. 14 Don’t have two different sets of measures in your house, one large and one small. 15 You must have true and honest weights and measures. Then you will live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 16 The Lord your God hates anyone who is dishonest and uses dishonest measures.
17 Remember what the Amalekites did to you when you came out of Egypt. 18 You were tired and worn out. And they met you on the road. They killed all those lagging behind. They were not afraid of God. 19 The Lord your God will give you rest from all the enemies around you. It will be in the land he is giving you to own. Then you shall destroy any memory of the Amalekites on the earth. Do not forget!
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
