Old/New Testament
Cities of Safety
19 When the Lord your God gives you land that belongs to the other nations, nations that he will ·destroy [cut off], you will ·force them out [dispossess them] and live in their cities and houses. 2 Then ·choose [set apart; separate] three cities in the middle of the land the Lord your God is giving you as your ·own [possession]. 3 ·Build roads to these cities [or Work out the distances], and divide the land the Lord is giving you into three parts so that someone who kills another person may run to ·these cities [L there].
4 This is the rule for someone who kills another person and runs to one of these cities in order to save his life [Ex. 21:13–14; Num. 35:6–34; Josh. 20]. But the person must have killed a neighbor ·without meaning to [accidentally; unintentionally], not out of hatred. 5 For example, suppose someone goes into the forest with a neighbor to cut wood and swings an ax to cut down a tree. If the ax head ·flies [slips] off the handle, ·hitting and killing [L finds] the neighbor, the one who killed him may run to one of these cities to save his life. 6 Otherwise, the ·dead person’s relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer [near-kinsman; L avenger of blood] might be angry and chase him. If the city is far away, the relative might ·catch [L pursue and overtake] and kill the person, even though he should not be killed because there was no intent to kill his neighbor. 7 This is why I command you to ·choose [set apart; separate] these three cities.
11 But if a person hates his neighbor and, after ·hiding and waiting [lying in wait], ·attacks [L rises up] and ·kills [L strikes] him and then runs to one of these cities for safety, 12 the elders of his own city should send for the murderer. They should bring the person back from the city of safety and hand him over to the ·relative who has the duty of punishing the murderer [near-kinsman; L avenger of blood]. 13 ·Show no mercy [L Do not let your eyes show compassion on him]. You must ·remove [banish; purge] from Israel the ·guilt of murdering [L blood of] innocent people so that things will go well for you.
14 Do not move the ·stone that marks the border [boundary marker] of your neighbor’s land, which people long ago set in place [27:17; Job 24:2–4; Prov. 23:10–11; Hos. 5:10]. It marks what you inherit in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your ·own [possession].
Rules About Witnesses
15 One witness is not enough to accuse a person of a crime or sin. A case must be proved by two or three witnesses [17:6; Num. 35:30].
16 If a witness ·lies [is malicious/unjust] and accuses a person of a crime, 17 the two people who are arguing must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and judges who are ·on duty [in office in those days]. 18 The judges must check the matter carefully. The witness who is a liar, lying about a ·fellow Israelite [relative; brother], 19 must be punished. He must be punished in the same way the ·other person [relative; brother] would have been punished. You must ·get rid of [banish; purge] the evil among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear about this and be afraid, and no one among you will ever do such an evil thing again. 21 ·Show no mercy [L Do not let your eyes show compassion on him]. A life must be paid for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a hand for a hand, a foot for a foot [Ex. 21:24–25; Lev. 24:17–20].
Laws for War
20 When you go to war against your enemies and you see horses and chariots and an army that is bigger than yours, don’t be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, will be with you. 2 The priest must ·come [approach] and speak to the army before you ·go into [engage in] battle. 3 He will say, “Listen, Israel! Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Don’t lose ·your courage [L heart] or be afraid. Don’t panic or be ·frightened [in dread], 4 because the Lord your God goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies and to ·save you [give you the victory].”
5 The ·officers [or scribes] should say to the army, “·Has anyone [L Who has] built a new house but not ·given it to God [dedicated it]? He may go home, because he might die in battle and someone else would ·get to give his house to God [dedicate it]. 6 ·Has anyone [L Who has] planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? He may go home, because he might die in battle and someone else would enjoy his vineyard. 7 ·Is any man [L Who is] engaged to a woman and not yet married to her? He may go home, because he might die in battle and someone else would marry her.” 8 Then the ·officers [or scribes] should also say, “Is anyone here afraid? Has anyone lost ·his courage [L heart]? He may go home so that he will not ·cause others to lose their courage, too [L melt the hearts of his relatives/brothers like his heart].” 9 When the ·officers [scribes] finish speaking to the army, they should appoint commanders to lead it.
10 When you march up to attack a city, first make them an offer of peace. 11 If they accept your offer and open their gates to you, all the people of that city will ·become your slaves and work for you [serve you in forced labor]. 12 But if they do not make peace with you and fight you in battle, you should ·surround [besiege] that city. 13 The Lord your God will give it ·to you [L into your hands]. Then ·kill [L strike] all the men with your swords, 14 and you may take ·everything else [all the plunder] in the city for yourselves. Take the women, children, and animals, and you may use ·these things [the plunder] the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. 15 Do this to all the cities that are far away, that do not belong to the nations nearby.
16 But ·leave nothing alive [L do not let anything that breathes live] in the cities of the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. 17 ·Completely destroy [Devote to the Lord; Josh. 6:17] these people: the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded. 18 Otherwise, they will teach you what they do for their gods, and if you do these ·hateful [detestable; abhorrent; abominable] things, you will sin against the Lord your God.
19 If you ·surround [besiege] and attack a city for ·a long time [L many days], trying to capture it, do not destroy its trees with an ax. You can eat the fruit from the trees, but do not cut them down. ·These trees are not the enemy, so don’t make war against them [L Are these trees of the field human that you should go against them in siege?]. 20 But you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build devices to attack the city walls, until the city is captured.
A Person Found Murdered
21 Suppose ·someone is found murdered [L a corpse], lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your ·own [possession], and no one knows who ·killed [L struck] the person. 2 Your elders and judges should go to where the ·body [L corpse] was found, and they should measure how far it is to the nearby cities. 3 The elders of the city nearest the body must take a ·young cow [heifer] that has never worked or ·worn [L pulled] a yoke, 4 and they must lead her down to a ·valley [wadi] that has never been plowed or planted, with a ·stream [wadi] flowing through it. There they must break the ·young cow’s [heifer’s] neck. 5 The priests, the sons of Levi, should come forward, because they have been chosen by the Lord your God to serve him and to give blessings in the Lord’s name. They are the ones who decide cases of ·quarreling [accusation] and attacks. 6 Then all the elders of the city nearest the ·murdered person [L corpse] should wash their hands over the ·young cow [heifer] whose neck was broken in the ·valley [wadi]. 7 They should declare: “·We did not kill this person [L Our hands did not spill this blood], and ·we [L our eyes] did not see it happen. 8 Lord, ·remove this sin from [make atonement for] your people Israel, whom you have ·saved [redeemed; ransomed]. Don’t ·blame your people, the Israelites, for the murder of this innocent person [L place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel].” And so the murder will be ·paid [atoned] for. 9 Then you will have ·removed [banished; purged] from yourselves the guilt of ·murdering an innocent person [innocent blood], because you will be doing what ·the Lord says is right [L is right/virtuous in the eyes of the Lord].
Captive Women as Wives
10 When you go to war against your enemies, the Lord will ·help you defeat them [L give them into your hands] so you will take them captive. 11 If you see a beautiful woman among the captives and ·are attracted to [desire; fall in love with] her, you may take her as your wife. 12 Bring her into your home, where she must shave her head and cut her nails 13 and change the clothes she was wearing when you captured her. After she has lived in your house and cried for her ·parents [L father and her mother] for a month, you may marry her. You will be her husband, and she will be your wife. 14 But if you are not pleased with her, you must let her go anywhere she wants. You must not sell her for money or make her a slave, because you have ·taken away her honor [humiliated; exploited her].
The Oldest Son
15 A man might have two wives, one he loves and one he ·doesn’t [L hates; dislikes]. Both wives might have sons by him. If the ·older son [firstborn] belongs to the wife he ·does not love [L hates; dislikes], 16 when that man wills his property to his sons he must not give the son of the wife he loves what belongs to the ·older [firstborn] son, the son of the wife he ·does not love [L hates; dislikes]. 17 He must agree to give the ·older son [firstborn] two shares of everything he owns, even though the ·older son [firstborn] is from the wife he does ·not love [L hates; dislikes]. That son was the first ·to prove his father could have children [L of his virility], so he has the rights that belong to the ·older son [firstborn].
Sons Who Refuse to Obey
18 If someone has a son who is stubborn, who ·turns [rebels] against his father and mother and doesn’t obey them or listen when they ·correct [discipline] him, 19 his ·parents [L mother and his father] must ·take [grab] him to the elders at the city gate [Ex. 21:15; Lev. 20:9]. 20 They will say to the elders, “Our son is stubborn and ·turns [rebels] against us. He will not obey us. He ·eats too much [is a glutton], and he is ·always drunk [a drunk].” 21 Then all the men in his town must ·throw stones at [stone] him until he dies. ·Get rid of [Banish; Purge] the evil among you, because then all the people of Israel will hear about this and be afraid.
Other Laws
22 If someone is guilty of a sin worthy of death, he must be put to death and his body ·displayed [hung] on a tree. 23 But don’t leave his body hanging on the tree overnight; be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone whose body is displayed on a tree is cursed by God [Matt. 27:57–58; Gal. 3:13]. You must not ruin the land the Lord your God is giving you as your ·own [L inheritance].
21 At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the ·Christ [Messiah]!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. 22 False ·Christs [Messiahs] and false prophets will ·come [appear; rise up] and perform ·great wonders [signs; miracles] and ·miracles [wonders; marvels]. They will try to ·fool [mislead; deceive] even the ·people God has chosen [elect], if that is possible. 23 So ·be careful [watch out; be on guard]. I have warned you about all this before it happens.
24 “During the days after this ·trouble [tribulation; distress] comes,
‘the sun will grow dark,
and the moon will not give its light.
25 The stars will fall from ·the sky [heaven].
And the ·powers of the heavens [celestial bodies] will be shaken’ [Is. 13:10; 34:4; cf. Ezek. 32:7–8; Joel 2:10, 31].
26 “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory [Dan. 7:13]. 27 Then he will send his angels to gather his ·chosen people [elect] from ·all around the earth [the four winds], from ·every part [the farthest end] of the earth and from ·every part [the farthest end] of heaven [Deut. 30:4; Zech. 2:6].
28 “Learn a ·lesson [parable; analogy] from the fig tree: When its branches ·become green and soft [become tender; sprout] and new leaves appear, you know summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that ·the time [or he] is near, ·ready to come [right at the door]. 30 I tell you the truth, all these things will happen ·while the people of this time are still living [before this generation passes away; C either the generation that sees the destruction of Jerusalem (ad 70), or a future generation of the end times]. 31 ·Earth and sky will be destroyed [T Heaven and earth will pass away], but the words I have said will never ·be destroyed [pass away].
32 “No one knows when that day or ·time [hour] will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. 33 ·Be careful [Watch out; Be on guard]! Always be ·ready[a] [alert; watching], because you don’t know when that [appointed] time will be. 34 It is like a man who goes on a ·trip [journey]. He leaves his house and lets his servants take care of it, giving each one ·a special job [his own work] to do. The man tells the servant guarding the door always to be watchful. 35 So ·always be ready [stay alert; keep watching], because you don’t know when the ·owner [master; lord] of the house will come back. It might be in the evening, or at midnight, or ·in the morning while it is still dark [L when the rooster crows], or when the sun rises. 36 Always be ready. Otherwise he might come back suddenly and find you sleeping. 37 I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: ‘Be ·ready [alert; watchful]!’”
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