Deuteronomy 21:1–14

“If someone slain is found in the land that Yahweh your God is giving to you to take possession of it and is lying in the field, and it is not known who ⌊killed him⌋,a 2 then your elders and your judges shall go out and shall measure the distance to the cities that are around the slain one. 3 ⌊And then⌋b the nearest city to the slain one, the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd that has not been worked with in the field, that has not pulled a yoke, 4 and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a ⌊wadi that flows with water all year⌋c and that has not been plowed and has not been sown; then ⌊there they shall break the neck of the heifer in the wadi⌋.d 5 Then the priests, the descendantse of Levi, shall come near, for Yahweh your God has chosen them to bless in the name of Yahweh, and every legal dispute and every case of assault will be ⌊subject to their ruling⌋.f 6 And all of the elders of that city nearest to the slain person shall wash their hands over the heifer with the broken neck in the wadi.g 7 And they shall declare, and they shall say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, and our eyes did not see what was done. 8 Forgive your people, Israel, whom you redeemed, Yahweh, and do not ⌊allow⌋h the guilt of innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel, and let them be forgiven with regard to blood.’ 9 And so you shall purge the innocent blood from your midst, because you must do the right thing in the eyes of Yahweh.

10 “When you go out for battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God gives them into your hand, and you lead the captivesi away, 11 and you see among the captivesj a woman beautiful in appearance, and you become attached to her and you want to take her as a wife, 12 then you shall bring her into your household, and she shall shave her head, and she shall trim her nails. 13 And she shall remove the clothing of her captivity from her, and she shall remain in your house, and she shall mourn her father and her mother ⌊a full month⌋,k and after this ⌊you may have sex with her⌋,l and you may marry her, and she may ⌊become your wife⌋.m 14 And then if you do not take delight in her, then you shall let her go ⌊to do whatever she wants⌋,n but you shall not treat her as a slave, since you have dishonoredo her.