Deuteronomy 25:5-10

Common English Bible

The brother-in-law’s duty

⁵ If brothers live together and one of them dies without having a son, the dead man’s wife must not go outside the family and marry a stranger. Instead, her brother-in-law should go to her and take her as his wife. He will then consummate the marriage according to the brother-in-law’s duty. ⁶ The brother-in-law will name the oldest male son that she bears after his dead brother so that his brother’s legacy will not be forgotten in Israel. ⁷ If the brother does not want to marry his sister-in-law, she can go to the elders at the city gate, informing them: “My brother-in-law refuses to continue his brother’s legacy in Israel. He’s not willing to perform the brother-in-law’s duty with me.” ⁸ The city’s elders will summon him and talk to him about this. If he doesn’t budge, insisting, “I don’t want to marry her,” ⁹ then the sister-in-law will approach him while the elders watch. She will pull the sandal off his foot and spit in his face. Then she will exclaim: “That’s what’s done to any man who won’t build up his own brother’s family!” ¹⁰ Subsequently, that man’s family will be known throughout Israel as “the house of the removed sandal.”