Old/New Testament
Cities of Refuge
19 “When the Lord your God destroys those nations whose lands he[a] is about to give you, you must dispossess them and live in their cities and houses. 2 You must reserve[b] three cities within the land that the Lord your God is about to give you to possess. 3 Build roads throughout the land that the Lord your God is providing as an inheritance, and then divide it into three districts so that any killer may flee there.
4 “Now this is the situation for any killer who flees there to live: suppose he strikes his friend unwittingly, not having hated him previously. 5 For instance,[c] he may have accompanied his friend to go to a forest to cut trees. Then he swung his axe to cut some wood, but the ax head flew off the handle[d] and hit[e] his friend, so that he died. The killer[f] may flee to one of these cities to live. 6 Since the distance may be great, the angry avenger may overtake the killer he is pursuing and kill him, in which case there will be no justice in his death, because he did not hate his friend[g] previously. 7 Therefore I am commanding you to reserve[h] three cities.”
Increase the Cities of Refuge
8 “Now if the Lord enlarges your territories just as he promised your ancestors and gives you all the land that he promised,[i] 9 and if you are careful to observe all these commands that I am commanding you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk daily in his ways—then add three more cities in addition to these three cities. 10 You must not shed innocent blood on your land that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. Otherwise, you’ll be guilty of murder.”
Refuse Cold-Blooded Murderers
11 “However, if a person hates his neighbor, lies in wait for him, rises up against him, and attacks him so that he dies, and then he flees to one of those cities, 12 then the elders of his own city are to send for him, remove him from there, and deliver him to the related avenger for execution. 13 Have no pity on him, but totally purge the shedding of innocent blood from Israel so that life may go well with you.”
Boundary Markers
14 “When you inherit the land that the Lord your God is about to give you, don’t move your neighbor’s boundary marker from where it was placed long ago.”
Laws about Witnesses
15 “The testimony of one person alone is not to suffice to convict anyone of any iniquity, sin, or guilt. But the matter will stand on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 16 When a malicious witness takes the stand[j] against a man and accuses him, 17 then both must stand with their dispute in the Lord’s presence, the priests, and the judges at that time. 18 The judges will investigate thoroughly. If the false witness lies in testifying against his relative, 19 do to him just as he intended to do to his relative. By doing this you will purge evil from your midst. 20 When others hear of this, they will be afraid and will not do such an evil deed again in your midst. 21 Your eyes must not show pity—life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.”
Rules of War
20 “When you go to war against your enemies and observe more horses, chariots, and soldiers[k] than you have, don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt is with you. 2 As you draw near for battle, let the priest approach and speak to the army.[l] 3 He will say to them, ‘Listen, Israel! You’re about to go into battle today against your enemies. Don’t be faint-hearted. Don’t be afraid, don’t panic, and don’t be terrified to face them. 4 For the Lord your God will be with you, fighting on your behalf against your enemies in order to grant you victory.’
5 “Furthermore, let the officials ask the army, ‘Is there a man here[m] who has built a new house but has not yet dedicated it? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate it. 6 And is there a man here[n] who has planted a vineyard and not yet benefited from it? Let him go home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man use it. 7 And is there a man here[o] who is engaged to a woman and has not yet married her? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man marry her.’
8 “Let the officials also speak to the army, ‘Is there a man here[p] who is afraid and faint-hearted? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may demoralize his fellow soldier.’[q]
9 “When the officials have finished speaking to the army, they must appoint officers to lead the troops.”
Rules of Peace
10 “When you approach a city to wage war against it, extend terms of peace. 11 If it agrees to peace and welcomes you, then all the people found in it will serve you as forced laborers. 12 But if they refuse to make peace with you and instead choose war, then attack it. 13 The Lord your God will deliver it into your control, and you must execute every male. 14 The women, children, all the livestock in the city, and all of the spoil and plunder will belong to you. Appropriate the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God will give you. 15 Do this to all the cities that are distant from you—that is, to those cities that are not in neighboring nations.”
Destruction of the Canaanites
16 “You are not to leave even one person alive in the cities of these nations that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. 17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, just as the Lord your God commanded you, 18 so they won’t teach you to do all the detestable things that they do for their gods. If you do what they teach you, you will sin against the Lord your God.”
Preservation of Fruit Trees
19 “When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don’t destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack them? 20 However, you may cut down the trees whose fruit[r] you know isn’t edible, in order to build siege works against the city that waged war with you, until it falls.”
Atonement for Unsolved Murder
21 “If a murder victim is found fallen in the open country of the land that the Lord your God is about to give you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, 2 then let your elders and judges go out and measure the distance from the dead body to the neighboring cities. 3 Then the elders of the city nearest the body are to take a heifer that hasn’t been put to work or hasn’t pulled a yoke 4 and[s] are to lead the heifer to a flowing stream in a valley that has never been tilled or planted. They are to break the heifer’s neck there. 5 Then the priests of the descendants of Levi are to step forward, because the Lord your God chose them to serve and pronounce blessings in his name.[t] Every case of dispute and assault is to be subject to their ruling. 6 All the elders of the city nearest the dead body are to wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley, 7 and they are to make this declaration: ‘Our hands didn’t shed this blood, nor were we witnesses to the crime. 8 Make atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, Lord, and don’t charge the blood of an innocent man against them.’[u] Then the blood that has been shed will be atoned for. 9 This is how you will remove the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right in the sight of the Lord.”
Marriage to a War Captive
10 “If you go to battle against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your control, you may take some prisoners captive. 11 If you see among the prisoners a beautiful woman and you desire her, then you may take her as your wife. 12 Bring her to your house, but shave her head and trim her nails. 13 Remove her prisoner’s clothing and let her remain for a month in your house, mourning her parents. After that, you may[v] become her husband and she is to become your wife. 14 If you aren’t pleased with her and you send her away, you must not sell her for money or mistreat her, since you will have dishonored her.”
Preferential Treatment Prohibited
15 “If a man has two wives where one is loved but the other is unloved, and both[w] of them bear him sons, but the firstborn is the son of the unloved wife, 16 then when he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, he must not give preference to the firstborn of the beloved wife over the firstborn of the unloved wife. 17 Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn of the unloved wife by giving him double of everything he owns, because he is really the first fruit of his father’s[x] strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.”
Death to a Rebellious Son
18 “If a man has a stubborn son who does not obey his parents,[y] and although they try to discipline him, he still refuses to pay attention to them, 19 then his parents[z] are to seize him and bring him before the elders at the gate of his city. 20 Then they are to declare to the elders of their city: ‘Our son is stubborn and rebellious. He does not obey us. He lives wildly and is a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of his city are to stone him with boulders so that he dies. This is how you will remove this evil from among you. Then all Israel will hear of it and will be afraid.”
Burial of the Executed
22 “If a man is guilty of a capital offense, is executed, and then is impaled on a tree, 23 his body must not remain overnight on the tree. You must bury him that same day, because cursed of God is the one who has been hanged on a tree. Don’t defile your land that the Lord is about to give you as your inheritance.”
21 “At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look here! The Messiah!’,[a] or, ‘Look there!’ don’t believe it, 22 because false messiahs[b] and false prophets will have arisen and will produce signs and omens intending to deceive, if possible, the elect. 23 So be on your guard! I’ve told you everything beforehand.”
The Coming of the Son of Man(A)
24 “But after the troubles[c] of those days,
‘The sun will be darkened,
the moon will not reflect its light,
25 the stars will be falling out of the sky,
and the powers that are in the heavens will be disrupted.’[d]
26 Then people[e] will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’[f] with great power and glory. 27 He’ll send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the most remote part of earth to the most remote part of heaven.”
The Lesson from the Fig Tree(B)
28 “Now learn a lesson[g] from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is approaching. 29 In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you will know that the Son of Man[h] is near, right at the door. 30 I tell all of you[i] with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”
The Unknown Day and Hour of the Messiah’s Return(C)
32 “No one knows when that day or hour will come[j]—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be careful! Watch out! Because you don’t know when the time will come. 34 It’s like a man who went on a trip. As he left home, he put his servants in charge, each with his own work, and he ordered the doorkeeper to be alert. 35 So keep on watching, because you don’t know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the middle of the night, at the time the cock crows,[k] or at daybreak. 36 Otherwise, he may come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 I’m telling you what I’m telling everyone: Be alert!”
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