Deuteronomy 21:1

“Suppose someone has been murdered in a field in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, and you do not know who killed that person.

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

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:

In Context

2If that happens, your elders and judges must go out to where that person’s corpse was found and measure the distance from there to each of the nearby towns.

Read all of Deuteronomy 21

Cross References

Psalms 5:6You get rid of liars, and you despise those who murder others and those who deceive others.

Proverbs 28:17Those who are guilty of murdering [MTY] another person will ◄be fugitives/keep running away► until they die; do not help them to escape.

Acts 28:4The islanders knew that the snake was poisonous, so when they saw it hanging from Paul’s hand, they said to each other, “Probably this man has murdered someone. Although he has escaped from being drowned, the god ◄ who pays people back/who punishes people► for their [MTY] sins will cause him to die.”

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 21:1

In this chapter provision is made, I. For the putting away of the guilt of blood from the land, when he that shed it had fled from justice, ver. 1-9 . II. For the preserving of the honour of a captive maid, ver. 10-14 . III. For the securing of the right of a first-born son, though he were not a favourite, ver. 15-17 . IV. For the restraining and punishing of a rebellious son, ver. 18-21 . V. For the maintaining of the honour of human bodies, which must not be hanged in chains, but decently buried, even the bodies… Read the whole commentary →

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