VERSE STUDY • KJV

Deuteronomy 21:1-9

¹ If [one] be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, [and] it be not known who hath slain him: ² Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which [are] round about him that is slain: ³ And it shall be, [that] the city [which is] next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, [and] which hath not drawn in the yoke; ⁴ And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley: ⁵ And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be [tried]: ⁶ And all the elders of that city, [that are] next unto the slain [man], shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: ⁷ And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen [it]. ⁸ Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. ⁹ So shalt thou put away the [guilt of] innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do [that which is] right in the sight of the LORD.

Read it in 5 translations

KJV King James Version

¹ If [one] be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, [and] it be not known who hath slain him: ² Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which [are] round about him that is slain: ³ And it shall be, [that] the city [which is] next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, [and] which hath not drawn in the yoke; ⁴ And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley: ⁵ And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be [tried]: ⁶ And all the elders of that city, [that are] next unto the slain [man], shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley: ⁷ And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen [it]. ⁸ Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. ⁹ So shalt thou put away the [guilt of] innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do [that which is] right in the sight of the LORD.

BSB Berean Standard Bible

¹ If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, ² your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities. ³ Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work, ⁴ bring the heifer to a valley with running water that has not been plowed or sown, and break its neck there by the stream. ⁵ And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault. ⁶ Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken, ⁷ and they shall declare, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. ⁸ Accept this atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, and do not hold the shedding of innocent blood against them.” And the bloodshed will be atoned for. ⁹ So you shall purge from among you the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.

WEB World English Bible

¹ If one be found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him; ² then your elders and your judges shall come forth, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain: ³ and it shall be, that the city which is nearest to the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with, and which has not drawn in the yoke; ⁴ and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. ⁵ The priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Yahweh your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in the name of Yahweh; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be. ⁶ All the elders of that city, who are nearest to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; ⁷ and they shall answer and say, “Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. ⁸ Forgive, Yahweh, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and don’t allow innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel.” The blood shall be forgiven them. ⁹ So you shall put away the innocent blood from the midst of you, when you shall do that which is right in the eyes of Yahweh.

ASV American Standard Version

¹ If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him; ² then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: ³ and it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; ⁴ and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. ⁵ And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be. ⁶ And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; ⁷ and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it. ⁸ Forgive, O Jehovah, thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and suffer not innocent blood to remain in the midst of thy people Israel. And the blood shall be forgiven them. ⁹ So shalt thou put away the innocent blood from the midst of thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah.

YLT Young’s Literal Translation

¹ ‘When one is found slain on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it—fallen in a field—it is not known who hath smitten him, ² then have thine elders and thy judges gone out and measured unto the cities which are round about the slain one, ³ and it hath been, the city which is near unto the slain one, even the elders of that city have taken a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, which hath not drawn in the yoke, ⁴ and the elders of that city have brought down the heifer unto a hard valley, which is not tilled nor sown, and have beheaded there the heifer in the valley. ⁵ ‘And the priests, sons of Levi, have come nigh—for on them hath Jehovah thy God fixed to serve Him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah, and by their mouth is every strife, and every stroke— ⁶ and all the elders of that city, who are near unto the slain one, do wash their hands over the heifer which is beheaded in the valley, ⁷ and they have answered and said, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen— ⁸ receive atonement for Thy people Israel, whom Thou hast ransomed, O Jehovah, and suffer not innocent blood in the midst of Thy people Israel; and the blood hath been pardoned to them, ⁹ and thou dost put away the innocent blood out of thy midst, for thou dost that which is right in the eyes of Jehovah.

Surrounding context — Deuteronomy 21

1 If [one] be found slain in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, [and] it be not known who hath slain him:

2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which [are] round about him that is slain:

3 And it shall be, [that] the city [which is] next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, [and] which hath not drawn in the yoke;

4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley:

5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be [tried]:

6 And all the elders of that city, [that are] next unto the slain [man], shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:

7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen [it].

8 Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.

9 So shalt thou put away the [guilt of] innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do [that which is] right in the sight of the LORD.

10 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,

11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;

12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house; and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

Read the whole chapter → · About Deuteronomy →

HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION

Compare classic commentaries on Deuteronomy 21:1-9

Put Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Calvin, Wesley, Barnes, Jamieson–Fausset–Brown, Aquinas’ Catena and other public-domain sources beside the passage.

Compare commentaries →