Deuteronomy 21 summary meaning ai explained commentary

Deuteronomy 21 meaning explained in AI Summary

Various Laws

Unexplained Murder: The chapter outlines procedures for investigating an unsolved murder case. This demonstrates the importance of bringing closure to such tragedies and upholding justice.
Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn Son: The law of primogeniture is established, ensuring that the firstborn son receives a double portion of the inheritance. This practice acknowledged the firstborn's responsibility for leadership within the family.
Punishment for Disobedient Sons: The chapter also prescribes a harsh punishment for a son who persistently rebels against his parents. This highlights the importance of parental authority and obedience within the family unit.

Deuteronomy 21 deals with a variety of laws concerning specific situations and societal issues in ancient Israel.

1. Unsolved Murder (Verses 1-9): If a murder victim is found outside a city and the perpetrator is unknown, the elders of the nearest town must perform a ceremony. They declare their innocence and plead for atonement, symbolizing the community's responsibility to seek justice and maintain purity.

2. Captive Women (Verses 10-14): If a man desires to marry a female captive from war, he must first allow her a month of mourning for her lost family. After this period, he can take her as his wife. However, if he later chooses to divorce her, he cannot sell her into slavery, acknowledging her initial vulnerable position.

3. Right of the Firstborn (Verses 15-17): This section addresses potential inheritance disputes. Even if a man favors a later wife or her children, he must grant the firstborn son, regardless of the mother, a double portion of his inheritance. This upholds the principle of primogeniture.

4. Rebellious Son (Verses 18-21): This law deals with a persistently rebellious son who refuses to obey his parents even after repeated discipline. The parents can bring him before the elders, and if his rebelliousness is confirmed, he can be stoned to death. This harsh punishment reflects the importance placed on family order and societal stability.

5. Cursed on a Tree (Verses 22-23): Anyone executed for a crime and hung on a tree must be buried the same day. Leaving the body overnight would defile the land, which God had given them as an inheritance. This highlights the sanctity of the land and the need for ritual purity.

Overall Themes:

Justice and Accountability: The chapter emphasizes the pursuit of justice, even in cases of unknown perpetrators, and the community's role in maintaining it.
Compassion and Protection: Laws regarding captive women and inheritance aim to protect the vulnerable and ensure fairness.
Family Order and Social Harmony: The law concerning the rebellious son highlights the importance of filial piety and the potential consequences of disrupting family and societal order.
Holiness and Purity: The law about burying the executed emphasizes the sanctity of the land and the need to avoid ritual defilement.

It's important to remember that these laws reflect the specific historical and cultural context of ancient Israel. While some aspects might seem harsh today, they aimed to establish a just and righteous society according to their understanding of God's will.

Deuteronomy 21 bible study ai commentary

Deuteronomy 21 addresses complex and difficult cases that threaten the moral, social, and spiritual integrity of Israel. The chapter provides regulations for corporate atonement for an unsolved murder, humanitarian rules for female captives of war, laws protecting inheritance rights, and procedures for dealing with a persistently rebellious son and the burial of an executed criminal. A central theme is the maintenance of justice, the sanctity of life, and the purity of the promised land, preventing its defilement by unresolved bloodguilt or accursed bodies.

Deuteronomy 21 Context

The laws in this chapter are casuistic ("if/when... then..."), addressing specific scenarios rather than broad principles. They stand in stark contrast to the common practices of the Ancient Near East (ANE). While surrounding nations often acted with brutality in war and gave absolute authority to patriarchs, these laws inject principles of corporate responsibility, human dignity, judicial process, and sanctity into the life of the community. They emphasize that all of life, even the most difficult and marginal situations, must be ordered under God's covenantal righteousness, ensuring the land remains holy.

Deuteronomy 21:1-9

If in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, a slain person is found lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities... And the elders of that city shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke. And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley... And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley... "Absolve, O LORD, your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not let the guilt of innocent blood remain in the midst of your people Israel." So the guilt of bloodshed shall be absolved from them...

In-depth-analysis

This ritual, known as Eglah Arufah ("the heifer of the broken neck"), is a unique provision for corporate responsibility and atonement.
Corporate Guilt: The entire community nearest the crime bears a measure of responsibility for the unresolved murder. Bloodguilt (dam) pollutes the land itself.
The Heifer: A heifer that has not been worked or yoked symbolizes innocence and a life not yet used for profane purposes, making it suitable for a sacred purpose. It represents an innocent life given to atone for the innocent life taken.
Breaking the Neck: It is not a sacrificial ritual; the blood is not spilled on an altar. Breaking its neck ('araf) enacts the violence of the murder on a substitute. The death of the heifer cleanses the land.
The Valley (nachal): A valley with perpetually running water ('ethan) symbolizes a carrying away of the guilt. The fact that it's unworked land (lo ye'aved bo ve'lo yizzare'a - "not worked and not sown") means it is neutral, pristine ground, untainted by human enterprise, fit for this solemn rite.
Washing Hands: This is a public declaration of innocence and non-complicity by the city elders. They are stating they have done everything possible to find the killer and are not harboring him.

Bible references

Matt 27:24: "When Pilate saw... he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, 'I am innocent of this man's blood...'" (Pilate's gesture tragically echoes this ritual, but as an abdication of personal responsibility rather than a declaration of communal innocence).
Gen 4:10-11: "...The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground. And now you are cursed from the ground..." (Establishes the principle of blood crying out and defiling the land).
Num 35:33-34: "You shall not pollute the land... for blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it." (Highlights the severity of bloodguilt and the unique nature of the Deut 21 exception when the murderer is unknown).

Cross references

Ps 26:6 (washing hands in innocence); Heb 9:22 (necessity of blood for forgiveness); Jon 1:14 (sailors praying not to be held guilty for innocent blood).

Deuteronomy 21:10-14

When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive, and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife... you shall bring her home to your house. She shall shave her head and pare her nails. And she shall take off the clothes of her captivity and remain in your house and mourn her father and mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. You shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.

In-depth-analysis

Humanitarian Regulation: In the context of the brutal ANE, where female captives were typically raped, enslaved, or killed, this law is profoundly humane. It forces a delay and mandates care, not license.
Shaving Head & Paring Nails: These actions symbolize a transition. It is a purification rite, signifying the end of her old life/identity and preparation for a new one. It marks her as a mourner, not just a spoil of war.
One Month Mourning: This period grants the woman dignity. It allows her to grieve the loss of her family, culture, and previous life. It also forces the man to see her as a person with grief and history, not just an object of desire, cooling initial lust.
Marriage Status: If he proceeds, he must fully marry her, granting her all the rights and protections of an Israelite wife.
Protection After Rejection: If the marriage fails, he cannot profit from her. He cannot sell her or treat her as a slave (lo'-tit'ammer bah). He must set her free. The law acknowledges that he has "humbled" or "afflicted" her ('innah), and for this, he owes her freedom.

Bible references

Est 2:2-4: "Let beautiful young virgins be sought for the king... and let the young woman who pleases the king be queen instead of Vashti." (Shows a cultural practice of acquiring women, but Deuteronomy’s law inserts rights and protections absent in other contexts).
Gen 34:2: "...Shechem the son of Hamor... saw her, he seized her and lay with her and humiliated her." (The word for "humiliated" here is the same root ('anah) as in Deut 21:14, showing the type of violation this law mitigates).
Eph 5:25: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..." (Provides the ultimate New Testament standard for marital relationships, transcending and fulfilling the protective intent of the OT law).

Cross references

Exod 21:7-11 (laws protecting female servants); Judg 5:30 (spoils of war including women); 2 Tim 2:26 (escaping the snare of the devil after being taken captive).

Polemics

This law is a direct polemic against the standard ANE "rules of war." Whereas Assyrian and Babylonian texts and art glorify the abuse and enslavement of captives, this Mosaic law inserts a mandatory cooling-off period, emotional care, full legal status, and protection from future exploitation. It civilizes and sanctifies what was elsewhere a brutal practice.

Deuteronomy 21:15-17

If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the actual firstborn. But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.

In-depth-analysis

Upholding Law over Emotion: This law prevents a father from letting personal favoritism (loving one wife, "hating" or loving another less) subvert the established legal right of the firstborn.
"Unloved": The Hebrew word for "unloved" (senu'ah) is the same root as "hate." However, in a Semitic context, "love/hate" is often a comparative idiom meaning "preferred/less preferred."
Protecting the Vulnerable: The law protects both the less-loved wife from being scorned and her son from being disenfranchised. The "double portion" (pi shenayim) was the established right of the firstborn.
Historical Precedent: This law directly corrects the patriarchal legacy of Jacob, who showed favoritism to Rachel over Leah and later stripped his firstborn, Reuben (Leah's son), of his birthright (Gen 49:3-4).

Bible references

Gen 29:30-31: "...he loved Rachel more than Leah... When the LORD saw that Leah was hated (senu'ah), he opened her womb..." (The direct real-life background that this law addresses).
Gen 48:13-20: "...but Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger... thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh." (An example of a patriarch subverting the birth order by divine guidance, but this law makes it illegal to do so by personal whim).
1 Chron 5:1-2: "The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel... his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph... though Judah became strong among his brothers..." (Recounts how Reuben's birthright was taken due to sin, affirming the principle but showing it could be forfeited through grave misconduct).

Cross references

Gen 25:5-6 (Abraham's inheritance); Mal 2:16 ("God hates divorce").

Deuteronomy 21:18-21

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders of his city at the gate of his place... they shall say...'This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.' Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death. So you shall purge the evil from your midst. And all Israel shall hear and fear.

In-depth-analysis

A Judicial Last Resort: This is not about parental frustration with a disobedient teenager. It describes an adult son whose behavior (gluttony and drunkenness, zolel ve-sove) demonstrates a complete breakdown of character and a defiant rejection of all parental and societal authority. He is a source of chaos threatening the community's fabric.
High Legal Standard: The process has crucial safeguards:
1. Both parents must agree and bring the accusation. This prevents one parent from acting rashly.
2. The case is brought before the elders at the gate, the public court of the city. It is a community-level judicial proceeding, not a private family matter.
3. He must have resisted prior discipline.
4. The entire community carries out the sentence, reinforcing that his crime was against the whole of society.
"Purge the evil": This phrase links the son's behavior to a corrupting evil (ra') that must be removed for the health of the covenant community.

Bible references

Prov 23:20-21: "Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat, for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty..." (Describes the exact character flaws mentioned in the law, showing they lead to self-destruction and ruin).
Exod 21:17: "Whoever curses his father or his mother shall be put to death." (Part of the foundational law that this Deuteronomic statute expands upon).
Luke 15:11-32: The Parable of the Prodigal Son. (Presents a stark contrast. The prodigal son acts like the rebellious son of Deut 21, but the father, representing God, offers radical grace and restoration, not the letter of the law).
Eph 6:1: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right." (Upholds the principle of honoring parents within the new covenant).

Cross references

Prov 29:17; Deut 13:5; 1 Cor 5:13.

Polemics

The severity of this law has led many to assume it was a regular occurrence. However, Jewish tradition holds that the standards of proof were so impossibly high that this law was never actually carried out. Its purpose was pedagogical: to stress the absolute seriousness of filial piety and the destructive nature of rebellion against God-ordained authority structures (family and community). It stood as the ultimate deterrent.

Deuteronomy 21:22-23

And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

In-depth-analysis

Post-Mortem Humiliation: Hanging the body on a tree after execution served as a powerful public warning. It was an exhibition of ultimate shame and curse.
Cursed by God: The phrase "cursed by God" (qilelat elohim) signifies that this person has been put under a divine malediction. His fate is a visible sign of God's judgment against his heinous sin.
Do Not Defile the Land: Leaving the cursed body exposed overnight would ritually pollute the holy land. This links back to the theme in vv. 1-9, where unresolved bloodguilt defiles the land. The land's purity must be preserved.
Act of Mercy: Prompt burial, even for the worst criminal, is also an act of human decency, recognizing that the image of God in man, however marred, should not be subject to indefinite public desecration.

Bible references

Gal 3:13: "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree...'" (The ultimate and most direct application of this verse. Paul explains that Jesus took this specific curse upon Himself on the cross to redeem humanity).
Josh 8:29: "And he hanged the king of Ai on a tree until evening. And at sunset Joshua commanded, and they took his body down from the tree..." (An example of this law being followed precisely).
John 19:31: "Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath... the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away." (Shows the Jewish leaders' concern for this law, even as they orchestrate the death of the Messiah).

Cross references

Gen 40:19 (baker's dream of being impaled); Josh 10:26-27 (burying defeated kings at sunset); 1 Sam 31:9-13 (the disrespectful hanging of Saul's body).

Deuteronomy Chapter 21 analysis

From Corporate to Familial to Christological: The chapter masterfully moves from the broadest social responsibility (community atonement for murder) inward to the intimate sphere of the family (treatment of a captive wife, inheritance rights, rebellious son) and concludes with the theological foundation of atonement (the man cursed on a tree). This progression culminates prophetically in the person of Jesus Christ, who as the perfect son and member of the community, takes the ultimate curse upon the tree to atone for the guilt of His people.
The Theme of "Defiling the Land": The chapter is bookended by the need to keep the land pure. Unatoned bloodguilt defiles it (v. 9), and an exposed cursed body defiles it (v. 23). This frames all the laws in between as necessary measures to maintain the sanctity of God's gift of the promised land, making it a place where His holy presence can dwell among His people.
Prophetic Substitution: The heifer in vv. 1-9 is a substitute for the unknown killer, a life for a life to cleanse the community. This provides a typological framework for understanding the final verses. Jesus Christ becomes the ultimate substitute, taking the curse for a crime He did not commit (v. 23) so that the guilt of the people might be removed (the goal of vv. 1-9).

Deuteronomy 21 summary

Chapter 21 establishes regulations for handling severe moral and criminal issues: atoning for unsolved murder through a unique heifer ritual, humanely treating a female war captive, ensuring fair inheritance regardless of maternal favoritism, judicially handling a hopelessly rebellious son, and properly burying a cursed, executed criminal. These laws prioritize justice, dignity, community stability, and the ritual purity of the land, with the final law of the cursed man on a tree finding its ultimate fulfillment in the crucifixion of Christ.

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Deuteronomy chapter 21 kjv

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;
¹³ And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and 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.
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, because thou hast humbled her.
¹⁵ If a man have two 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:
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:
¹⁷ But he shall acknowledge the son of the hated for the firstborn, by giving him a double portion of all that he hath: for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.
¹⁸ If a man have 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:
¹⁹ Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
²⁰ And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
²¹ And all 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.
²² And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
²³ His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

Deuteronomy chapter 21 nkjv

¹ "If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,
² then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities.
³ And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a yoke.
⁴ The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
⁵ Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.
⁶ And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.
⁷ Then they shall answer and say, 'Our hands have not shed this blood, nor have our eyes seen it.
⁸ Provide atonement, O LORD, for Your people Israel, whom You have redeemed, and do not lay innocent blood to the charge of Your people Israel.' And atonement shall be provided on their behalf for the blood.
⁹ So you shall put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
¹⁰ "When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive,
¹¹ and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your wife,
¹² then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails.
¹³ She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
¹⁴ And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her.
¹⁵ "If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and they have borne him children, both the loved and the unloved, and if the firstborn son is of her who is unloved,
¹⁶ then it shall be, on the day he bequeaths his possessions to his sons, that he must not bestow firstborn status on the son of the loved wife in preference to the son of the unloved, the true firstborn.
¹⁷ But he shall acknowledge the son of the unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of the firstborn is his.
¹⁸ "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not heed them,
¹⁹ then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city, to the gate of his city.
²⁰ And they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.'
²¹ Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear.
²² "If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
²³ his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.

Deuteronomy chapter 21 niv

¹ If someone is found slain, lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who the killer was,
² your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns.
³ Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke
⁴ and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck.
⁵ The Levitical priests shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.
⁶ Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,
⁷ and they shall declare: "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done.
⁸ Accept this atonement for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, LORD, and do not hold your people guilty of the blood of an innocent person." Then the bloodshed will be atoned for,
⁹ and you will have purged from yourselves the guilt of shedding innocent blood, since you have done what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
¹⁰ When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take captives,
¹¹ if you notice among the captives a beautiful woman and are attracted to her, you may take her as your wife.
¹² Bring her into your home and have her shave her head, trim her nails
¹³ and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month, then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife.
¹⁴ If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
¹⁵ If a man has two wives, and he loves one but not the other, and both bear him sons but the firstborn is the son of the wife he does not love,
¹⁶ when he wills his property to his sons, he must not give the rights of the firstborn to the son of the wife he loves in preference to his actual firstborn, the son of the wife he does not love.
¹⁷ He must acknowledge the son of his unloved wife as the firstborn by giving him a double share of all he has. That son is the first sign of his father's strength. The right of the firstborn belongs to him.
¹⁸ If someone has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him,
¹⁹ his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town.
²⁰ They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard."
²¹ Then all the men of his town are to stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.
²² If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole,
²³ you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy chapter 21 esv

¹ "If in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him,
² then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities.
³ And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke.
⁴ And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
⁵ Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the LORD, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled.
⁶ And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,
⁷ and they shall testify, 'Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it shed.
⁸ Accept atonement, O LORD, for your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and do not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.'
⁹ So you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
¹⁰ "When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive,
¹¹ and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you desire to take her to be your wife,
¹² and you bring her home to your house, she shall shave her head and pare her nails.
¹³ And she shall take off the clothes in which she was captured and shall remain in your house and lament her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife.
¹⁴ But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.
¹⁵ "If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him children, and if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved,
¹⁶ then on the day when he assigns his possessions as an inheritance to his sons, he may not treat the son of the loved as the firstborn in preference to the son of the unloved, who is the firstborn,
¹⁷ but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
¹⁸ "If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them,
¹⁹ then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives,
²⁰ and they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.'
²¹ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
²² "And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
²³ his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.

Deuteronomy chapter 21 nlt

¹ "When you are in the land the LORD your God is giving you, someone may be found murdered in a field, and you don't know who committed the murder.
² In such a case, your elders and judges must measure the distance from the site of the crime to the nearby towns.
³ When the nearest town has been determined, that town's elders must select from the herd a heifer that has never been trained or yoked to a plow.
⁴ They must lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and that has a stream running through it. There in the valley they must break the heifer's neck.
⁵ Then the Levitical priests must step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in the LORD's name. They are to decide all legal and criminal cases.
⁶ "The elders of the town must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken.
⁷ Then they must say, 'Our hands did not shed this person's blood, nor did we see it happen.
⁸ O LORD, forgive your people Israel whom you have redeemed. Do not charge your people with the guilt of murdering an innocent person.' Then they will be absolved of the guilt of this person's blood.
⁹ By following these instructions, you will do what is right in the LORD's sight and will cleanse the guilt of murder from your community.
¹⁰ "Suppose you go out to war against your enemies and the LORD your God hands them over to you, and you take some of them as captives.
¹¹ And suppose you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and you are attracted to her and want to marry her.
¹² If this happens, you may take her to your home, where she must shave her head, cut her nails,
¹³ and change the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. She will stay in your home, but let her mourn for her father and mother for a full month. Then you may marry her, and you will be her husband and she will be your wife.
¹⁴ But if you marry her and she does not please you, you must let her go free. You may not sell her or treat her as a slave, for you have humiliated her.
¹⁵ "Suppose a man has two wives, but he loves one and not the other, and both have given him sons. And suppose the firstborn son is the son of the wife he does not love.
¹⁶ When the man divides his inheritance, he may not give the larger inheritance to his younger son, the son of the wife he loves, as if he were the firstborn son.
¹⁷ He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son of his father's virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him.
¹⁸ "Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him.
¹⁹ In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate.
²⁰ The parents must say to the elders, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.'
²¹ Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.
²² "If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree,
²³ the body must not remain hanging from the tree overnight. You must bury the body that same day, for anyone who is hung is cursed in the sight of God. In this way, you will prevent the defilement of the land the LORD your God is giving you as your special possession.