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Laws Concerning Unsolved Murder
21 If a homicide victim[a] should be found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you,[b] and no one knows who killed[c] him, 2 your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse.[d] 3 Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse[e] must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked—that has never pulled with the yoke— 4 and bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water,[f] to a valley that is neither plowed nor sown.[g] There at the wadi they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5 Then the Levitical priests[h] will approach (for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name,[i] and to decide[j] every judicial verdict[k]) , 6 and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse[l] must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.[m] 7 Then they must proclaim, “Our hands have not spilled this blood, nor have we[n] witnessed the crime.[o] 8 Do not blame[p] your people Israel whom you redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person.”[q] Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed. 9 In this manner you will purge the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before[r] the Lord.
Laws Concerning Female Captives
10 When you go out to do battle with your enemies and the Lord your God allows you to prevail[s] and you take prisoners, 11 if you should see among them[t] an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife, 12 you may bring her back to your house. She must shave her head,[u] trim her nails, 13 discard the clothing she was wearing when captured,[v] and stay[w] in your house, lamenting for her father and mother for a full month. After that you may sleep with her[x] and become her husband and she your wife. 14 If you are not pleased with her, then you must let her go[y] where she pleases. You cannot in any case sell[z] her;[aa] you must not take advantage of[ab] her, since you have already humiliated[ac] her.
Laws Concerning Children
15 Suppose a man has two wives, one whom he loves more than the other,[ad] and they both[ae] bear him sons, with the firstborn being the child of the less-loved wife. 16 In the day he divides his inheritance[af] he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other wife’s[ag] son who is actually the firstborn. 17 Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less-loved wife[ah] as firstborn and give him the double portion[ai] of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father’s procreative power[aj]—to him should go the right of the firstborn.
18 If a person has a stubborn, rebellious son who pays no attention to his father or mother, and they discipline him to no avail,[ak] 19 his father and mother must seize him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his city. 20 They must declare to the elders[al] of his city, “Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say—he is a glutton and drunkard.” 21 Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. In this way you will purge[am] wickedness from among you, and all Israel[an] will hear about it and be afraid.
Disposition of a Criminal’s Remains
22 If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse[ao] on a tree, 23 his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury[ap] him that same day, for the one who is left exposed[aq] on a tree is cursed by God.[ar] You must not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Laws Concerning Preservation of Life
22 When you see[as] your neighbor’s[at] ox or sheep going astray, do not ignore it;[au] you must return it without fail[av] to your neighbor. 2 If the owner[aw] does not live near[ax] you or you do not know who the owner is,[ay] then you must corral the animal[az] at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him. 3 You shall do the same to his donkey, his clothes, or anything else your neighbor[ba] has lost and you have found; you must not refuse to get involved.[bb] 4 When you see[bc] your neighbor’s donkey or ox fallen along the road, do not ignore it;[bd] instead, you must be sure[be] to help him get the animal on its feet again.[bf]
5 A woman must not wear men’s clothing,[bg] nor should a man dress up in women’s clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive[bh] to the Lord your God.
6 If you happen to notice a bird’s nest along the road, whether in a tree or on the ground, and there are chicks or eggs with the mother bird sitting on them,[bi] you must not take the mother from the young.[bj] 7 You must be sure[bk] to let the mother go, but you may take the young for yourself. Do this so that it may go well with you and you may have a long life.
8 If you build a new house, you must construct a guardrail[bl] around your roof to avoid being culpable[bm] in the event someone should fall from it.
Illustrations of the Principle of Purity
9 You must not plant your vineyard with two kinds of seed; otherwise the entire yield, both of the seed you plant and the produce of the vineyard, will be defiled.[bn] 10 You must not plow with an ox and a donkey harnessed together. 11 You must not wear clothing made with wool and linen meshed together.[bo] 12 You shall make yourselves tassels[bp] for the four corners of the clothing you wear.
Purity in the Marriage Relationship
13 Suppose a man marries a woman, sleeps with her,[bq] and then rejects[br] her, 14 accusing her of impropriety[bs] and defaming her reputation[bt] by saying, “I married this woman but when I approached her for marital relations[bu] I discovered she was not a virgin!” 15 Then the father and mother of the young woman must produce the evidence of virginity[bv] for the elders of the city at the gate. 16 The young woman’s father must say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man and he has rejected[bw] her. 17 Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, ‘I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,’ but this is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity!” The cloth must then be spread out[bx] before the city’s elders. 18 The elders of that city must then seize the man and punish[by] him. 19 They will fine him 100 shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, for the man who made the accusation[bz] ruined the reputation[ca] of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife, and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
20 But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin, 21 the men of her city must bring the young woman to the door of her father’s house and stone her to death, for she has done a disgraceful thing[cb] in Israel by behaving like a prostitute while living in her father’s house. In this way you will purge[cc] the evil from among you.
22 If a man is discovered in bed with[cd] a married woman,[ce] both the man lying in bed with the woman and the woman herself must die; in this way you will purge[cf] the evil from Israel.
23 If a virgin is engaged to a man and another man meets[cg] her in the city and goes to bed with[ch] her, 24 you must bring the two of them to the gate of that city and stone them to death, the young woman because she did not cry out though in the city and the man because he violated[ci] his neighbor’s fiancée;[cj] in this way you will purge[ck] evil from among you. 25 But if the man came across[cl] the engaged woman in the field and overpowered her and raped[cm] her, then only the rapist[cn] must die. 26 You must not do anything to the young woman—she has done nothing deserving of death. This case is the same as when someone attacks another person[co] and murders him, 27 for the man[cp] met her in the field and the engaged woman cried out, but there was no one to rescue her.
28 Suppose a man comes across a virgin who is not engaged and takes hold of her[cq] and sleeps with[cr] her and they are discovered. 29 The man who has slept with her must pay her father fifty shekels of silver and she must become his wife. Because he has humiliated her, he may never divorce her as long as he lives.
30 (23:1)[cs] A man may not marry[ct] his father’s former[cu] wife and in this way dishonor his father.[cv]
Rejection in Samaria
51 Now when[a] the days drew near[b] for him to be taken up,[c] Jesus[d] set out resolutely[e] to go to Jerusalem. 52 He[f] sent messengers on ahead of him.[g] As they went along,[h] they entered a Samaritan village to make things ready in advance[i] for him, 53 but the villagers[j] refused to welcome[k] him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem.[l] 54 Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume[m] them?”[n] 55 But Jesus[o] turned and rebuked them,[p] 56 and they went on to another village.
Challenging Professed Followers
57 As[q] they were walking[r] along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”[s] 58 Jesus said to him, “Foxes have dens and the birds in the sky[t] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”[u] 59 Jesus[v] said to another, “Follow me.” But he replied,[w] “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 But Jesus[x] said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead,[y] but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”[z] 61 Yet[aa] another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say goodbye to my family.”[ab] 62 Jesus[ac] said to him, “No one who puts his[ad] hand to the plow and looks back[ae] is fit for the kingdom of God.”[af]
The Mission of the Seventy-Two
10 After this[ag] the Lord appointed seventy-two[ah] others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town[ai] and place where he himself was about to go. 2 He[aj] said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest[ak] to send out[al] workers into his harvest. 3 Go! I[am] am sending you out like lambs[an] surrounded by wolves.[ao] 4 Do not carry[ap] a money bag,[aq] a traveler’s bag,[ar] or sandals, and greet no one on the road.[as] 5 Whenever[at] you enter a house,[au] first say, ‘May peace[av] be on this house!’ 6 And if a peace-loving person[aw] is there, your peace will remain on him, but if not, it will return to you.[ax] 7 Stay[ay] in that same house, eating and drinking what they give you,[az] for the worker deserves his pay.[ba] Do not move around from house to house. 8 Whenever[bb] you enter a town[bc] and the people[bd] welcome you, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal[be] the sick in that town[bf] and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God[bg] has come upon[bh] you!’ 10 But whenever[bi] you enter a town[bj] and the people[bk] do not welcome[bl] you, go into its streets[bm] and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town[bn] that clings to our feet we wipe off[bo] against you.[bp] Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God has come.’[bq] 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom[br] than for that town![bs]
Psalm 74[a]
A well-written song[b] by Asaph.
74 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us?[c]
Why does your anger burn[d] against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your people[e] whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued[f] so they could be your very own nation,[g]
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell.
3 Hurry[h] to the permanent ruins,
and to all the damage the enemy has done to the temple.[i]
4 Your enemies roar[j] in the middle of your sanctuary;[k]
they set up their battle flags.[l]
5 They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest.[m]
6 And now[n] they are tearing down[o] all its engravings[p]
with axes[q] and crowbars.[r]
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground.[s]
8 They say to themselves,[t]
“We will oppress all of them.”[u]
They burn down all the places in the land where people worship God.[v]
9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence;[w]
there are no longer any prophets,[x]
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last.[y]
10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?
Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 Why do you remain inactive?
Intervene and destroy him.[z]
12 But God has been my[aa] king from ancient times,
performing acts of deliverance on the earth.[ab]
13 You destroyed[ac] the sea by your strength;
you shattered the heads of the sea monster[ad] in the water.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;[ae]
you fed[af] him to the people who live along the coast.[ag]
15 You broke open the spring and the stream;[ah]
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers.[ai]
16 You established the cycle of day and night;[aj]
you put the moon[ak] and sun in place.[al]
17 You set up all the boundaries[am] of the earth;
you created the cycle of summer and winter.[an]
18 Remember how[ao] the enemy hurls insults, O Lord,[ap]
and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name.
19 Do not hand the life of your dove[aq] over to a wild animal.
Do not continue to disregard[ar] the lives of your oppressed people.
20 Remember your covenant promises,[as]
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules.[at]
21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame.
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name.[au]
22 Rise up, O God. Defend your honor.[av]
Remember how fools insult you all day long.[aw]
23 Do not disregard[ax] what your enemies say,[ay]
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you.[az]
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