^21:1If a homicide victim¹ should be found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you,² and no one knows who killed³ him, ^21:2your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse.⁴^21:3Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse⁵ must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked—that has never pulled with the yoke—

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Footnotes

1 Heb “slain [one].” The term חָלָל (khalal) suggests something other than a natural death (cf. Num 19:16; 23:24; Jer 51:52; Ezek 26:15; 30:24; 31:17–18).
2 The Hebrew text includes “to possess it,” but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.
3 Heb “struck,” but in context a fatal blow is meant; cf. “who committed the murder.”
4 Heb “surrounding the slain [one].”
5 Heb “slain [one].”

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“If in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess someone is found slain, lying in the open country, and it is not known who killed him, then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities. And the elders of the city that is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer that has never been worked and that has not pulled in a yoke.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

If someone is found slain, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who the killer was, your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“If a murder victim is found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, your elders and judges are to come out and measure the distance from the victim to the nearby cities. The elders of the city nearest to the victim are to get a young cow that has not been yoked or used for work.

NLTNew Living Translation

“When you are in the land the Lord your God is giving you, someone may be found murdered in a field, and you don’t know who committed the murder. In such a case, your elders and judges must measure the distance from the site of the crime to the nearby towns. When the nearest town has been determined, that town’s elders must select from the herd a heifer that has never been trained or yoked to a plow.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“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, then your elders and your judges shall go out and shall measure the distance to the cities that are around the slain one. And then 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,

KJV 1900King James Version

If one be found slain in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him: Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;

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