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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].
22 If you see your ·fellow Israelite’s [relative’s; brother’s] ox or sheep wandering away, don’t ignore it. Take it back to ·its owner [your relative/brother; Ex. 23:4–5]. 2 If ·the owner [your relative/brother] does not live close to you, or if you do not know who the owner is, take the animal home with you. Keep it until ·the owner [your relative/brother] comes looking for it; then give it back. 3 Do the same thing if you find a donkey or ·coat [cloak; garment] or anything someone lost. Don’t just ignore it.
4 If you see your ·fellow Israelite’s [relative’s; brother’s] donkey or ox fallen on the road, don’t ignore it. Help the owner get it up.
5 A woman must not wear men’s ·clothes [apparel; items], and a man must not wear women’s clothes. The Lord your God ·hates [detests] anyone who does that.
6 If you find a bird’s nest by the road, either in a tree or on the ground, and the mother bird is sitting on the young birds or eggs, do not take the mother bird with the young birds. 7 You may take the young birds, but you must let the mother bird go free. Then things will go well for you, and you will live a long time.
8 When you build a new house, build a ·low wall around the edge of [a fence/parapet on] the roof [C the flat roofs of Israelite houses were used for living space] so you will not ·be guilty [have bloodguilt] if someone falls off the roof [C to avoid negligent homicide].
9 Don’t plant two different kinds of seeds in your vineyard. Otherwise, ·both crops will be ruined [L the fullness will be forfeit, both the seed that has been sown as well as the produce of the vineyard; C to avoid unnatural combinations, perhaps as a reminder that Israelites were to be separate from Gentiles, see also vv. 10–11].
10 Don’t plow with an ox and a donkey tied together.
11 Don’t wear clothes made of wool and linen woven together.
12 Tie several pieces of thread together; then put these tassels on the four corners of your coat [C perhaps to weigh down the garment to avoid exposure].
Marriage Laws
13 If a man marries a girl and has sexual relations with her but then decides he ·does not like [L hates] her, 14 he might ·talk badly about her [charge her with wanton behavior] and give her a bad name. He might say, “I married this woman, but when I ·had sexual relations with [approached] her, I did not find that she was a virgin.” 15 Then the girl’s ·parents [L father and mother] must bring ·proof [evidence] that she was a virgin to the elders at the city gate. 16 The girl’s father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter to this man to be his wife, but now he ·does not want [L hates] her. 17 This man has ·told lies about my daughter [charged my daughter with wanton behavior]. He has said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin,’ but here is the ·proof [evidence] that my daughter was a virgin.” Then her parents are to show the sheet [C blood-stained, showing she had been a virgin] to the elders of the city, 18 and the elders must take the man and ·punish [discipline] him. 19 They must make him pay about ·two and one-half pounds [L one hundred shekels] of silver to the girl’s father, because the man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. The girl will continue to be the man’s wife, and he may not divorce her as long as he lives.
20 But if ·the things the husband said about his wife are [L this word/charge is] true, and there is no ·proof [evidence] that she was a virgin, 21 the girl must be brought to the door of her father’s house. Then the men of the town must put her to death by ·throwing stones at [stoning] her. She has done a ·disgraceful [shameful] thing in Israel by ·having sexual relations before she was married [L acting like a prostitute in the house of her father]. You must ·get rid of [banish; purge] the evil among you.
22 If a man is found ·having sexual relations [L lying] with another man’s wife, both the woman and the man who ·had sexual relations [L lay] with her must die. ·Get rid of [Banish; Purge] this evil from Israel.
23 If a man meets a virgin in a city and ·has sexual relations [L lies] with her, but she is engaged to another man, 24 you must take both of them to the city gate and ·put them to death by throwing stones at [stone] them. Kill the girl, because she was in a city and did not scream for help. And kill the man for having sexual relations with ·another man’s wife [the wife of his neighbor/friend]. You must ·get rid of [banish; purge] the evil among you.
25 But if a man meets an engaged girl out in the ·country [field] and ·forces her to have sexual relations with him [L seizes her and lies with her], only the man who ·had sexual relations [L lay] with her must be put to death. 26 Don’t do anything to the girl, because she has not done a sin worthy of death. This is like the person who ·attacks [rises up] and murders a neighbor; 27 the man found the engaged girl in the ·country [field] and she ·screamed [yelled for help], but no one was there to ·save [rescue] her.
28 If a man meets a virgin who is not engaged to be married and ·forces her to have sexual relations with him [L grabs her and lies with her] and ·people find out about it [L is discovered], 29 the man who ·had sexual relations [L lay] with her must pay the girl’s father about ·one and one-fourth pounds [L fifty shekels] of silver. He must also marry the girl, because he has ·dishonored [humiliated; raped] her, and he may never divorce her for as long as he lives [Ex. 22:16–17].
30 A man must not marry his father’s wife; he must not ·dishonor his father in this way [L uncover his father’s skirt; Lev. 18:7–8; 20:11].
A Town Rejects Jesus
51 When the time was coming near for Jesus to ·depart [ascend], he ·was determined to go to [resolutely set out for; L set his face toward] Jerusalem [Matt. 19:1–2; Mark 10:1]. 52 He sent some messengers ahead of him, who went into a town in Samaria to make everything ready for him. 53 But the people there would not ·welcome [receive] him, because he was ·set on going to [heading towards; L traveling with his face toward] Jerusalem [C Samaritans worshiped at Mount Gerizim, not in Jerusalem]. 54 When James and John, ·followers [disciples] of Jesus, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven and ·destroy [burn up; consume] those people[a] [2 Kin. 1:10]?”
55 But Jesus turned and ·scolded [rebuked] them. |And Jesus said, “You don’t know what kind of spirit you belong to. 56 The Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14] did not come to destroy the ·souls [lives] of people but to save them.”|[b] Then they went to another town.
Following Jesus(A)
57 As they were going along the road, someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you ·any place [wherever] you go.”
58 Jesus said to them, “The foxes have ·holes [dens] to live in, and the ·birds [L birds of the sky] have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to ·rest [lay] his head.”
59 Jesus said to another man, “Follow me!”
But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
60 But Jesus said to him, “Let the people who are [C spiritually] dead bury their own dead. You must go and ·tell about [proclaim] the kingdom of God.”
61 Another man said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me go and say good-bye to my family.”
62 Jesus said, “Anyone who ·begins to plow a field [L puts a hand to the plow] but keeps looking back is ·of no use in [or not fit for] the kingdom of God.”
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two(B)
10 After this, the Lord ·chose [appointed] ·seventy-two[c] [C the number may reflect the 70 nations listed in the “table of nations” in Genesis 10 (the Greek text of which reads “72”) and so foreshadows the mission to the Gentiles] others and sent them out in pairs ahead of him into every town and place where he ·planned [was about] to go. 2 He said to them, “·There are a great many people to harvest [L The harvest is great/large], but ·there are only a few workers [L the workers/laborers are few]. So pray to the Lord ·who owns [who is in charge of; L of] the harvest, that he will send more ·workers [laborers] ·to gather [L into] his harvest. 3 Go now, but ·listen [L look; T behold]! I am sending you out like ·sheep [lambs] among wolves. 4 Don’t carry ·a purse [money bag], a ·bag [traveling bag], or sandals, and don’t ·waste time talking with people [greet anyone] on the road [C because of the urgency of the task]. 5 ·Before [When] you go into a house, [L first] say, ‘Peace be with this house.’ 6 If ·peace-loving people [L a son/child of peace] live there, your ·blessing of peace [L peace] will ·stay with [rest on] them, but if not, then ·your blessing [L it] will come back to you. 7 Stay in the same house, eating and drinking what the people there give you. [L For] A worker ·should be given his pay [deserves his wages; T is worthy of his hire; 1 Tim. 5:18]. Don’t move from house to house [C to avoid the temptation of constantly seeking better accommodations]. 8 If you go into a town and the people welcome you, eat what they give you. 9 Heal the sick who live there, and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ 10 But if you go into a town, and the people don’t welcome you, then go into the streets and say, 11 ‘Even the ·dirt [dust] from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you [C in protest and as a warning of judgment]. But ·remember [know; recognize] that the kingdom of God ·is near [has come near; is at hand].’ 12 I tell you, on ·the Judgment Day [L that day] it will be ·better [more bearable/tolerable] for the people of Sodom [C a city God destroyed because the people were so evil; Gen. 19] than for the people of that town.
A Nation in Trouble Prays
A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of Asaph [C a Levitical musician, a descendant of Gershon, at the time of David; 1 Chr. 6:39; 15:17; 2 Chr. 5:12].
74 God, why have you rejected us ·for so long [forever]?
Why ·are you angry with us, [L does your anger smoke against] the sheep of your pasture [100:3]?
2 Remember the ·people [assembly; congregation] you ·bought [acquired] long ago.
You ·saved [redeemed] us, and we are ·your very own [L the tribe of your inheritance].
After all, you live on Mount Zion.
3 ·Make your way [Direct your steps] through ·these old [or the utter] ruins;
the enemy ·wrecked [destroyed] everything in the ·Temple [sanctuary; Holy Place; C perhaps a reference to the Babylonian destruction of the Temple; 2 Kin. 25:8–21; 2 Chr. 36:17–21; Lam. 2:6].
4 Those who were against you ·shouted [roared] in your meeting place
and ·raised their flags [L set their signs as signs] there.
5 ·They came with axes raised [or They hacked at the upper entrances]
as if to cut down a forest of trees.
6 They ·smashed [beat to pieces] the ·carved [engraved] panels
with their axes and ·hatchets [crowbars].
7 They ·burned your Temple to the ground [L set your sanctuary/Holy Place on fire];
they have made the ·place where you live [L residence of your name] ·unclean [profane].
8 They ·thought [L said in their hearts], “We will completely crush them!”
They burned ·every place where God was worshiped [L all the meeting places of God] in the land.
9 We do not see any signs.
There are no more prophets [C who can tell them what will happen],
and no one knows how long this will last.
10 God, how much longer will the enemy ·make fun of [scorn] you?
Will they ·insult [revile] ·you [L your name] forever?
11 Why do you ·hold back your power [L return your hand]?
·Bring your power out in the open [L Take your right hand out of your bosom] and ·destroy [annihilate] them!
12 God, you have been our king ·for a long time [of old; Ex. 15:18].
You bring ·salvation [victory] to the earth.
13 You split open the sea by your power
and broke the heads of the sea monster [C an ancient Near Eastern symbol of chaos].
14 You ·smashed [crushed in pieces] the heads of the monster Leviathan [C a sea monster and symbol of chaos; 104:26; Job 3:8; 41:1; Is. 27:1]
and gave it to the ·desert [wilderness] creatures as food.
15 You ·opened up [split] the springs and ·streams [wadis]
and made the flowing rivers run dry.
16 Both the day and the night are yours;
you made the sun and the moon [Gen. 1:14–18].
17 You set all the ·limits [borders] on the earth;
you ·created [formed] summer and winter [104:19–23; Gen. 8:22].
18 Lord, remember how the enemy ·insulted [scorned] you.
Remember how those foolish people ·made fun of you [L reviled your name].
19 Do not give us, your doves, to those wild animals.
Never forget your poor people.
20 ·Remember [Regard] the ·agreement [covenant] you made with us,
because violence fills every dark corner of this land.
21 Do not let your ·suffering [crushed] people be ·disgraced [humiliated].
Let the poor and ·helpless [needy] praise ·you [L your name].
22 God, arise and ·defend [contend for] yourself.
Remember the ·insults [scorn] that come from those foolish people all day long.
23 Don’t forget what your enemies said;
don’t forget their roar as they rise against you always.
11 Those who work their land will have plenty of food,
but the one who chases ·empty dreams [emptiness] ·is not wise [lacks sense/heart].
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