Deuteronomy 21

Old Testament · Brenton Septuagint with Greek parallel

Deuteronomy 21

1And if one be found slain with the sword in the land, which the Lord your God gives you to inherit, having fallen in the field, and they do not know who has struck him;Ἐὰν δὲ εὑρεθῇ τραυματίας ἐν τῇ γῇ, ᾗ Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου δίδωσί σοι κληρονομῆσαι, πεπτωκὼς ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ, καὶ οὐκ οἴδασι τὸν πατάξαντα,

2your elders and your judges shall come forth, and shall measure the distances of the cities round about the slain man:ἐξελεύσεται ἡ γερουσία σου καὶ οἱ κριταί σου, καὶ ἐκμετρήσουσιν ἐπὶ τὰς πόλεις τὰς κύκλῳ τοῦ τραυματίου·

3and it shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not laboured, and which has not * borne a yoke.Καὶ ἔσται ἡ πόλις ἡ ἐγγίζουσα τῷ τραυματίᾳ, καὶ λήψεται ἡ γερουσία τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης δάμαλιν ἐκ βοῶν, ἥτις οὐκ εἴργασται, καὶ ἥτις οὐχ εἵλκυσε ζυγόν·

4And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer into a rough valley, which has not been tilled and is not sown, and they shall † kill the heifer in the valley.Καὶ καταβιβάσουσιν ἡ γερουσία τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης δάμαλιν εἰς φάραγγα τραχεῖαν, ἥτις οὐκ εἴργασται οὐδὲ σπείρεται, καὶ νευροκοπήσουσι τὴν δάμαλιν ἐν τῇ φάραγγι.

5And the priests the Levites shall come, because the Lord God has chosen them to stand by him, and to ‡ bless in his name, and § by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be decided.Καὶ προσελεύσονται οἱ ἱερεῖς οἱ Λευῖται, ὅτι αὐτοὺς ἐπέλεξε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς παρεστηκέναι αὐτῷ, καὶ εὐλογεῖν ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ στόματι αὐτῶν ἔσται πᾶσα ἀντιλογία, καὶ πᾶσα ἁφή.

6And all the elders of that city who draw near to the slain man shall wash their hands over the head of the heifer which was slain in the valley;Καὶ πᾶσα ἡ γερουσία τῆς πόλεως ἐκείνης οἱ ἐγγίζοντες τῷ τραυματίᾳ νίψονται τὰς χεῖρας ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν τῆς δαμάλεως τῆς νενευροκοπημένης ἐν τῇ φάραγγι·

7and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen it.καὶ ἀποκριθέντες, ἐροῦσιν, αἱ χεῖρες ἡμῶν οὐκ ἐξέχεαν τὸ αἷμα τοῦτο, καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἑωράκασιν.

8Be merciful to your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, O Lord, that innocent blood ** may not be charged on your people Israel: and the blood shall be atoned for to them.Ἵλεως γένου τῷ λαῷ σου Ἰσραὴλ, οὓς ἐλυτρώσω Κύριε, ἵνα μὴ γένηται αἷμα ἀναίτιον ἐν τῷ λαῷ σου Ἰσραήλ· καὶ ἐξιλασθήσεται αὐτοῖς τὸ αἷμα.

9And you shall take away innocent blood from among you, if you should do that which is good and pleasing before the Lord your God.Σὺ δὲ ἐξαρεῖς τὸ αἷμα τὸ ἀναίτιον ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν, ἐὰν ποιήσῃς τὸ καλὸν καὶ τὸ ἀρεστὸν ἔναντι Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου.

10And if when you go out to war against your enemies, the Lord your God should deliver them into your hands, and you should take their spoil,Ἐὰν δὲ ἐξελθὼν εἰς πόλεμον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου, καὶ παραδῷ σοι Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου εἰς τὰς χεῖράς σου, καὶ προνομεύσῃς τὴν προνομὴν αὐτῶν,

11and should see among the spoil a woman beautiful in countenance, and should †† desire her, and take her to yourself for a wife,καὶ ἴδῃς ἐν τῇ προνομῇ γυναῖκα καλὴν τῷ εἴδει, καὶ ἐνθυμηθῇς αὐτῆς, καὶ λάβῃς αὐτὴν σεαυτῷ γυναῖκα,

12and should bring her within your house: then shall you shave her head, and pare her nails;καὶ εἰσάξῃς αὐτὴν ἔνδον εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν σου, καὶ ξυρήσεις τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῆς, καὶ περιονυχιεῖς αὐτὴν,

13and shall take away her garments of captivity from off her, and she shall abide in your house, and shall bewail her father and mother the days of a month; and afterwards you shall go in to her and dwell with her, and she shall be your wife.καὶ περιελεῖς τὰ ἱμάτια τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας ἀπʼ αὐτῆς, καὶ καθιεῖται ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ σου, καὶ κλαύσεται τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὴν μητέρα μηνὸς ἡμέρας· καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰσελεύσῃ πρὸς αὐτὴν καὶ συνοικισθήσῃ αὐτῇ, καὶ ἔσται σου γυνή.

14And it shall be if you do not delight in her, you shall send her out free; and she shall not by any means be sold for money, you shall not treat her contemptuously, because you have humbled her.Καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν μὴ θέλῃς αὐτὴν, ἐξαποστελεῖς αὐτὴν ἐλευθέραν, καὶ πράσει οὐ πραθήσεται ἀργυρίου· οὐκ ἀθετήσεις αὐτὴν, διότι ἐταπείνωσας αὐτήν.

15And if a man have two wives, the one loved and ‡‡ the other hated, and both the loved and the hated should have born him children, and the son of the hated should be firstborn;Ἐὰν δὲ γένωνται ἀνθρώπῳ δύο γυναῖκες, μία αὐτῶν ἠγαπημένη, καὶ μία αὐτῶν μισουμένη, καὶ τέκωσιν αὐτῷ ἡ ἠγαπημένη καὶ ἡ μισουμένη, καὶ γένηται υἱὸς πρωτότοκος τῆς μισουμένης·

16then it shall be that whenever he shall divide by inheritance his goods to his sons, he shall not be able to give the right of the firstborn to the son of the loved one, having overlooked the son of the hated, which is the firstborn.Καὶ ἔσται ἡ· ἂν ἡμέρᾳ κατακληρονομῇ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ, οὐ δυνήσεται πρωτοτοκεῦσαι τῷ υἱῷ τῆς ἠγαπημένης, ὑπεριδὼν τὸν υἱὸν τῆς μισουμένης τὸν πρωτότοκον·

17But he shall acknowledge the firstborn of the hated one to give to him double of all things which shall be found by him, because he is the §§ first of his children, and to him belongs the birthright.Ἀλλὰ τὸν πρωτότοκον υἱὸν τῆς μισουμένης ἐπιγνώσεται δοῦναι αὐτῷ διπλᾶ ἀπὸ πάντων ὧν ἂν εὑρεθῇ αὐτῷ, ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν ἀρχὴ τέκνων αὐτοῦ, καὶ τούτῳ καθήκει τὰ πρωτοτοκεῖα.

18And if any man has a disobedient and contentious son, who hearkens not to the voice of his father and the voice of his mother, and they should correct him, and he should not listen to them;Ἐὰν δέ τινι ἠ· υἱὸς ἀπειθῆς καὶ ἐρεθιστὴς οὐχ ὑπακούων φωνὴν πατρὸς καὶ φωνὴν μητρὸς, καὶ παιδεύωσιν αὐτὸν, καὶ μὴ εἰσακούῃ αὐτῶν·

19then shall his father and his mother take hold of him, and bring him forth to the elders of his city, and to the gate of the place:Καὶ συλλαβόντες αὐτὸν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐξάξουσιν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν γερουσίαν τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν πύλην τοῦ τόπου·

20and they shall say to the men of their city, This our son is disobedient and contentious, he hearkens not to our voice, he is a reveler and a drunkard.Καὶ ἐροῦσι τοῖς ἀνδράσι τῆς πόλεως αὐτῶν, ὁ υἱὸς ἡμῶν οὗτος ἀπειθεῖ καὶ ἐρεθίζει, οὐχ ὑπακούει τῆς φωνῆς ἡμῶν, συμβολοκοπῶν οἰνοφλυγεῖ.

21And the men of his city shall stone him with stones, and he shall die; and you shall remove the evil one from yourselves, and the rest shall hear and fear.Καὶ λιθοβολήσουσιν αὐτὸν οἱ ἄνδρες τῆς πόλεως αὐτοῦ ἐν λίθοις, καὶ ἀποθανεῖται· καὶ ἐξαρεῖς τὸν πονηρὸν ἐξ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν· καὶ οἱ ἐπίλοιποι ἀκούσαντες φοβηθήσονται.

22And if there be sin in any one, and the judgment of death be upon him, and he be put to death, and you hang him on a tree:Ἐὰν δὲ γένηται ἔν τινι ἁμαρτία, κρίμα θανάτου, καὶ ἀποθάνῃ, καὶ κρεμάσητε αὐτὸν ἐπὶ ξύλου·

23his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but you shall by all means bury it in that day; for ✡ every one that is hanged on a tree is cursed of God; and you shall by no means defile the land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance.οὐ κοιμηθήσεται τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου, ἀλλὰ ταφῇ θάψετε αὐτὸ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ, ὅτι κεκατηραμένος ὑπὸ Θεοῦ πᾶς κρεμάμενος ἐπὶ ξύλου· καὶ οὐ μὴ μιανεῖτε τὴν γῆν, ἣν Κύριος ὁ Θεός σου δίδωσί σοι ἐν κλήρῳ.

Translator's Notes

These notes come from the printed edition of Sir Lancelot Brenton's classic English translation of the Septuagint (LXX), and record where the Greek differs from the English rendering or admits more than one reading.

• v. 3*Gr. drawn.
• v. 4†Gr. cut the sinews. i.e. of the neck.
• v. 5‡Gr. his name. Hebraism.
• v. 5§Gr. at their mouth.
• v. 8**Gr. may not be in your people.
• v. 11††Gr. think about her.
• v. 15‡‡Gr. one of them.
• v. 17§§Gr. the beginning or chief.
• v. 23✡Gal 3:13