Atonement for Unsolved Murders
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 zthat 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 athem to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and bby their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled. 6 And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man cshall 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 ddo not set the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, so that their blood guilt be atoned for.’ 9 So eyou shall purge the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the sight of the Lord.
Marrying Female Captives
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 flament 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 glet her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you htreat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.
Inheritance Rights of the Firstborn
15 “If a man has two wives, ithe 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,1 16 then on the day when jhe 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 kthe firstfruits of his strength. lThe right of the firstborn is his.
A Rebellious Son
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 mThen all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. nSo you shall purge the evil from your midst, oand all Israel shall hear, and fear.
A Man Hanged on a Tree Is Cursed
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 phis body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for qa hanged man is cursed by God. rYou shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what1 is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
3 cDo not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
4 dDo not toil to acquire wealth;
ebe discerning enough to desist.
5 When your eyes light on it, it is gone,
ffor suddenly it sprouts wings,
flying like an eagle toward heaven.
6 gDo not eat the bread of a man who is hstingy;2
ido not desire his delicacies,
7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.3
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his jheart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,
and waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the good sense of your words.
10 kDo not move an ancient landmark
or enter the fields of the fatherless,
11 for their lRedeemer is strong;
he will mplead their cause against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
13 Do not withhold ndiscipline from a child;
oif you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14 If you strike him with the rod,
you will psave his soul from Sheol.
15 qMy son, if your heart is wise,
my heart too will be glad.
16 My rinmost being4 will exult
when your lips speak swhat is right.
17 Let not your heart tenvy sinners,
but continue in uthe fear of the Lord all the day.
18 Surely vthere is a future,
and your whope will not be cut off.
19 Hear, my son, and xbe wise,
and ydirect your heart in the way.
or among agluttonous eaters of meat,
21 for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and bslumber will clothe them with rags.
22 cListen to your father who gave you life,
dand do not despise your mother when she is old.
23 eBuy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
24 fThe father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
25 fLet your father and mother be glad;
let gher who bore you rejoice.
26 My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe6 my ways.
27 For a prostitute is ha deep pit;
ian adulteress7 is a narrow jwell.
28 kShe lies in wait like a robber
and increases the traitors among mankind.
29 lWho has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has mwounds without cause?
Who has nredness of eyes?
30 Those who otarry long over wine;
those who go to try pmixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
32 In the end it qbites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter rperverse things.
34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.8
35 “They sstruck me,” you will say,9 “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I tmust have another drink.”
David Organizes the Levites
1 qWhen David was old and full of days, rhe made Solomon his son king over Israel.
2 David1 assembled all the leaders of Israel and the priests and the Levites. 3 The Levites, sthirty years old and upward, were numbered, and tthe total was u38,000 men. 4 “Twenty-four thousand of these,” David said,2 v“shall have charge of the work in the house of the Lord, 6,000 shall be wofficers and judges, 5 4,000 gatekeepers, and 4,000 shall offer praises to the Lord with the instruments xthat I have made for praise.” 6 yAnd David organized them in divisions zcorresponding to the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
7 aThe sons of Gershon3 were Ladan and Shimei. 8 The sons of Ladan: bJehiel the chief, and Zetham, and Joel, three. 9 The sons of Shimei: Shelomoth, Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the heads of the fathers’ houses of Ladan. 10 And the sons of Shimei: Jahath, Zina, and Jeush and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11 Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second; but Jeush and Beriah did not have many sons, therefore they became counted as a single father’s house.
12 cThe sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four. 13 dThe sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. eAaron was set apart to dedicate the most holy things, that he and his sons forever should fmake offerings before the Lord and gminister to him and hpronounce blessings in his name forever. 14 But the sons of Moses the iman of God were named among the jtribe of Levi. 15 The ksons of Moses: Gershom and Eliezer. 16 The sons of Gershom: lShebuel the chief. 17 The sons of Eliezer: Rehabiah the chief. Eliezer had no other sons, but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 The sons of Izhar: Shelomith the chief. 19 The msons of Hebron: Jeriah the chief, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 nThe sons of Uzziel: Micah the chief and Isshiah the second.
21 oThe sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and pKish. 22 Eleazar died qhaving no sons, but only daughters; their rkinsmen, the sons of Kish, married them. 23 sThe sons of Mushi: Mahli, Eder, and Jeremoth, three.
24 tThese were the sons of Levi by their fathers’ houses, the heads of fathers’ houses uas they were listed according to the number of the names of the individuals from vtwenty years old and upward who were to do the work for the service of the house of the Lord. 25 For David said, “The Lord, the God of Israel, whas given rest to his people, and he dwells in Jerusalem forever. 26 And so the Levites no longer need xto carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service.” 27 For by the last words of David the sons of Levi were numbered from vtwenty years old and upward. 28 For their duty was to assist the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, having the care of the courts and the chambers, the cleansing of all that is holy, and any work for the service of the house of God. 29 Their duty was also to assist with the yshowbread, the zflour for the grain offering, the wafers of unleavened bread, the abaked offering, the boffering mixed with oil, and all cmeasures of quantity or size. 30 And they were to stand every morning, thanking and praising the Lord, and likewise at evening, 31 and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the Lord don Sabbaths, enew moons, and feast days, faccording to the number required of them, regularly before the Lord. 32 Thus gthey were to keep charge of the tent of meeting and the sanctuary, and to attend the sons of Aaron, their brothers, for the hservice of the house of the Lord.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Golden Image
1 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits1 and its breadth six cubits. He set it up on uthe plain of Dura, in vthe province of Babylon. 2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent to gather wthe satraps, the prefects, and xthe governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 3 Then wthe satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 4 And the herald yproclaimed aloud, “You are commanded, O zpeoples, nations, and languages, 5 that when you hear the asound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you bare to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. 6 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately cbe cast into a burning fiery furnace.” 7 Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, all zthe peoples, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
The Fiery Furnace
8 Therefore at that time certain dChaldeans ecame forward and maliciously accused the Jews. 9 They declared2 to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! 10 You, O king, fhave made a decree, that every man who ghears the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, gshall fall down and worship the golden image. 11 And whoever does not fall down and worship cshall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom you have happointed over the affairs of vthe province of Babylon: iShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, jpay no attention to you; they do not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
13 Then Nebuchadnezzar kin furious rage commanded that iShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, “Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I have set up? 15 Now if you are ready when lyou hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, well and good.3 But if you do not worship, cyou shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And mwho is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?”
16 iShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. 17 If this be so, nour God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.4 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was ofilled with fury, and the expression of his face pwas changed against iShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated. 20 And he ordered some of the mighty men of his army qto bind iShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were qbound in their cloaks, their tunics,5 their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. 22 Because the king’s order was rurgent and the furnace overheated, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell qbound into the burning fiery furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was tastonished and rose up uin haste. He declared to his vcounselors, “Did we not cast three men wbound into the fire?” They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.” 25 He answered and said, “But I see four men unbound, xwalking in the midst of the fire, and they yare not hurt; and the appearance of the fourth is like za son of the gods.”
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace; he declared, s“Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the aMost High God, come out, and come here!” Then sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the fire. 27 And the bsatraps, the prefects, the governors, and vthe king’s counselors gathered together and saw that cthe fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their dcloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. 28 Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, “Blessed be the God of sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who ehas sent his angel and fdelivered his servants, who gtrusted in him, and set aside6 the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than hserve and worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore iI make a decree: Any jpeople, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego kshall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.” 30 Then the king promoted sShadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in lthe province of Babylon.
Children and Parents
1 sChildren, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 t“Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” 4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, ubut bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Bondservants and Masters
5 vBondservants,1 obey your earthly masters2 with fear and trembling, wwith a sincere heart, xas you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as ypeople-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 zknowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, awhether he is a bondservant or is free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, band stop your threatening, knowing that che who is both their Master3 and yours is in heaven, and that dthere is no partiality with him.
The Whole Armor of God
10 Finally, ebe strong in the Lord and in fthe strength of his might. 11 gPut on hthe whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against ithe schemes of the devil. 12 For jwe do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against kthe rulers, against the authorities, against lthe cosmic powers over mthis present darkness, against nthe spiritual forces of evil oin the heavenly places. 13 Therefore ptake up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in qthe evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, rhaving fastened on the belt of truth, and shaving put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, tas shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up uthe shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all vthe flaming darts of wthe evil one; 17 and take sthe helmet of salvation, and xthe sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying yat all times zin the Spirit, awith all prayer and supplication. To that end, bkeep alert with all perseverance, making csupplication for all the saints, 19 and dalso for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth eboldly to proclaim fthe mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I gam an ambassador hin chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Final Greetings
21 iSo that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, jTychicus the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord will tell you everything. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may kencourage your hearts.
23 lPeace be to the brothers,4 and mlove with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all who nlove our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.
