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Expiation of a Crime
21 “If a person who has been killed by someone is found lying in the open country in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to [a]possess, and it is not known who struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the one who was killed. 3 And it shall be that the city which is nearest to the person killed, that is, that the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd that has not been worked [b]and has not pulled in a yoke; 4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then (A)the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, because the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the Lord; and every dispute and [c]violent crime shall be [d]settled by them. 6 And all the elders of that city [e]which is nearest to the person killed shall (B)wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7 and they shall respond and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see who did. 8 [f]Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, Lord, and do not place the guilt for (C)innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the guilt for bloodshed shall be [g]forgiven them. 9 (D)So you shall remove the guilt for innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
Domestic Relations
10 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and (E)the Lord your God hands them over to you and you take them away captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and are strongly attracted to her and would take her as a wife for yourself, 12 then you shall bring her into your home, and she shall (F)shave her head and [h]trim her nails. 13 She shall also [i]remove the clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house, and (G)weep for her father and mother a full month; and after that you may have relations with her and become her husband and she shall be your wife. 14 But it shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go [j]wherever she wishes; and you certainly shall not sell her for money, you shall not treat her as merchandise, since you have [k](H)humiliated her.
15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and (I)the other [l]unloved, and both the loved and the [m]unloved have borne him sons, and the firstborn son belongs to the [n]unloved, 16 then it shall be on the day that he wills what he owns as an inheritance to his sons, he is not allowed to treat the son of the loved wife as the firstborn, [o]at the expense of the son of the [p]unloved, who actually is the firstborn son. 17 On the contrary, he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the [q]unloved wife, by giving him a double [r]portion of everything that [s]he owns, for he was the (J)beginning of his [t]strength; (K)to him belongs the right of the firstborn.
18 “If any person has a stubborn and rebellious son who does (L)not obey his father or his mother, and when they discipline him, he does not listen to them, 19 then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city [u]at the gateway of his hometown. 20 And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he does not obey us, he is thoughtless and given to drinking.’ 21 (M)Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so (N)you shall eliminate the evil from your midst, and (O)all Israel will hear about it and fear.
22 “Now if [v]a person has committed a sin carrying (P)a sentence of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on [w]a tree, 23 (Q)his body is not to be left overnight on the [x]tree, but you shall certainly bury him on the same day (for (R)he who is hanged is cursed of God), so that you (S)do not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Various Laws
22 “(T)You shall not see your countryman’s ox or his sheep straying away, and avoid them; you shall certainly bring them back to your countryman. 2 And if your countryman is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your house, and it shall remain with you until your countryman looks for it; then you shall restore it to him. 3 You shall also do this with his donkey, and you shall do the same with his garment, and you shall do likewise with any lost property of your countryman, which has been lost by him and you have found. You are not allowed to avoid them. 4 You shall not see your countryman’s donkey or his ox fallen down on the road, and avoid them; you shall certainly help him raise them up.
5 “A woman shall not wear a man’s clothing, nor shall a man put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God.
6 “If you happen to come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs in it, and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, (U)you shall not take the mother with the young; 7 you shall certainly let the mother go, but the young you may take for yourself, (V)in order that it may go well for you and that you may prolong your days.
8 “When you build a new house, you shall make a [y]parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring guilt for bloodshed on your house if anyone falls from it.
9 “(W)You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, otherwise [z]all the produce of the seed which you have sown and the yield of the vineyard will be [aa]forfeited to the sanctuary.
10 “(X)You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.
11 “(Y)You shall not wear a material of wool and linen combined together.
12 “(Z)You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself.
Laws on Morality
13 “(AA)If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then [ab]turns against her, 14 and he charges her with shameful behavior and [ac]publicly defames her, and says, ‘I took this woman, but when I came near her, I did not find her to have evidence of virginity,’ 15 then the girl’s father and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of the girl’s virginity to the elders of the city at the gate. 16 And the girl’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he [ad]turned against her; 17 and behold, he has charged her with shameful behavior, saying, “I did not find your daughter to have evidence of virginity.” But [ae]this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ And they shall spread out the garment before the elders of the city. 18 Then (AB)the elders of that city shall take the man and rebuke him, 19 and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give it to the girl’s father, because he [af]publicly defamed a virgin of Israel. And she shall remain his wife; he is not allowed to [ag]divorce her all his days.
20 “But if this [ah](AC)charge is true, and they did not find the girl to have evidence of virginity, 21 then they shall bring the girl out to the doorway of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her [ai]to death, because she has (AD)committed a disgraceful sin in Israel by playing the prostitute in her father’s house; so (AE)you shall eliminate the evil from among you.
22 “(AF)If a man is found sleeping with a married woman, then both of them shall die, the man who slept with the woman, and the woman; so you shall eliminate the evil from Israel.
23 “(AG)If there is a girl who is a virgin [aj]betrothed to a man, and another man finds her in the city and sleeps with her, 24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city and you shall stone them [ak]to death: the girl, because she did not cry out for help though she was in the city, and the man, because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you shall eliminate the evil from among you.
25 “But if the man finds the girl who is betrothed in the field, and the man seizes her and [al]rapes her, then only the man who [am]raped her shall die. 26 And you are not to do anything to the girl; there is no sin in the girl worthy of death, for just as a man rises against his neighbor and murders him, [an]so is this case. 27 When he found her in the field, the betrothed girl [ao]cried out, but there was no one to save her.
28 “(AH)If a man finds a girl who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and has sexual relations with her, and they are discovered, 29 then the man who had sexual relations with her shall give the girl’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall become his wife, because he has violated her; he is not allowed to divorce her all his days.
30 “[ap](AI)A man shall not take [aq]his father’s wife in marriage, so that he does not [ar]uncover his father’s garment.
51 When the days were approaching for (A)His [a]ascension, He [b]was determined (B)to go to Jerusalem; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the (C)Samaritans to [c]make arrangements for Him. 53 And they did not receive Him, (D)because [d]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples (E)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to (F)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them.[e] 56 And they went on to another village.
Exacting Discipleship
57 (G)As they were going on the road, (H)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but (I)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “(J)Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and (K)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but (L)first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “(M)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The Seventy-two Sent Out
10 Now after this (N)the Lord appointed [f]seventy-two (O)others, and sent them (P)in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, “(Q)The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 Go; (R)behold, I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 (S)Carry no money belt, no [g]bag, no sandals, and greet no one along the way. 5 And whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ 6 And if a [h]man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in [i]that house, eating and drinking [j]what they provide; for (T)the laborer is deserving of his wages. Do not move from house to house. 8 Whatever city you enter and they receive you, (U)eat what is served to you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘(V)The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘(W)Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet [k]be sure of this, that (X)the kingdom of God has come near.’ 12 I say to you, (Y)it will be more tolerable on that day for (Z)Sodom than for that city.
An Appeal against the Devastation of the Land by the Enemy.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
74 God, why have You (A)rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger (B)smoke against the (C)sheep of Your [b]pasture?
2 Remember Your congregation, which You (D)purchased of old,
Which You have (E)redeemed to be the (F)tribe of Your inheritance;
And this Mount (G)Zion, where You have dwelt.
3 [c]Step toward the [d](H)irreparable ruins;
The enemy (I)has damaged everything in the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have (J)roared in the midst of Your meeting place;
They have set up their (K)own signs as (L)signs.
5 It [e]seems like one bringing up
His (M)axe into a [f]forest of trees.
6 And now they break down [g]all its (N)carved work
With axe and hammers.
7 They have [h](O)burned Your sanctuary [i]to the ground;
They have (P)defiled the dwelling place of Your name.
8 They (Q)said in their heart, “Let’s [j]completely [k]subdue them.”
They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (R)signs;
There is (S)no longer any prophet,
Nor is there anyone among us who knows (T)how long.
10 How long, God, will the enemy (U)taunt You?
Shall the enemy (V)treat Your name disrespectfully forever?
11 Why (W)do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand?
Extend it from Your chest and (X)destroy them!
12 Yet God is (Y)my King from long ago,
Who performs acts of salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 [l]You (Z)divided the sea by Your strength;
[m]You (AA)broke the heads of the (AB)sea monsters [n]in the waters.
14 [o]You crushed the heads of [p](AC)Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the [q]creatures (AD)of the wilderness.
15 [r]You (AE)broke open springs and torrents;
[s]You (AF)dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;
[t]You have (AG)prepared the [u]light and the sun.
17 [v]You have (AH)established all the boundaries of the earth;
[w]You have [x]created (AI)summer and winter.
18 Remember this, [y]Lord, that the enemy has (AJ)taunted You,
And a (AK)foolish people has treated Your name disrespectfully.
19 Do not give the soul of Your (AL)turtledove to the wild animal;
(AM)Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
20 Consider the (AN)covenant;
For the (AO)dark places of the land are full of the places of violence.
21 May the (AP)oppressed person not return dishonored;
May the (AQ)afflicted and the needy praise Your name.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.