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Deuteronomy 25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 25

Limits on Punishments. 1 When there is a dispute and the parties draw near for judgment, and a decision is given, declaring one party in the right and the other in the wrong, 2 if the one in the wrong deserves whipping, the judge shall have him lie down and in the presence of the judge receive the number of lashes the crime warrants. 3 Forty lashes[a] may be given, but no more;(A) or else, if more lashes are added to these many blows, your brother will be degraded in your sight.

Treatment of Oxen.[b] 4 You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out grain.(B)

Levirate Marriage. 5 (C)When brothers live together[c] and one of them dies without a son, the widow of the deceased shall not marry anyone outside the family; but her husband’s brother shall come to her, marrying her and performing the duty of a brother-in-law.(D) 6 The firstborn son she bears shall continue the name of the deceased brother, that his name may not be blotted out from Israel. 7 But if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife, she shall go up to the elders at the gate and say, “My brother-in-law refuses to perpetuate his brother’s name in Israel and does not intend to perform his duty toward me.” 8 Thereupon the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” 9 [d]his sister-in-law, in the presence of the elders, shall go up to him and strip his sandal from his foot and spit in his face, declaring, “This is how one should be treated who will not build up his brother’s family!” 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, “the house of the man stripped of his sandal.”

Various Precepts. 11 When two men are fighting and the wife of one intervenes to save her husband from the blows of his opponent, if she stretches out her hand and seizes the latter by his genitals, 12 you shall chop off her hand; show no pity.

13 (E)You shall not keep two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and the other light; 14 nor shall you keep two different ephahs[e] in your house, one large and the other small. 15 But use a full and just weight, a full and just ephah, so that you may have a long life on the land the Lord, your God, is giving you. 16 For everyone who does these things, everyone who does what is dishonest, is an abomination to the Lord, your God.(F)

17 [f](G)Bear in mind what Amalek did to you on the journey after you left Egypt, 18 how he surprised you along the way, weak and weary as you were, and struck down at the rear all those who lagged behind; he did not fear God. 19 Therefore, when the Lord, your God, gives you rest from all your enemies round about in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you to possess as a heritage, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the heavens. Do not forget!

Footnotes

  1. 25:3 Forty lashes: while the punishment is severe, the law seeks to limit it from being overly harsh and inhumane. Later Jewish practice limited the number to thirty-nine; cf. 2 Cor 11:24.
  2. 25:4 This is comparable in spirit to 22:6–7; Israelites are not to be grasping and calculating. St. Paul argues from this verse that laborers have the right to live on the fruits of their labor; cf. 1 Cor 9:9; 1 Tm 5:18.
  3. 25:5 When brothers live together: when relatives of the same clan, though married, hold their property in common. It was only in this case that the present law was to be observed, since one of its purposes was to keep the property of the deceased within the same clan. Such a marriage of a widow with her brother-in-law is known as a “levirate” marriage from the Latin word levir, meaning “a husband’s brother.”
  4. 25:9–10 The penalty decreed for a man who refuses to comply with this law of family loyalty is public disgrace; the widow is to spit in his face. Some commentators connect this symbolic act with the ceremony mentioned in Ru 4:7, 8.
  5. 25:14 Ephahs: see note on Is 5:10.
  6. 25:17–19 This attack on Israel by Amalek is not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament, although it probably was connected with the battle mentioned in Ex 17:8. A campaign against Amalek was carried out by Saul; cf. 1 Sm 15.
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Deuteronomy 25
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

25 “If there is a dispute between men, and they come into court, and the judges decide between them, 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 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 “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.

Levirate Marriage

5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside the family to a stranger; her 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 brother who is dead, that 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 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 do not wish to take her,’ 9 then his brother’s wife shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And the name of his house[a] shall be called in Israel, The house of him that had his sandal pulled off.

Various Commands

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; your eye shall have no pity.

13 “You 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 just weight you shall have, a full and just measure you shall have; that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. 16 For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are an abomination to the Lord your God.

17 “Remember what Am′alek did to you on the way as you came out of Egypt, 18 how he attacked you on the way, when you were faint and weary, and cut off at your rear all who lagged behind you; and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies round about, in the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance to possess, you shall blot out the remembrance of Am′alek from under heaven; you shall not forget.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 25:10 Heb its name
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Deuteronomy 25
Good News Translation

25 “Suppose two Israelites go to court to settle a dispute, and one is declared innocent and the other guilty. 2 If the guilty one is sentenced to be beaten, the judge is to make him lie face downward and have him whipped. The number of lashes will depend on the crime he has committed. 3 (A)He may be given as many as forty lashes, but no more; more than that would humiliate him publicly.

4 (B)“Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain.

Duty to a Dead Brother

5 (C)“If two brothers live on the same property and one of them dies, leaving no son, then his widow is not to be married to someone outside the family; it is the duty of the dead man's brother to marry her. 6 The first son that they have will be considered the son of the dead man, so that his family line will continue in Israel. 7 (D)But if the dead man's brother does not want to marry her, she is to go before the town leaders and say, ‘My husband's brother will not do his duty; he refuses to give his brother a descendant among the people of Israel.’ 8 Then the town leaders are to summon him and speak to him. If he still refuses to marry her, 9 his brother's widow is to go up to him in the presence of the town leaders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face, and say, ‘This is what happens to the man who refuses to give his brother a descendant.’ 10 His family will be known in Israel as ‘the family of the man who had his sandal pulled off.’

Other Laws

11 “If two men are having a fight and the wife of one tries to help her husband by grabbing hold of the other man's genitals, 12 show her no mercy; cut off her hand.

13-14 (E)“Do not cheat when you use weights and measures. 15 Use true and honest weights and measures, so that you may live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 The Lord hates people who cheat.

The Command to Kill the Amalekites

17 (F)“Remember what the Amalekites did to you as you were coming from Egypt. 18 They had no fear of God, and so they attacked you from the rear when you were tired and exhausted, and killed all who were straggling behind. 19 So then, when the Lord your God has given you the land and made you safe from all your enemies who live around you, be sure to kill all the Amalekites, so that no one will remember them any longer. Do not forget!

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Deuteronomy 25
New American Standard Bible

Various Laws

25 “(A)If there is a dispute between people and they go to [a]court, and [b]the judges decide their case, (B)and they declare the righteous innocent and pronounce the wicked guilty, 2 then it shall be if the wicked person [c](C)deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and have him beaten in his presence with the number of lashes according to his [d]wrongful act. 3 (D)He may have him beaten forty times, but not more, so that he does not have him beaten with many more lashes than these, and that your brother does not (E)become contemptible in your eyes.

4 “(F)You shall not muzzle the ox while it is threshing.

5 “When brothers live together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a strange man. (G)Her husband’s brother shall have relations with her and take her to himself as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 It shall then be that the firstborn to whom she gives birth shall [e]assume the name of his father’s deceased brother, so that (H)his name will not be wiped out from Israel. 7 (I)But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s widow, then his brother’s widow shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to establish a name for his brother in Israel; he is not willing to perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.’ 8 Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,’ 9 (J)then his brother’s widow shall come up to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and (K)spit in his face; and she shall [f]declare, ‘This is what is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house!’ 10 And in Israel [g]his family shall be called by the name, ‘The house of him whose sandal was removed.’

11 “If two men, a man and his countryman, have a fight [h]with each other, and the wife of one comes up to save her husband from the hand of the one who is hitting him, and she reaches out with her hand and grasps [i]that man’s genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her [j]hand; [k](L)you shall not show pity.

13 “(M)You shall not have in your bag [l]differing weights, a large and a small. 14 You shall not have in your house [m]differing measures, a large and a small. 15 You shall have a correct and honest [n]weight; you shall have a correct and honest [o]measure, (N)so that your days may be prolonged [p]in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For (O)everyone who does these things, everyone who acts unjustly is an abomination to the Lord your God.

17 “(P)Remember what Amalek did to you on the way when you came out of Egypt, 18 how he confronted you on the way and attacked among you all the stragglers at your rear when you were tired and weary; and he (Q)did not [q]fear God. 19 So it shall come about, when the Lord your God has given you (R)rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to [r]possess, that you shall wipe out the mention of the name Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 25:1 Lit the judgment
  2. Deuteronomy 25:1 Lit they judge them
  3. Deuteronomy 25:2 Lit is a son of beating
  4. Deuteronomy 25:2 Or guilt
  5. Deuteronomy 25:6 Lit stand on
  6. Deuteronomy 25:9 Lit answer and say
  7. Deuteronomy 25:10 Lit his name shall be called
  8. Deuteronomy 25:11 Lit together
  9. Deuteronomy 25:11 Lit his
  10. Deuteronomy 25:12 Lit palm
  11. Deuteronomy 25:12 Lit your eye
  12. Deuteronomy 25:13 Lit a stone and a stone
  13. Deuteronomy 25:14 Lit an ephah and an ephah
  14. Deuteronomy 25:15 Lit stone
  15. Deuteronomy 25:15 Lit ephah
  16. Deuteronomy 25:15 Lit on the ground
  17. Deuteronomy 25:18 Or revere
  18. Deuteronomy 25:19 Lit possess it
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Deuteronomy 25
New International Version

25 When people have a dispute, they are to take it to court and the judges(A) will decide the case,(B) acquitting(C) the innocent and condemning the guilty.(D) 2 If the guilty person deserves to be beaten,(E) the judge shall make them lie down and have them flogged in his presence with the number of lashes the crime deserves, 3 but the judge must not impose more than forty lashes.(F) If the guilty party is flogged more than that, your fellow Israelite will be degraded in your eyes.(G)

4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.(H)

5 If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband’s brother shall take her and marry her and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her.(I) 6 The first son she bears shall carry on the name of the dead brother so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.(J)

7 However, if a man does not want to marry his brother’s wife,(K) she shall go to the elders at the town gate(L) and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to carry on his brother’s name in Israel. He will not fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to me.”(M) 8 Then the elders of his town shall summon him and talk to him. If he persists in saying, “I do not want to marry her,” 9 his brother’s widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals,(N) spit in his face(O) and say, “This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother’s family line.” 10 That man’s line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.

11 If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, 12 you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity.(P)

13 Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light.(Q) 14 Do not have two differing measures in your house—one large, one small. 15 You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long(R) in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For the Lord your God detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.(S)

17 Remember what the Amalekites(T) did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. 18 When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and attacked all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God.(U) 19 When the Lord your God gives you rest(V) from all the enemies(W) around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the name of Amalek(X) from under heaven. Do not forget!

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Deuteronomy 24
Deuteronomy 26
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