and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.

In this manner you will purge out the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before the Lord.

if you should see among them an attractive woman whom you wish to take as a wife,

In the day he divides his inheritance he must not appoint as firstborn the son of the favorite wife in place of the other wife's son who is actually the firstborn.

Rather, he must acknowledge the son of the less loved wife as firstborn and give him the double portion of all he has, for that son is the beginning of his father's procreative power -- to him should go the right of the firstborn.

They must declare to the elders of his city, "Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say -- he is a glutton and drunkard."

If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse on a tree,

his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

If the owner does not live near you or you do not know who the owner is, then you must corral the animal at your house and let it stay with you until the owner looks for it; then you must return it to him.

A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor should a man dress up in women's clothing, for anyone who does this is offensive to the Lord your God.

Moreover, he has raised accusations of impropriety by saying, 'I discovered your daughter was not a virgin,' but this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity!" The cloth must then be spread out before the city's elders.

They will fine him one hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman's father, for the man who made the accusation ruined the reputation of an Israelite virgin. She will then become his wife and he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

But if the accusation is true and the young woman was not a virgin,

If a man is caught having sexual relations with a married woman both the man who had relations with the woman and the woman herself must die; in this way you will purge evil from Israel.

If a virgin is engaged to a man and another man meets her in the city and has sexual relations with her,

You must not do anything to the young woman -- she has done nothing deserving of death. This case is the same as when someone attacks another person and murders him,

Suppose a man comes across a virgin who is not engaged and overpowers and rapes her and they are discovered.

The man who has raped her must pay her father fifty shekels of silver and she must become his wife because he has violated her; he may never divorce her as long as he lives.

for they did not meet you with food and water on the way as you came from Egypt, and furthermore, they hired Balaam son of Beor of Pethor in Aram Naharaim to curse you.

You must not hate an Edomite, for he is your relative; you must not hate an Egyptian, for you lived as a foreigner in his land.

When you go out as an army against your enemies, guard yourselves against anything impure.

If there is someone among you who is impure because of some nocturnal emission, he must leave the camp; he may not reenter it immediately.

You are to have a place outside the camp to serve as a latrine.

When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he will surely hold you accountable as a sinner.

Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering.

When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please, but you must not take away any in a container.

When you go into the ripe grain fields of your neighbor you may pluck off the kernels with your hand, but you must not use a sickle on your neighbor's ripe grain.

her first husband who divorced her is not permitted to remarry her after she has become ritually impure, for that is offensive to the Lord. You must not bring guilt on the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

When a man is newly married, he need not go into the army nor be obligated in any way; he must be free to stay at home for a full year and bring joy to the wife he has married.

One must not take either lower or upper millstones as security on a loan, for that is like taking a life itself as security.

If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites, and regards him as mere property and sells him, that kidnapper must die. In this way you will purge evil from among you.

Be careful during an outbreak of leprosy to follow precisely all that the Levitical priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, so you should do.

When you make any kind of loan to your neighbor, you may not go into his house to claim what he is offering as security.

You must stand outside and the person to whom you are making the loan will bring out to you what he is offering as security.

If the person is poor you may not use what he gives you as security for a covering.

You must by all means return to him at sunset the item he gave you as security so that he may sleep in his outer garment and bless you for it; it will be considered a just deed by the Lord your God.

You must pay his wage that very day before the sun sets, for he is poor and his life depends on it. Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

You must not pervert justice due a resident foreigner or an orphan, or take a widow's garment as security for a loan.

Then, if the guilty person is sentenced to a beating, the judge shall force him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows his wicked behavior deserves.

The judge may sentence him to forty blows, but no more. If he is struck with more than these, you might view your fellow Israelite with contempt.

You must not muzzle your ox when it is treading grain.

But if the man does not want to marry his brother's widow, then she must go to the elders at the town gate and say, "My husband's brother refuses to preserve his brother's name in Israel; he is unwilling to perform the duty of a brother-in-law to me!"

His family name will be referred to in Israel as "the family of the one whose sandal was removed."

You must have an accurate and correct stone weight and an accurate and correct measuring container, so that your life may be extended in the land the Lord your God is about to give you.

For anyone who acts dishonestly in these ways is abhorrent to the Lord your God.

So when the Lord your God gives you relief from all the enemies who surround you in the land he is giving you as an inheritance, you must wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven -- do not forget!

When you enter the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you occupy it and live in it,

you must take the first of all the ground's produce you harvest from the land the Lord your God is giving you, place it in a basket, and go to the place where he chooses to locate his name.

You must go to the priest in office at that time and say to him, "I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord promised to our ancestors to give us."

Then you must affirm before the Lord your God, "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor, and he went down to Egypt and lived there as a foreigner with a household few in number, but there he became a great, powerful, and numerous people.

But the Egyptians mistreated and oppressed us, forcing us to do burdensome labor.

So we cried out to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, and he heard us and saw our humiliation, toil, and oppression.

Therefore the Lord brought us out of Egypt with tremendous strength and power, as well as with great awe-inspiring signs and wonders.

Then he brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Then you shall say before the Lord your God, "I have removed the sacred offering from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me. I have not violated or forgotten your commandments.

Look down from your holy dwelling place in heaven and bless your people Israel and the land you have given us, just as you promised our ancestors -- a land flowing with milk and honey."

Today the Lord your God is commanding you to keep these statutes and ordinances, something you must do with all your heart and soul.

And today the Lord has declared you to be his special people (as he already promised you) so you may keep all his commandments.

Then he will elevate you above all the nations he has made and you will receive praise, fame, and honor. You will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he has said.

When you cross the Jordan River to the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must erect great stones and cover them with plaster.

Then you must inscribe on them all the words of this law when you cross over, so that you may enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, said to you.

Then you must build an altar there to the Lord your God, an altar of stones -- do not use an iron tool on them.

Cursed is the one who makes a carved or metal image -- something abhorrent to the Lord, the work of the craftsman -- and sets it up in a secret place.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who disrespects his father and mother.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor's boundary marker.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who misleads a blind person on the road.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who perverts justice for the resident foreigner, the orphan, and the widow.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his father's former wife, for he dishonors his father.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who commits bestiality.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who kills his neighbor in private.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Cursed is the one who refuses to keep the words of this law.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

Your children will be blessed, as well as the produce of your soil, the offspring of your livestock, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

The Lord will decree blessing for you with respect to your barns and in everything you do -- yes, he will bless you in the land he is giving you.

The Lord will designate you as his holy people just as he promised you, if you keep his commandments and obey him.

Your children will be cursed, as well as the produce of your soil, the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks.

You will be engaged to a woman and another man will rape her. You will build a house but not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but not even begin to use it.

Your ox will be slaughtered before your very eyes but you will not eat of it. Your donkey will be stolen from you as you watch and will not be returned to you. Your flock of sheep will be given to your enemies and there will be no one to save you.

As for the produce of your land and all your labor, a people you do not know will consume it, and you will be nothing but oppressed and crushed for the rest of your lives.

The Lord will raise up a distant nation against you, one from the other side of the earth as the eagle flies, a nation whose language you will not understand,

The man among you who is by nature tender and sensitive will turn against his brother, his beloved wife, and his remaining children.

He will withhold from all of them his children's flesh that he is eating (since there is nothing else left), because of the severity of the siege by which your enemy will constrict you in your villages.

There will be very few of you left, though at one time you were as numerous as the stars in the sky, because you will have disobeyed the Lord your God.

This is what will happen: Just as the Lord delighted to do good for you and make you numerous, he will take delight in destroying and decimating you. You will be uprooted from the land you are about to possess.

Then the Lord will make you return to Egypt by ship, over a route I said to you that you would never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you."

Moses proclaimed to all Israel as follows: "You have seen all that the Lord did in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, all his servants, and his land.

Then we took their land and gave it as an inheritance to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

so that you may enter by oath into the covenant the Lord your God is making with you today.

Today he will affirm that you are his people and that he is your God, just as he promised you and as he swore by oath to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

It is not with you alone that I am making this covenant by oath,

but with whoever stands with us here today before the Lord our God as well as those not with us here today.

"(For you know how we lived in the land of Egypt and how we crossed through the nations as we traveled.

Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit.

The generation to come -- your descendants who will rise up after you, as well as the foreigner who will come from distant places -- will see the afflictions of that land and the illnesses that the Lord has brought on it.

Then all the nations will ask, "Why has the Lord done all this to this land? What is this fierce, heated display of anger all about?"

That is why the Lord's anger erupted against this land, bringing on it all the curses written in this scroll.

So the Lord has uprooted them from their land in anger, wrath, and great rage and has deported them to another land, as is clear today."

Secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those that are revealed belong to us and our descendants forever, so that we might obey all the words of this law.