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
- Deuteronomy 25:1 Lit the judgment
- Deuteronomy 25:1 Lit they judge them
- Deuteronomy 25:2 Lit is a son of beating
- Deuteronomy 25:2 Or guilt
- Deuteronomy 25:6 Lit stand on
- Deuteronomy 25:9 Lit answer and say
- Deuteronomy 25:10 Lit his name shall be called
- Deuteronomy 25:11 Lit together
- Deuteronomy 25:11 Lit his
- Deuteronomy 25:12 Lit palm
- Deuteronomy 25:12 Lit your eye
- Deuteronomy 25:13 Lit a stone and a stone
- Deuteronomy 25:14 Lit an ephah and an ephah
- Deuteronomy 25:15 Lit stone
- Deuteronomy 25:15 Lit ephah
- Deuteronomy 25:15 Lit on the ground
- Deuteronomy 25:18 Or revere
- Deuteronomy 25:19 Lit possess it
Deuteronomy 25
International Standard Version
Limitations on Punishment
25 “When there is a conflict between individuals, let them come to court to judge the case, decide who is innocent, and condemn the guilty person. 2 If the guilty person deserves a beating, the judge will make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of lashes fit for his crime. 3 But he must not be beaten more than 40 lashes, because if he receives more than 40 lashes, your brother will be humiliated in your eyes.
4 “Don’t muzzle an ox while it is threshing grain.”
Levirate Marriage
5 “When two brothers are living together and one of them dies without leaving a son, his widow must not be married outside the family to a foreigner. Instead, the brother-in-law must go to her, take her as his wife, and by doing so perform the duty of a brother-in-law. 6 The firstborn whom she will bear will continue the name of the dead brother, so his name will not be erased from Israel. 7 But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, then she[a] must go to the elders at the city gate and declare, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perform the duty of a brother-in-law in order to preserve the name of his brother in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law.’ 8 Then the elders of the city are to summon him and speak with him. If he insists on saying, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ 9 then she is to approach her brother-in-law in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal, spit in his face, and say in response, ‘May this be done to the man who does not preserve the lineage[b] of his brother.’ 10 Then his family name in Israel will be known as ‘the family of the one whose sandal was removed.’”
Limiting a Wife’s Defense
11 “If two men are fighting together, and the wife of one comes to rescue her husband from the grasp of his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes his genitals, 12 you are to cut off her hand. Don’t show any pity.”
Honest Weights
13 “Don’t have different weights in your bag—one heavy and one light. 14 Don’t have different measuring devices in your house—one large and one small. 15 You must have honest weights and measuring devices,[c] so you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, 16 for anyone who does these things—anyone who deals dishonestly—is detestable to the Lord your God.”
Annihilation of the Amalekites
17 “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the road while you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how when you were very tired and weary, they lay in wait for you on the road and eliminated everyone who was lagging behind. They had no fear of God. 19 Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies who surround you in the land that he[d] is about to give you to possess as an inheritance, you must completely erase the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven. Don’t forget!”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 25:7 Lit. the brother’s wife
- Deuteronomy 25:9 Lit. house
- Deuteronomy 25:15 Lit. and an honest and fair device
- Deuteronomy 25:19 Lit. that the Lord your God
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