Deuteronomy 21:15-21
English Standard Version
Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn
15 “If a man has two wives, (A)the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,[a] 16 then on the day when (B)he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn, 17 but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is (C)the firstfruits of his strength. (D)The right of the firstborn is his.
A Rebellious Son
18 “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, 19 then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, 20 and they shall say to 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.’ 21 (E)Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. (F)So you shall purge the evil from your midst, (G)and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Deuteronomy 21:15 Or hated; also verses 16, 17
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Bible Gateway Recommends







