DEUTERONOMY 21

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Expiation of a Crime  21:1 “If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one. 3 It shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, that is, the elders of that city, shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been worked and which 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 has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. 5 Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the LORD; and every dispute and every assault shall be settled by them. 6 All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7 and they shall answer and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it. 8 Forgive Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O LORD, and do not place the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel.’ And the bloodguiltiness shall be forgiven them. 9 So you shall remove the guilt of innocent blood from your midst, when you do what is right in the eyes of the LORD.
Domestic Relations    10 “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take them away captive, 11 and see among the captives a beautiful woman, and have a desire for her and would take her as a wife for yourself, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall also remove the clothes of her captivity and shall remain in your house, and mourn her father and mother a full month; and after that you may go in to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. 14 It shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; but you shall certainly not sell her for money, you shall not mistreat her, because you have humbled her.
    15 “If a man has two wives, the one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have borne him sons, if the firstborn son belongs to the unloved, 16 then it shall be in the day he wills what he has to his sons, he cannot make the son of the loved the firstborn before 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 the beginning of his strength; to him belongs the right of the firstborn.
    18 “If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, 19 then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. 20 They shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21 Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.
    22 “If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is accursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

PSALM 72

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The Reign of the Righteous King.A Psalm of Solomon.
72:1 Give the king Your judgments, O God,

And Your righteousness to the king’s son.

2 May he judge Your people with righteousness

And Your afflicted with justice.

3 Let the mountains bring peace to the people,

And the hills, in righteousness.

4 May he vindicate the afflicted of the people,

Save the children of the needy

And crush the oppressor.

5 Let them fear You while the sun endures,

And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

6 May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,

Like showers that water the earth.

7 In his days may the righteous flourish,

And abundance of peace till the moon is no more.

8 May he also rule from sea to sea

And from the River to the ends of the earth.

9 Let the nomads of the desert bow before him,

And his enemies lick the dust.

10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents;

The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

11 And let all kings bow down before him,

All nations serve him.

12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,

The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.

13 He will have compassion on the poor and needy,

And the lives of the needy he will save.

14 He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,

And their blood will be precious in his sight;

15 So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;

And let them pray for him continually;

Let them bless him all day long.

16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;

Its fruit will wave like the cedars of Lebanon;

And may those from the city flourish like vegetation of the earth.

17 May his name endure forever;

May his name increase as long as the sun shines;

And let men bless themselves by him;

Let all nations call him blessed.

18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,

Who alone works wonders.

19 And blessed be His glorious name forever;

And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.

Amen, and Amen.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

PROVERBS 25

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Similitudes, Instructions  25:1 These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah, king of Judah, transcribed.
2 It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,

But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth,

So the heart of kings is unsearchable.

4 Take away the dross from the silver,

And there comes out a vessel for the smith;

5 Take away the wicked before the king,

And his throne will be established in righteousness.

6 Do not claim honor in the presence of the king,

And do not stand in the place of great men;

7 For it is better that it be said to you, “Come up here,”

Than for you to be placed lower in the presence of the prince,

Whom your eyes have seen.

8 Do not go out hastily to argue your case;

Otherwise, what will you do in the end,

When your neighbor humiliates you?

9 Argue your case with your neighbor,

And do not reveal the secret of another,

10 Or he who hears it will reproach you,

And the evil report about you will not pass away.

11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver

Is a word spoken in right circumstances.

12 Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold

Is a wise reprover to a listening ear.

13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest

Is a faithful messenger to those who send him,

For he refreshes the soul of his masters.

14 Like clouds and wind without rain

Is a man who boasts of his gifts falsely.

15 By forbearance a ruler may be persuaded,

And a soft tongue breaks the bone.

16 Have you found honey? Eat only what you need,

That you not have it in excess and vomit it.

17 Let your foot rarely be in your neighbor’s house,

Or he will become weary of you and hate you.

18 Like a club and a sword and a sharp arrow

Is a man who bears false witness against his neighbor.

19 Like a bad tooth and an unsteady foot

Is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.

20 Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda,

Is he who sings songs to a troubled heart.

21 If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat;

And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

22 For you will heap burning coals on his head,

And the LORD will reward you.

23 The north wind brings forth rain,

And a backbiting tongue, an angry countenance.

24 It is better to live in a corner of the roof

Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

25 Like cold water to a weary soul,

So is good news from a distant land.

26 Like a trampled spring and a polluted well

Is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

27 It is not good to eat much honey,

Nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory.

28 Like a city that is broken into and without walls

Is a man who has no control over his spirit.