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町の外での殺人
1主の与えてくださった約束の地で殺人事件があり、被害者は町の外で発見され、現場を目撃した者がいない場合は次のようにしなさい。 2まず、長老と裁判官が、死体から最も近い町はどこか調べます。 3どこかわかったら、その町の長老が、まだ農作業に使われたことのない雌の子牛を引いて、 4渓流のある開墾されていない谷間へ行き、そこで子牛の首を折ります。 5それから祭司たちが進み出ます。主は、聖所での仕事や人々を祝福することばかりでなく、争いごとや傷害事件が起きたとき、判断を下すためにも祭司を選ばれたのです。 6そこで、町の長老たちは子牛の上で手を洗いきよめ証言します。 7『被害者に手をかけたのは私たちではありません。私たちが全く知らないうちに事件は起きたのです。 8主よ、あなたが買い取られた民イスラエルを、どうぞお赦しください。私たちに、罪のない者を殺した罪を負わせないでください。』 9このように、主が正しいとみなされる方法で罪悪を取り除きなさい。
捕虜の娘との結婚
10主が敵をあなたの手に渡され、戦いに勝ち、捕虜を連れて引き揚げるとき、 11その中に美しい娘がいて妻にしたいと思ったなら、 12家へ連れ帰りなさい。娘は髪をそり、つめを切り、 13すっかり着替えをし、捕虜になった時に身に着けていた物を全部はずして、あなたの家で、自分の両親のために一か月の間、喪に服します。そのあとで結婚しなさい。 14彼女を好きでなくなったら、自由の身にして去らせなさい。彼女を辱めたのですから、売り払ったり、奴隷のように扱ったりしてはいけません。
長男の権利
15妻が二人あり、どちらにも子どもがある場合、長男の母親である妻は嫌いで、 16次男の母親である妻のほうを愛しているからといって、次男に長男としての財産を与えることはできません。 17嫌われている母親の子でも、父親には初めての子であり、長男の権利を持っているのだから、兄に弟の二倍の財産を与えなければなりません。
反抗的な息子
18いくら懲らしめても親の言うことを聞かない、強情で反抗的な息子は、 19町の長老のところへ連れて行きなさい。 20『息子は強情っ張りのうえに反抗的で、とても手に負えません。親の言うことなどそっちのけで、大酒ばかり飲んで、遊び暮らしています』と訴えるのです。 21そのあと、町の者が息子に石を投げつけて殺します。二度と若者たちがそんな親不孝をしないように見せしめとするためです。
木にかけられた者
22人が死刑に当たる罪を犯し、殺され、木にかけられる場合は、 23次の日までそのままにしてはいけません。その日のうちに埋葬しなさい。木にかけられた者は、神にのろわれた者だからです。あなたの神、主に与えられた地を汚してはいけません。
What to Do When You Don’t Know Who Killed Someone
1Suppose you find someone who has been killed. The body is lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own. But no one knows who the killer was. 2Then your elders and judges will go out to the field. They will measure the distance from the body to the nearby towns. 3The elders from the town that is nearest to the body will get a young cow. It must never have been used for work. It must never have pulled a load. 4The elders must lead it down into a valley. The valley must not have been farmed. There must be a stream flowing through it. There in the valley the elders must break the cow’s neck. 5The priests, who are sons of Levi, will step forward. The Lord your God has chosen them to serve him. He wants them to bless the people in his name. He wants them to decide all cases that have to do with people arguing and attacking others. 6Then all the elders from the town that is nearest to the body will wash their hands. They will wash them over the young cow whose neck they broke in the valley. 7They’ll say to the Lord, “We didn’t kill that person. We didn’t see it happen. 8Accept this payment for the sin of your people Israel. Lord, you have set your people free. Don’t hold them guilty for spilling the blood of someone who hasn’t done anything wrong.” That will pay for the death of that person. 9So you will get rid of the guilt of killing someone who didn’t do anything wrong. That’s because you have done what is right in the Lord’s eyes.
Marrying a Woman Who Is Your Prisoner
10Suppose you go to war against your enemies. And the Lord your God hands them over to you and you take them as prisoners. 11Then you notice a beautiful woman among them. If you like her, you may marry her. 12Bring her home. Have her shave her head and cut her nails. 13Have her throw away the clothes she was wearing when she was captured. Let her live in your house and mourn the loss of her parents for a full month. Then you can go to her and be her husband. And she will be your wife. 14But suppose you aren’t pleased with her. Then let her go where she wants to. You must not sell her. You must not treat her as a slave. You have already brought shame on her.
The Rights of the Oldest Son
15Suppose a man has two wives. He loves one but not the other. And both of them have sons by him. But the oldest son is the son of the wife the man doesn’t love. 16Someday he’ll leave his property to his sons. When he does, he must not give the rights of the oldest son to the son of the wife he loves. He must give those rights to his oldest son. He must do it even though his oldest son is the son of the wife he doesn’t love. 17He must recognize the full rights of the oldest son. He must do it, even though that son is the son of the wife he doesn’t love. He must give that son a double share of everything he has. That son is the first sign of his father’s strength. So the rights of the oldest son belong to him.
A Stubborn Son
18Suppose someone has a very stubborn son. He doesn’t obey his father and mother. And he won’t listen to them when they try to correct him. 19Then his parents will take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20They will say to the elders, “This son of ours is very stubborn. He won’t obey us. He eats too much. He’s always getting drunk.” 21Then all the people in his town will put him to death by throwing stones at him. Get rid of that evil person. All the Israelites will hear about it. And they will be afraid to disobey their parents.
Several Other Laws
22Suppose someone is put to death for a crime worthy of death. And a pole is stuck through their body and set up where people can see it. 23Then you must not leave the body on the pole all night. Make sure you bury it that same day. Everyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not make the land “unclean.” The Lord your God is giving it to you as your own.
