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, 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. (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.

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

“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. 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. (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.’ 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,’ (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

Laws of Social Responsibility

25 “If there is a (A)dispute between men, and they come to [a]court, that the judges may judge them, and they (B)justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be, if the wicked man (C)deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down (D)and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows. (E)Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother (F)be humiliated in your sight.

(G)“You shall not muzzle an ox while it [b]treads out the grain.

Marriage Duty of the Surviving Brother

(H)“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears (I)will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that (J)his name may not be blotted out of Israel. But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the (K)gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, (L)‘I do not want to take her,’ then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, (M)remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not (N)build up his brother’s house.’ 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’

Miscellaneous Laws

11 “If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, 12 then you shall cut off her hand; (O)your eye shall not pity her.

13 (P)“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. 14 You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. 15 You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, (Q)that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. 16 For (R)all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are [c]an abomination to the Lord your God.

Destroy the Amalekites

17 (S)“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he (T)did not fear God. 19 Therefore it shall be, (U)when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will (V)blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 25:1 Lit. the judgment
  2. Deuteronomy 25:4 threshes
  3. Deuteronomy 25:16 detestable