Study Desk

There shall not be found in you one who passes his son or his daughter through the fire, one that uses divination, an observer of clouds, or one divining, or a whisperer of spells,

I shall raise up a prophet to them from among their brothers, one like you; and I will put My Words in his mouth; and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him.

And it shall be, whoever will not listen to My Words which he shall speak in My name, I will require it at his hand.

And this is the case of the manslayer who shall flee there, that he may live: whoever strikes his neighbor unawares, and has not hated him yesterday and the day before;

even he who goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand brings a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips from the wood and finds his neighbor so that he dies; he shall flee to one of these cities, and shall live;

that the avenger of blood not pursue the manslayer when his heart is hot, and shall overtake him because the way is long, and shall strike him so as to die, and he had no sentence of death, for he did not hate him yesterday or the day before.

if you will keep these commandments which I am commanding you today, to love Jehovah your God, and to walk in His ways forever, then you shall add to yourself another three cities to these three.

And if a man hates his neighbor, and lies in wait for him, and rises up against him, and strikes his life from him, so that he dies, and flees to one of these cities,

then the elders of his city shall send and bring from him there, and give him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

And the judges shall carefully investigate and, behold, if the witness is a false witness, and he has testified falsely against his brother,

then you shall do to him as he plotted to do to his brother. And you shall put away the evil from among you.

And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, Who is the man that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, that he not die in battle and another man dedicate it.

And who is the man that has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, that he not die in battle, and another man use its fruit.

And who is the man who has betrothed a woman, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, that he not die in the battle, and another man take her.

And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, Who is the man who is afraid, and faint of heart? Let him go and return to his house; then the heart of his brothers will not melt like his heart.

then it shall be, in the day that he causes his sons to inherit that which is his, he is not able to cause to inherit the first-born son of the one loved before the first-born son of the one hated, who is truly the first-born.

But he shall acknowledge the first-born, the son of the hated one, by giving him a double portion of all that he has; for he is the firstfruit of his strength, the right of the first-born is his.

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not listen to his father's voice, or his mother's voice; even though they discipline him, he will not listen to them;

then his father and his mother shall lay hold on him and bring him out to the elders of his city, and to the gate of his place;

and they shall say to the elders of his city, This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not listen to our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.