📖 Deuteronomy — Chapter 21 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
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:
Deuteronomy 21:2 Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
Deuteronomy 21:3 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;
Deuteronomy 21:4 And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and Rshall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley:
Deuteronomy 21:5 And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; Rfor them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their Tword shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:
Deuteronomy 21:6 And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall Rwash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:
Deuteronomy 21:7 And they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.
Deuteronomy 21:8 Be merciful, O LORD, unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and Rlay not innocent blood Tunto thy people of Israel’s charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.
Deuteronomy 21:9 So Rshalt 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.
Deuteronomy 21:10 When Rthou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,
Deuteronomy 21:11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a Rdesire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;
Deuteronomy 21:12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, Rand she shall shave her head, and Tpare her nails;
Deuteronomy 21:13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, Rand bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
Deuteronomy 21:14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, Rbecause thou hast humbled her.
Deuteronomy 21:15 If a man have Rtwo wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated:
Deuteronomy 21:16 Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn:
Deuteronomy 21:17 But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, Rby giving him a double portion of all Tthat he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.
Deuteronomy 21:18 If a man Rhave a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
Deuteronomy 21:19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, Rand bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
Deuteronomy 21:20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, Rhe will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
Deuteronomy 21:21 And Rall the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Deuteronomy 21:22 And if a man have committed a sin Rworthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
Deuteronomy 21:23 His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for Rhe that is hanged is Taccursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 21:1–9 — An unresolved killing
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
When a killer is unknown, elders perform the prescribed public rite and ask the LORD not to charge innocent blood to the people.
Key Truth: The community must take an unresolved killing seriously.
Check What You Remember
1. Who measured the distance to nearby cities? (Deuteronomy 21:2)
Find it in Deuteronomy 21:2 (KJV).
2. What animal was taken by the nearest city's elders? (Deuteronomy 21:3)
Find it in Deuteronomy 21:3 (KJV).
3. What did the elders wash over the heifer? (Deuteronomy 21:6)
Find it in Deuteronomy 21:6 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 21:10–17 — Household obligations and inheritance
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Moses sets boundaries for the treatment of a captive wife and for inheritance when wives are differently loved. Preference must not erase a firstborn son's legal portion.
Key Truth: Personal preference does not cancel the stated household obligations.
Check What You Remember
1. How long was the captive woman allowed to mourn her father and mother? (Deuteronomy 21:13)
Find it in Deuteronomy 21:13 (KJV).
2. Could she be sold for money if later released? (Deuteronomy 21:14)
Find it in Deuteronomy 21:14 (KJV).
3. What portion belonged to the firstborn son? (Deuteronomy 21:17)
Find it in Deuteronomy 21:17 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Deuteronomy 21:18–23 — Public judgment and burial
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
The chapter gives Israel a severe law concerning a persistently rebellious son and then requires timely burial after execution.
Key Truth: These are Israel's historical covenant laws, with a limit on leaving a body exposed.
Check What You Remember
1. To whom were the parents to bring the rebellious son? (Deuteronomy 21:19)
Find it in Deuteronomy 21:19 (KJV).
2. Where were the elders located? (Deuteronomy 21:19)
Find it in Deuteronomy 21:19 (KJV).
3. Could a body remain on the tree all night? (Deuteronomy 21:23)
Find it in Deuteronomy 21:23 (KJV).
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. Why do elders measure the distance to cities after an unknown killing?
2. What must the elders declare as they wash their hands?
3. What protection follows a captive woman’s month of mourning if the husband later rejects her?
4. What prevents favouring one wife from cancelling the firstborn’s right?
5. Why must a hanged body be buried the same day?
Notes
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