Preface:

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Deuteronomy. This will be the most extensive examination of Deuteronomy 21 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

This should be the most extensive examination of Deut. 21 available, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text.

Outline of Chapter 21:

Introduction

         vv.     1–9           Ceremony for the Unsolved Murder

         vv.    10–14         Taking a Wife from Enemy Captives

         vv.    15–17         The Protocol of Inheritance

         vv.    18–21         The Execution of the Disobedient Teen

         vv.    22–23         Defiling the Land with a Hanging Corpse

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Matthew Henry’s Overview of Deuteronomy 21

         Introduction         The Prequel of Deuteronomy 21

         Introduction         The Principals of Deuteronomy 21

         Introduction         The Places of Deuteronomy 21

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Deuteronomy 21

         Introduction         Studying the Mosaic Law

         v.       2              Legalistic Confusion Associated with Deuteronomy 21:2

         v.       3              Why is an animal taken to sacrifice from this city?

         v.       4              The Parallels Between the Heifer and Jesus

         v.       8              Scofield’s Doctrine of Redemption

         v.      10              Deuteronomy 21:10–14 Rape—a forced marriage? (Graphic)

         v.      13              The Procedure for a Captive Woman to Become an Israelite Wife

         v.      13              The Protections Afforded Captive Women

         v.      13              The Pulpit Commentary on the Protection of Women in War

         v.      13              Three Short Points from the Pulpit Commentary

         v.      13              The Captive Wife is a Type

         v.      14              Is this the loophole for legitimate illegitimate sex in the Bible?

         v.      14              The Pulpit Commentary Summary of Deuteronomy 21:10–14

         v.      14              Interpreting the Captive Wife in Deuteronomy 21:10–14

         v.      14              Applying the Captive Wife to Today’s Standards

         v.      14              Deuteronomy and the Law of God

         v.      15              The Abbreviated Doctrine of the Firstborn

         v.      17              Jesus is the Firstborn

         v.      17              Understanding and Interpreting Deuteronomy 21:15–17

         v.      17              A Modern-Day Application of Deuteronomy 21:15–17

         v.      18              Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge References for Parental Authority

         v.      21              Purging Evil from Israel’s Midst

         v.      21              Deuteronomy 21:18–21 (graphic)

         v.      21              Deuteronomy 21:18–21 (graphic #2)

         v.      21              Stoning the Rebellious Teen

         v.      21              Applying the Principle of the Disobedient Son to Today

         v.      21              Increase in Juvenile Crime graphic

         v.      21              What do we learn from executing the disobedient teen today?

         v.      21              Three Things which Liberals Find to be Particularly Odious in Deuteronomy 21

         v.      23              The Dual Authorship of the Holy Scriptures

         Addendum          Why Deuteronomy 21 is in the Word of God

         Addendum          What We Learn from Deuteronomy 21

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Deuteronomy 21

         Addendum          Word Cloud of Deut. 21 from the Kukis “Not So Literal” Translation

         Addendum          Word Cloud of the Exegesis of Deuteronomy 21

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An Introduction to Deuteronomy 21

I ntroduction: Deut. 21 continues with a set of laws and legal matters, many of which Moses has come up with, being the Supreme Court Judge over all the Israelites for 40 years in the wilderness between Egypt and the land of Canaan. What is forgotten about Moses is (1) he was trained in the law and had probably studied the laws of several different nations and (2) he has probably encountered hundreds of different court cases, requiring him to make some general rulings which can become future guidelines for Israel as a nation.

The topics covered in Deut. 21 are not clarifications of the Law handed down by God to Moses; in fact, this portion of God’s Word has no parallel anywhere else. Little matter—this is still the Word of God. Moses did not run out of things to say and decided to just start making up laws off the top of his head. He did not think, you know, this topic wasn’t covered yet; let me make a ruling on it. He spoke (or, read from his notes) as inspired by God the Holy Spirit. And this portion of the Word of God is as inspired and is as meaningful as any other portion.

This passage begins interestingly enough with a dead body which has been disposed of out in a field. At first what appears to be required as a ceremony on behalf of the man who has been slain but which is actually performed on behalf of the city as part of an oath that no one in the nearest city committed the murder and no one in the city is a witness to same.

The next portion of Deuteronomy 21 deals with taking a captive woman for yourself as a wife. This Israelites would be involved in war for the next several years and God would allow for them to choose a wife from among the peoples whom they have conquered.

Thirdly, we deal with rules of inheritance under a polygamous marriage; and fourthly, the Bible reveals the simple key to dealing with rebellious teenagers. Finally, although an execution is public, the Bible forbids leaving the corpse of the criminal out to hang throughout the evening.

Fenton Farrar makes an interesting suggestion, which I discounted, at first. He says that the first 9 verses of this chapter have been misplaced and belong in Deut. 19 after v. 21 (others suggest the same thing). If these 9 verses are removed, then there is an interesting progression through Deut. 20 and 21. Deut. 20 deals with warfare, and Deut. 21:10–14 continue with that theme, suggesting that, when a war has been won, sometimes there are captives, and that single Israelite men might choose a wife from the captives (actually, this is not really confined to single Israelite men, suggesting that even a married man could take from the captives another wife—although that is not specifically stated).

Then we go from a man taking a wife, to the situation where a man has two wives and children from these two wives. He cannot play favorites which his children and place the child of the wife he loves above those children of the wife that he does not love (obviously, if a man takes a second wife, it is because his relationship with his present wife has soured somewhat).

Since we are talking about children, what about the disobedient child—the boy that both parents agree cannot be controlled? The Bible allows for that child to be executed, if both parents agree. In this way, this child is an example to other disobedient children.

Finally, since he is an example to other children, some criminals are hung on a tree, after they are executed, as an example to the people of that city. However, the city is not allowed to let the body be hung up overnight; it must be removed and buried.

So what we have here is a very interesting progression of laws and examples, where one leads to the next (with the exception of the first 9 verses, which does not appear to fit here). As an aside, only Fenton Farrar appears to make this assertion (although see his footnote explanation).

One of the fascinating aspects of the book of Deuteronomy is, this is just Moses teaching and some of these things come directly from his experience of dealing with the people of Israel as their leader. What he says in this book is taken as if from the mouth of God. Jewish tradition may call the book of Deuteronomy the second law, but it is never considered to be of a secondary nature. Christians and Jews alike view these words of Moses to be every bit as inspired as the rest of the books of the Pentateuch.

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Ceremony for the Unsolved Murder

As mentioned earlier, several translators suggest that these first 9 verses are out of place and better placed in Deut. 19. This allows for a more logical flow from Deut. 20 to 21. See the note which goes along with this first verse in The Voice.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. Taken from http://targum.info/targumic-texts/pentateuchal-targumim/ and first published in 1862.

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        If a male be found slain upon the ground, unburied, in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, lying down, and not hanged on a tree in the field, nor floating on the face of the water; and it be not known who did kill him:...

Latin Vulgate                          When there will be found in the land, which the Lord your God will give you, the corpse of a man slain, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder,...

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        For is found a slain man in the ground (which Y^ehowah your Elohim is giving to you to possess her), lying in the field and he is not known who killed him.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    If a person is found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it is not known who has slain him;...

Septuagint (Greek)                And if one should be found slain with the sword in the land, which the Lord your God gives you to inherit, having fallen in the field, and they do not know who has killed him,...

Significant differences:           The Latin lacks to inherit it in the first sentence, which is found in the Hebrew. The targum, as is often the case, has several additional phrases.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Unsolved homicides

If a corpse is found on the ground the Lord your God is giving you to possess, lying in a field, and the identity of the killer is unknown,.

Contemporary English V.       Suppose the body of a murder victim is found in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you, and no one knows who the murderer is.

Easy English                          Rules about murder, marriage and sons who refuse to obey

You may find the dead body of a man that is lying in a field. Someone has killed him, in the country that the *Lord your God is giving to you.

Easy-to-Read Version            “In the land that the Lord your God is giving you, a man might be found murdered in a field. But no one knows who killed him.

Good News Bible (TEV)         "Suppose someone is found murdered in a field in the land that the LORD your God is going to give you, and you do not know who killed him.

The Message                         If a dead body is found on the ground, this ground that GOD, your God, has given you, lying out in the open, and no one knows who killed him,...

New Century Version             A Person Found Murdered

Suppose someone is found murdered, lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your own, and no one knows who killed the person.

New Living Translation           Cleansing for Unsolved Murder

"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.

The Voice                               Moses: If a murder victim is found lying on the ground in the open field, anywhere in the territory the Eternal your God is giving you to live in, and no one knows who the killer was, then perform a special ceremony to remove the bloodguilt from your land.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          'And if anyone is found murdered with a knife, and [his body is] left in a field in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you to inherit, and no one knows who did it;...

Beck’s American Translation When a Murderer Isn’t Known

“If you find anyone lying murdered in a field in the country the Lord your God gives you to possess, but nobody knows who killed him,...

Christian Community Bible     Laws and rights

If the corpse of a slain man is found in the land which Yahweh, your God, will give you, and it is not known who killed him, ² your judges and leaders shall go out to mea sure the distance between the victim and the surrounding cities to ³ determine which city is nearest to the dead man. Vv. 2–3a are included for context.

God’s Word™                         This is what you must do if you find a murder victim lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you. If no one knows who committed the murder,...

New Advent (Knox) Bible       When, in this land of thine, a dead man's body is found and there is no knowing who slew him,...

New American Bible              "If the corpse of a slain man is found lying in the open on the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you to occupy, and it is not known who killed him,... [1-9] This paragraph is best read immediately after Deut 19:21. The slain man may not necessarily have been murdered; he may have been killed by a wild beast. But the blood of the slain cries out to God from the soil where it was shed; cf Genesis 4:10. Therefore a religious ceremony of propitiation is here prescribed in order to avert God's anger on the community.

New American Bible (R.E.)    Absolution of Untraced Murder.

If the corpse of someone who has been slain is found lying in the open, in the land the LORD, your God, is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed the person,... [21:1-9] This law has to do with absolving the community of bloodguilt that accrues to it and to the land when a homicide occurs and the murderer cannot be identified and punished.

NIRV                                      What to Do When You Don't Know Who Killed Someone

Suppose you find someone who has been killed. The body is lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you to take as your own. But no one knows who the killer was.

New Simplified Bible              »This is what you must do if you find a murder victim lying in a field in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you. If no one knows who committed the murder,...

Today’s NIV                          Atonement for an Unsolved Murder

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,...

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      When the desecrated are found fallen in the field in the property which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it, but knowing not who smote him:...

Bible in Basic English             If, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you come across the dead body of a man in the open country, and you have no idea who has put him to death:...

The Expanded Bible              A Person Found Murdered

Suppose ·someone is found murdered [^La corpse], lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you as your ·own [possession], and no one knows who ·killed [^Lstruck] the person.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 When a corpse was found fallen in a field in the land which your Ever-living God gives you to possess, and it is not known how killed,... F.F. has a “restored order” for this chapter of Deuteronomy. Not sure if I will cover that or not. He places this passage after Deut. 19:21. Footnote: These first nine verses of Ch. xxi. have been evidently misplaced by some transcriber, and should be at the end of Ch. xix., as I now place them, as they complete the subject dealt with by Moses. I therefore restore them to their proper position. The reader, however, will probably ask my reasons for these alterations which I make in the arrangement of the text in Ch. xix.- xxi. They are as follows: I had always felt that the accepted order of the matter had become confused by some very ancient transcribers, and therefore consulted scholars whom I believed to be fully competent to assist me in a rectification, by which I proposed to bring the thought of the speeches of Moses in those chapters to a perfectly consecutive current of meaning. All agreed with me that the old text had been confused, but would not venture to decide whether my new proposed arrangements were correct. I was disappointed, so at last appealed to my talented friend the Reverend John Bowen, B.D., Rector of St. Lawrence, Pembrokeshire, who is an accomplished Classic and Oriental Scholar, and he kindly consented to co-operate with me, and I accepted his exact and careful amendments to my suggestions, feeling convinced that they were right. The confusion of the text at the various points noted in my margin, I think, arose at the time when our present t< xt was copied on to a roll of skins, from the original stone plates or tablets upon which Moses engraved the Speeches for record in the Ark of Witnesses, as stated by Aliazer, his Editor, in Ch. xxxiii., v. 24, of Deuteronomy. The Scribe then evidently confused the order of the plates. The fact that the various passages implicated contain about the same number of words, I take as an indication that my view is the right one. My learned and judicious friend, the Rev. J. Bowen, however, informs me that a previous commentator upon this part of Deuteronomy, who had noted the confusion in the records, has suggested an even earlier period for its origination. He believed, and Mr. Bowen seems to agree with him, that it was made at the time when, in accordance with the command of Moses, the Law was engraved, " deeply cut," upon the pillars set up, and covered with some enduring chemical plaster, in the Yale of the Jordan, upon the passage of Joshua and his Army. That there the autographic tablets of Moses were in these paragraphs misarranged, and subsequent transcribers tailed to rectify the error. I leave my readers to decide which theory has the best weight of evidence to support it. - F. F.

NET Bible®                             Laws Concerning Unsolved Murder

If a homicide victim [Heb "slain [one]." The term חָלָל (khalal) suggests something other than a natural death (cf. Num. 19:16; Num. 23:24; Jer. 51:52; Eze. 26:15; Eze. 30:24; Eze. 31:17–18).] should be found lying in a field in the land the Lord your God is giving you [The Hebrew text includes "to possess it," but this has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons.], and no one knows who killed [Heb "struck," but in context a fatal blow is meant; cf. NLT "who committed the murder."] him,... When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

NIV, ©2011                             Atonement for an Unsolved Murder

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,.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           "If, in the land ADONAI your God is giving you to possess, a murder victim is found lying in the countryside; and the perpetrator of the murder is not known;...

exeGeses companion Bible   THE TORAH ON UNKNOWN ASSASSINS

When you find someone pierced

on the soil Yah Veh your Elohim gives you to possess

- fallen in the field

and know not who pierced him:...

Kaplan Translation                 The Unsolved Murder

[This is what you must do] when a corpse is found fallen in the field in the land that God your Lord is giving you to occupy, and it is not known who the murderer is. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Exodus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           If one be found slain in ha'adamah which Hashem Eloheicha giveth thee to possess it, lying in the sadeh, and it be not known who hath slain him;...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    In case someone mortally wounded is found on the ground that Yahweh your Elohim is giving to you to tenant it, having fallen in the field, and it is not known who smote him fatally,...

Context Group Version          If one is found slain in the land { or earth } which YHWH your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it is not known who has struck him;...

English Standard V. – UK       Atonement for Unsolved Murders

"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,...

The Geneva Bible                  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:... This law declares how horrible murder is, seeing that because of one man a whole country will be punished, unless remedy is found.

Green’s Literal Translation    If one is found slain in the land which Jehovah your God is giving to you, to possess it, lying in the field, and it is not known who has struck him;...

NASB                                     Expiation of a Crime

"If a slain person is found lying in the open country in the land which the Lord your God gives you to [a]possess, and it is not known who has struck him,...

New King James Version       The Law Concerning Unsolved Murder

"If anyone is found slain, lying in the field in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,...

New RSV                               If, in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess, a body is found lying in open country, and it is not known who struck the person down,...

Syndein/Thieme                     If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah/God your 'Elohim/Godhead gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who has slain him...

World English Bible                If one be found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it isn't known who has struck him;...

Young’s Updated LT             “When one is found slain on the ground which Jehovah your God is giving to you to possess it—fallen in a field—it is not known who has struck him [down].

The gist of this verse:          A murder victim is found, but there are no witnesses and no suspects.

Translation: When a slain man is found on the ground... There will be the problem of an unsolved homicide which occurs now and again. That is what Moses is speaking of here. A man is found dead, lying on the ground.

Murders like this defiled the land. Num. 35:33–34 So you shall not defile the land in which you are. For blood defiles the land. And the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of him that shed it. So do not defile the land which you shall inhabit, in which I dwell. For I Jehovah dwell among the sons of Israel. (MKJV) Therefore, because this defiled the land that God gave them, the people of Israel cannot simply ignore such a crime that has taken place. The guilt for this sin had to be dealt with, even though the one responsible for this crime is not known.

Translation:...(which [land] Y^ehowah your Elohim is giving to you to possess it),... Moses inserts that this is the land which God is giving to the Jews. This means that he is giving laws and application of law for their time when in the Land of Promise.

At this point in time, the Jews are on the east side of the Jordan, getting ready to cross over into the Land of Promise to take it. Moses has come up with some additional laws which would be helpful to them in the new land.

Moses reminds them that God has given them this land; they will be able to walk into the Land of Promise and take it.

Translation: ...lying in an unpopulated area... The word here is sâdeh (שָׂדֶה) [pronounced saw-DEH], which means field, land, country, open field, open country; an unpopulated area. Strong’s #7704 BDB #961. This means that there are no witnesses and likely that there is no physical evidence which can be evaluated.

This is logical that a murderer would attempt his crimes outside of a populated area, so that there are no witnesses, thus making a conviction much more difficult. In this way, the murderer might not even be suspected.

Translation: ...and it is not known who killed him,... If there is anyone in this vicinity, they are unaware of the killing or unaware of who might have killed this person who is found.

Moses is saying that this incident cannot be ignored. They cannot simply open up a file box on this murder, keep in it a few pieces of physical evidence, and then file it away.

This ceremony will temporarily cover over the crime, as there will come a time for the paying of all debts and the administration of punishment for every crime. Isa. 26:21 For behold, Jehovah comes out of His place to punish the people of the earth for their iniquity; the earth also shall reveal her blood, and shall no more cover her dead. We may think of this as God finding the murderer and shaking him and punishing him; but the way that this is accomplished is, Jesus Christ will die for that sin; Jesus Christ will pay for the penalty by His substitutionary death. In many ways, this ceremony will reflect the manner in which our sins are dealt with.

The first verse reads: When a slain man is found on the ground (which [land] Y^ehowah your Elohim is giving to you to inherit it), lying in an unpopulated area and it is not known who killed him,... This chapter begins like the prologue of a murder mystery. The scene here is an unsolved murder. The body was found out in a field and there are no witnesses and no suspects.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                ...then two of the sages will proceed from the chief court of judgment, and three of your judges, and will measure to the surrounding cities which lie on the four quarters from the (spot where) the dead man (is found);...

Latin Vulgate                          ...Your ancients and judges will go out, and will measure from the place where the body lies the distance of every city round about:...

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And have come forth your elders and your judges and they have measured unto the cities which [are] round about the slain [one].

Peshitta (Syriac)                    ...Then your elders and your judges shall come forth, and they shall measure the distance to the cities which are round about him that is slain; ...

Septuagint (Greek)                ...then your elders and your judges shall come forth, and shall measure the distances of the cities round about the slain man.

Significant differences:           The targum adds a lot of prose; the ancient translations, however, are very similar to the Hebrew.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       The judges and other leaders from the towns around there must find out what town is the closest to where the body was found.

Easy English                          You may not know who has killed him. Then this is what you must do: Your leaders and *judges must measure how far the dead man is from the nearest towns.

Easy-to-Read Version            Then your leaders and judges must come out and measure the distance to the towns around the person that was killed.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Your leaders and judges are to go out and measure the distance from the place where the body was found to each of the nearby towns.

New Life Bible                        ...then your leaders and judges will go out and see how far it is to the cities that are around the dead man.

New Living Translation           In such a case, your elders and judges must measure the distance from the site of the crime to the nearby towns.

The Voice                               ⁵ Send for the priests, the descendants of Levi, the ones the Eternal your God chose to serve Him and to bless His name, because they're the ones who settle disputes and handle cases of injury like this [Verse 5 has been moved forward to aid in comprehension.]. ² Have your elders and judges measure the distance from the body to the nearby cities. V. 5 is included here for context.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          ... your elders and judges must go there and measure the distances from the slain man to the cities round about.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       ...elders and judges must betake themselves to the spot where he lies, and find by measurement which of the neighbouring cities is nearest at hand.

New American Bible (R.E.)    ...your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distances to the cities that are in the neighborhood of the corpse.

NIRV                                      Then your elders and judges will go out and measure how far it is from the body to the nearby towns.

New Jerusalem Bible             ...your elders and scribes must measure the distance between the victim and the surrounding towns,...

Revised English Bible            ...your elders and your judges are to come out and measure the distance to the surrounding towns to establish which is nearest.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Your elders and your judges proceed, and they measure to the cities around the desecrated.

Bible in Basic English             Then your responsible men and your judges are to come out, and give orders for the distance from the dead body to the towns round about it to be measured;...

The Expanded Bible              Your elders and judges should go to where the ·body [^Lcorpse] was found, and they should measure how far it is to the nearby cities.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 ...your chiefs and magistrates shall go and measure to the towns that are round about the corpse,...

NET Bible®                             ...your elders and judges must go out and measure how far it is to the cities in the vicinity of the corpse [Heb "surrounding the slain [one]."].

NIV – UK                                ...your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

exeGeses companion Bible   ...then your elders and your judges come

and measure to the cities all around the pierced:...

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               ...your elders and magistrates shall go out and measure the distances from the corpse to the nearby towns.

Kaplan Translation                 Your elders and judges [A total of five members of the Sanhedrin (Yad, Rotze'ach 9:1).] must go out and measure the distance to the cities around the corpse.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           ...Then thy zekenim and thy shofetim shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the towns which are round about him that is slain;...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    ...then your elders and your judges will go forth and measure the distance to the cities that are around the mortally wounded one.

English Standard Version      ...then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities.

NASB                                     ...then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the slain one.

New RSV                               ...then your elders and your judges shall come out to measure the distances to the towns that are near the body.

Webster’s Bible Translation  ...then your elders and your judges shall come forth, and they shall measure to the cities which are round about him who is slain:...

Young’s Updated LT             Then have your elders and your judges gone out and measured unto the cities which are round about the slain one.

The gist of this verse:          Elders and judges will come out and determine which city is closest to the corpse.

Translation: ...then your elders and your judges will come out... There is a procedure when a murder has occurred, but there are no suspects. The elders and judges will come out, in part to look over the scene and consider the situation. Although that is not said, that is likely a part of this.

The elders represented the people in general; the men who were respected in their community; men who were older and wiser in almost all affairs. The judges were those who tried the various legal cases and had been elected or appointed (recall that there was never a specific method given for their office). With the priests represented in v. 5, we have people taken from all sectors of society in this matter.

Therefore, the elders represent the citizens in general while the judges represent the government leadership.

Translation: ...and they will measure to the cities which [are] near to [lit., round about] the slain man. Their purpose is stated here, that they would determine how far away the nearest cities are. This would imply that people of that era had a way to measure long distances, although that method is not clearly laid out for us.

Israel will begin as a series of hamlets which will be held together through a road system and through the headship of Jesus Christ, so it would be most likely that the city nearest the body would contain the person or persons responsible for the death.

All that is being determined here is jurisdiction; to which city did this crime belong? Law enforcement agencies practice this sort of thing all the time.

Bear in mind what might happen while this is occurring—these elders who fan out in various directions may come across physical evidence or even across the man who committed this deed. So, even though the intention of this “measuring exercise” is to execute an animal vicariously for this crime, there is the slight possibility that the true killer might be found by this act.

Vv. 1–2 read: When a slain man is found on the ground (which [land] Y^ehowah your Elohim is giving to you), lying in an unpopulated area and it is not known who killed him, then your elders and your judges will come out and they will measure to the cities which [are] near to [lit., round about] the slain man. There is an unsolved and unsolvable murder. There are no witnesses and no suspects. Therefore, this murder must be dealt with, as all crime must be punished, even if the guilty person is not known. The first thing to determine is, which city is nearest to this man. This presupposes and lot of small cities throughout the Land of Promise, which there would be (see Joshua 15, for example).

Sin and crime both affect the population where the sins or crimes are committed. Therefore, the ceremony which expiated the crime must occur in association with the people of that area where the crime occurred. This is why measurements are taken to find the city closest to the crime.

What we have here is not difficult: When a slain man is found on the ground (which [land] Y^ehowah your Elohim is giving to you), lying in an unpopulated area and it is not known who killed him, then your elders and your judges will come out and they will measure to the cities which [are] near to [lit., round about] the slain man. There is an unsolved murder, and representatives of the people and of the government are brought out to determine which city has jurisdiction and, therefore, which city will be considered in the sphere of responsibility. How all of the other hoo-hah listed above was developed is beyond me, and exceeds the scope of Scripture.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                ...and the city which is nearest to the dead man, being the suspected one, let the chief court of justice take means for absolution (or disculpation). Let the sages, the elders of that city, take an heifer from the herd, not commixed, an heifer of the year, which hath not been wrought with nor hath drawn in the yoke:...

Latin Vulgate                          ...And the ancients of that city which they shall perceive to be nearer than the rest, shall take a heifer of the herd, that hath not drawn in the yoke, nor ploughed the ground,...

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And he has been the city the near unto the slain [one] and have taken elders of the city the that an heifer of a herd which has not been worked in her, which has not been drawn in a yoke.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    ...And the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer which has never been used for work nor has pulled in the yoke,...

Septuagint (Greek)                And it shall be that the city which is nearest to the slain man, the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not labored, and which has not borne a yoke.

Significant differences:           The targum, as usual, has a lot of extra text. The Latin appears to condense the text somewhat (based upon the English translation from the Latin).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Once it is determined which city is closest to the dead body, its elders must take a young cow that hasn't been used or yet pulled a plow,...

Contemporary English V.       The leaders from that town will go to their cattle herds and choose a young cow that has never been put to work.

Easy English                          Then the leaders from the nearest town must take a young cow that has never pulled a plough.

Easy-to-Read Version            When you learn which town is nearest to the dead man, the leaders of that town must take a cow from their herds. It must be a cow that never had a calf. And it must be a cow that has never been used for work.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Then the leaders of the town nearest to where the body was found are to select a young cow that has never been used for work.

The Message                         The leaders and judges of the city that is nearest the corpse will then take a heifer that has never been used for work, never had a yoke on it.

New Century Version             The elders of the city nearest the body must take a young cow that has never worked or worn a yoke,...

New Life Bible                        The leaders of the city that is nearest to the dead man will take a young cow from the cattle. The cow must never have been worked or pulled a plow.

New Living Translation           When the nearest town has been determined, that town's elders must select from the herd a young cow that has never been trained or yoked to a plow.

The Voice                               The elders of the city that's closest to the body will have jurisdiction and offer a special sacrifice. Have them take a heifer that has never been put to work pulling a yoke,...

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          And from whichever city is nearest to him, the elders of that city must choose a heifer from the herd that has never worn a yoke or been worked,...

Christian Community Bible     ...to ³ determine which city is nearest to the dead man.

And the leaders of that city shall take a calf that has never been used for work or borne a yoke. The last word of v. 2 is included for context.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       It is for the elders of the nearest city to do what must be done. They will choose out from the herd a heifer that has never borne yoke or ploughed furrow,...

New American Bible              When it is established which city is nearest the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a heifer that has never been put to work as a draft animal under a yoke,...

New American Bible (R.E.)    When it is established which city is nearest the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a heifer that has never been put to work or worn a yoke;... Num. 19:2-3.

NIRV                                      The elders from the town that is nearest to the body will get a young cow. It must never have been used for work. It must never have pulled a load.

New Jerusalem Bible             ...and establish which town is the nearest to the victim. The elders of that town must then take a heifer that has not yet been put to work or used as a draught animal under the yoke.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      The elders of that city that are nearest to the desecrated take an oxen heifer which never served, and which never followed the yoke.

Bible in Basic English             And whichever town is nearest to the body, the responsible men of that town are to take from the herd a young cow which has never been used for work or put under the yoke;...

The Expanded Bible              The elders of the city nearest the body must take a ·young cow [heifer] that has never worked or ·worn [^Lpulled] a yoke,...

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Then the head man of that town shall take a heifer from the herd, which has not worked, —which has not drawn wheels,...

HCSB                                     The elders of the city nearest to the victim are to get a cow that has not been yoked or used for work.

NET Bible®                             Then the elders of the city nearest to the corpse [Heb "slain [one]."] must take from the herd a heifer that has not been worked - that has never pulled with the yoke -...

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           After it has been determined which town is the closest, the leaders of that town are to take a young female cow that has never been put to work or yoked for use as a draft animal.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and so be it,

the city nearest to the pierced,

even the elders of that city

take a heifer of the oxen which neither served

nor drawn in the yoke;...

Judaica Press Complete T.    And it will be, that from the city closer to the corpse, the elders of that city shall take a calf with which work has never been done, and that has never drawn a yoke,...

Kaplan Translation                 The elders of the city closest to the corpse must then bring a female calf [Under two years old (Yad, Rotze'ach 10:2).], which has never been worked, and which has never drawn a load with a yoke.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           ...And it shall be, that the town which is next unto the slain man, even the zekenim of that town shall take a heifer, which hath not been worked with, and which hath not pulled the ol (yoke);...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And it will come to be that of the city nearest to the mortally wounded one, the elders of that city will take a heifer of the herd by which no one has been served and which has not drawn in a yoke.

Context Group Version          ...and it shall be, that the city which is nearest to the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been produced with, and which has not drawn in the yoke;...

English Standard Version      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.

New RSV                               The elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked, one that has not pulled in the yoke;...

Webster’s Bible Translation  ...And it shall be [that] the city [which is] next to the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer which hath not been wrought with, [and] which hath not drawn in the yoke;...

World English Bible                ...and it shall be, that the city which is nearest to the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn't been worked with, and which has not drawn in the yoke;...

Young’s Updated LT             And it has been, the city which is near unto the slain one, even the elders of that city have taken a heifer of the herd, which has not been wrought with, which has not drawn in the yoke.

The gist of this verse:          The ceremony will begin with a heifer taken from the city nearest the slain man; and this must be a heifer which has not been worked before or had a yoke upon it.

Translation: And it has been, the nearest city to the slain man... People will determine which city is nearest to the man who has been murdered. This is the city of primary jurisdiction as well as the city which will be associated with the crime in terms of responsibility.

A substitute will be taken from this city—a substitute for the person who did this deed (the assumption is, the person who committed this crime lives in the nearest city). Now, quite obviously, we do not know that to be true, nor is the Bible asserting that the killer had to come from the nearest city. That is simply to city to be associated with the crime.

The idea is that every crime and every misdeed must be paid for. There is nothing wrong done by man that God may overlook. If the true criminal here is not determined, then a substitute must be punished. And when our sins are judged, God cannot overlook any of them. That would be a compromise to His righteousness and justice.

Translation: ...—the elders of that city will take a heifer of the herd,... There are some details left out here; when that city has been determined, then the original elders and judges will go to that city and tell the elders of that city to get a heifer. This heifer is going to be the substitutionary beast which will be executed on behalf of the criminal who killed the man in this narrative.

Bear in mind that, Moses is just making up a scenario or he is dealing with a previous case history which he has come across, and he is going to tell the Israelites what needs to be done in case something like this happens.

This is a heifer who has never been worked nor has never had a yoke upon her. The last time that there was a call for a sacrifice of an animal which had not been yoked was in Num. 19:2 in the ordinance of the red heifer, immediately prior to the thirty-eight silent years. This was also related to purification from contact with the dead. In this context, the town itself, due to its proximity to the crime, is considered unclean.

Again, an unsolved murder cannot be allowed to simply stand, and eventually fade from view. It must be dealt with, if only ceremonially.

Translation:...[one] which has not been made to work... This is a heifer which has not yet been made to work.

This is an odd construction here. Heifer is a feminine singular noun, but the verb is a masculine singular with a preposition and the feminine singular suffix. I don’t quite get this, as the verb is in the passive stem, which would mean that this was done to the heifer.

The idea here is, they could not take a heifer from this city who was worn out and worthless. This had to be a valuable animal, an animal of worth. When a sacrifice was required by God, it could not be a sacrifice of something which was no longer needed in that city.

Translation:...[and one] which has not been drawn by a yoke. This is a heifer who has never been made to be pulled along with an yoke.

Unlike the previous phrase, here the verb is a feminine singular verb, as we would expect.

Again, the innocent beast taken for this ritual could not be a beast who had given its time, and was ready to be killed anyway. This had to be a heifer whose worth or value had not yet been utilized.

Vv. 1–3 read: When a slain man is found on the ground (which [land] Y^ehowah your Elohim is giving to you), lying in an unpopulated area and it is not known who killed him,then your elders and your judges will come out and they will measure to the cities which [are] near to [lit., round about] the slain man. And it has been, the nearest city to the slain man—the elders of that city will take a heifer of the herd, [one] which has not been made to work [and one] which has not been drawn by a yoke.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                ...and the sages of that city will bring the heifer down into an uncultivated field, where the ground has not been tilled by work, nor sowed; and let them there behead the heifer from behind her with an axe (or knife, dolch) in the midst of the field.

Latin Vulgate                          And they shall bring her into a rough and stony valley, that never was ploughed, nor sown: and there they shall strike off the head of the heifer.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And will lead down elders of the town the this the heifer unto a valley ever-flowing which he does not work in him and he is not sown. And have broken there [the neck of] the heifer in the valley.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer to a barren valley which has never been ploughed nor sown, and shall slaughter the heifer there in the valley;...

Septuagint (Greek)                And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer into a rough valley, which has not been tilled and is not sown, and they shall slay the heifer in the valley.

Significant differences:           The Latin appears to leave out the elders of this town leading the heifer.

The Hebrew appears to have the neck of the heifer broken. The Latin and targum both have the heifer being beheaded; the Syriac and Greek only speak of it being slain (based upon the English translations). The Hebrew verb found here is a rare one.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           ...and those elders will take the cow down to a ravine with a flowing stream-one that has not been plowed or planted-and they will break the cow's neck right there in the river valley.

Contemporary English V.       They and some of the priests will take this cow to a nearby valley where there is a stream, but no crops. Once they reach the valley, the leaders will break the cow's neck. The priests must be there, because the LORD your God has chosen them to be his special servants at the place of worship. The LORD has chosen them to bless the people in his name and to be judges in all legal cases, whether property or injury is involved. The CEV incorporates several verses here.

Easy English                          They must lead her down to a valley that no one has ploughed or planted. There must be a stream full of water. There they must break her neck.

Easy-to-Read Version            The leaders of that town must then bring the cow down to a valley with running water. It must be a valley that has never been plowed or had anything planted in it. Then the leaders must break the cow’s neck there in that valley.

Good News Bible (TEV)         They are to take it down to a spot near a stream that never runs dry and where the ground has never been plowed or planted, and there they are to break its neck.

New Century Version             ...and they must lead her down to a valley that has never been plowed or planted, with a stream flowing through it. There they must break the young cow's neck.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          ...then lead it into a valley that has never been tilled or planted, and slaughter the heifer there.

God’s Word™                         The leaders of that city will bring the heifer down to a river, to a location where the land hasn't been plowed or planted. At the river they must break the heifer's neck.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       ...and in some wild and rugged glen, that was never ploughed or sown, this heifer must have its neck broken.

New American Bible              ...and bringing it down to a wadi with an everflowing stream at a place that has not been plowed or sown, they shall cut the heifer's throat there in the wadi.

New American Bible (R.E.)    ...the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a wadi with an everflowing stream at a place that has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the wadi.

NIRV                                      The elders must lead it down into a valley. The valley must not have been farmed. There must be a stream flowing through it. There in the valley the elders must break the cow's neck.

New Jerusalem Bible             The elders of that town must bring the heifer down to a permanently flowing river, to a spot that has been neither ploughed nor sown, and there by the river they must break the heifer's neck.

New Simplified Bible              »The elders of that city will bring the heifer down to a river, to a location where the land has not been plowed or planted. At the river they must break the heifer's neck.

Today’s NIV                          ...and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      The elders of that city descend the heifer which never served and never sowed into an everflowing riverbed, and behead the heifer in the riverbed.

Bible in Basic English             And they are to take the cow into a valley where there is flowing water, and which is not ploughed or planted, and there the neck of the cow is to be broken:...

The Expanded Bible              ...and they must lead her down to a ·valley [wadi] that has never been plowed or planted, with a ·stream [wadi] flowing through it. There they must break the ·young cow's [heifer's] neck.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 ...—and the head man of that town shall cause the heifer to be taken down to a vale with a constantly flowing brook, which has not been cultivated nor reaped, and break the neck of the heifer at the brook.

NET Bible®                             ...and bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water [The combination “a wadi with flowing water” is necessary because a wadi (נַחַל, nakhal) was ordinarily a dry stream or riverbed. For this ritual, however, a perennial stream must be chosen so that there would be fresh, rushing water.], to a valley that is neither plowed nor sown [The unworked heifer, fresh stream, and uncultivated valley speak of ritual purity - of freedom from human contamination.]. There at the wadi they are to break the heifer's neck

NIV, ©2011                             ³ Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke ⁴ and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer's neck. V. 3 is included for context.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           The leaders of that town are to bring the heifer down to a vadi with a stream in it that never dries up, to a place that is neither plowed nor sown; and they are to break the cow's neck there in the vadi.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and the elders of that city

descend the heifer to a perennial wadi,

- neither served nor seeded

and break the neck of the heifer there in the wadi:...

Judaica Press Complete T.    ...and the elders of that city shall bring the calf down to a rugged valley, which was neither tilled nor sown, and there in the valley, they shall decapitate the calf.

Kaplan Translation                 The elders of the city shall bring the calf to a swiftly flowing [Yad, Rotze'ach 9:2; Ralbag; HaKethav VeHaKabbalah) Ethan in Hebrew; cf. Exodus 14:27, Psalms 74:15 (Chizzkuni). Or, 'harsh' (Sotah 45b; Rashi; cf. Numbers 21:24), 'fertile' (Radak, Sherashim; cf. Amos 5:24), or, 'rough' (Septuagint).] stream [(Yad, Rotze'ach; Radak, Sherashim; cf. Midrash Aggadah). Nachal in Hebrew. Or, 'valley' (Rashi; Septuagint), 'field' (Targum Yonathan), or, 'wadi' (Ibn Janach). See above note.], [the land around which [(Chizzkuni; cf. Minchath Chinukh 531).]] must never be [(Sefer HaMitzvoth, Negative 309; Makkoth 22a). There is a question as to whether the forbidden distance around the place where the calf was killed must be four cubits or fifty cubits (Yerushalmi, Sotah 9:5).] worked or sown. There at the stream, they shall decapitate [Araph in Hebrew (see Yerushalmi, Sotah 9:5). See note on Exodus 13:13. However, there is a Midrashic opinion, that the calf is merely struck on the back of the neck so that it will run away and find the house of the murderer (Midrash Aggadah; Bachya).] the calf.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           ...And the zekenim of that town shall bring down the heifer unto a wadi with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the wadi;...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    The elders of that city will bring the heifer down to a perennial watercourse by which no one was served and it was not sown, and they will behead the heifer there in the watercourse.

Darby Translation                  ...and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto an ever-flowing watercourse, which is not tilled, nor is it sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the watercourse;...

Emphasized Bible                  ...and the elders of that city shall take down the heifer into a ravine with an everflowing stream, which is neither tilled nor sown,—and shall behead there the heifer in the ravine.

The Geneva Bible                  And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifers neck there in the valley. That the blood shed of the innocent beasts in a solitary place, might make them abhor the fact.

Green’s Literal Translation    And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to an ever-flowing stream, which is not plowed nor sown. And they shall break the heifer's neck there by the stream.

New RSV                               ...the elders of that town shall bring the heifer down to a wadi with running water, which is neither ploughed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the wadi.

Third Millennium Bible            ...and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley.

Webster’s Bible Translation  And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer to a rough valley, which is neither tilled nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley;...

World English Bible                ...and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.

Young’s Updated LT             And the elders of that city have brought down the heifer unto a hard valley, which is not tilled nor sown, and have beheaded there the heifer in the valley.

The gist of this verse:          The elders are to take this heifer to a valley which is not been tilled nor sown with seed, and break the neck of the heifer there.

Translation: The elders of that town will lead the heifer down... The elders of the city closest to the unsolved murder will lead this heifer down into a valley.

It is unclear whether the other elders came from, but this time, we are dealing with the elders from the city closest to the dead body. They have taken a heifer from their city and they will lead this heifer.

Translation: ...into an ever flowing torrent,... The valley is called perennial, ever-flowing, well-established; and what is suggested is, there is always water in this valley, in the torrent which runs through.

There are two words used to describe this valley: the word is nachal (נַחַל) [pronounced NAHKH-al], which is a torrent of rushing water through a narrow channel. Since a torrent or a river tends to run through a valley area, this word is also used to refer to the valley that a river might run through. Strong's #5158 BDB #636. In this verse, it is further modified by the adjective ʾêthân (אֵתָן) [pronounced â-thawn] and which means perennial, ever-flowing, and therefore, permanent. Strong's #386 BDB #450 (Strong’s places this with the aleph’s and BDB with the yod’s). Therefore, this is a river which is continual; it does not dry up.

Clarke: [This is] a rapid stream, probably passing through a piece of uncultivated ground where the elders of the city were to strike off the head of the heifer, and to wash their hands over her in token of their innocence. The spot of ground on which this sacrifice was made must be uncultivated, because it was considered to be a sacrifice to make atonement for the murder, and consequently would pollute the land.

The analogy would be to Jesus Christ, from Whom flow waters of everlasting; with Whom is great refreshment. As Jesus told the Samaritan women at the well: "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:14b–15). This ever-flowing torrent indicates that there is to be chosen a river or stream wherein there is always water.

The heifer is going to represent the criminal and die in the stead of the criminal. Quite obviously, this parallels Jesus drying on our behalf, the Just for the unjust.

Translation: ...which (valley) has not been tilled... The valley that they need to go to is a valley which has never been tilled. This is parallel to Jesus Christ, Who has committed no sins. There are no furrows in Him.

Translation: ...and which (valley) has not been sown. This is a valley where seed has never been sown. Again, this is analogous to the Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom there was no sin nature.

The Pulpit Commentary: The valley...through which a stream flowed, as is evident from its being described as neither...tilled nor sown; a place which had not been profaned by the hand of man, but was in a state of nature.

So, we want a place of great refreshment, but a place not plowed or seeded by man; all symbolic references to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Translation: There they will break the neck of the heifer in the torrent valley. The neck of the heifer is broken, representing judgment which is brought upon the heifer, who is obviously innocent of any sort of charge. The heifer has never been yoked and the heifer has never plowed; so, the heifer represents Jesus as separate from the sin nature of man.

This heifer suffers for the crime of the murder. A heifer which has not worked is taken to a valley which has not been worked—a valley with rushing water—and has her neck broken there. The verb is ʿâraph (עָרַף) [pronounced ģaw-RAHF] and we have only had this verb twice before in Ex. 13:13 34:20. This was related to the consecration of the firstborn. Actually, if the firstborn of a donkey has not been redeemed, then the neck of the firstborn donkey is broken. I don’t believe that beheading is the sense of this word. Strong’s #6202 BDB #791.

Breaking the neck is judgment upon the innocent. Quite obviously, the heifer did not commit this crime, so this is the innocent dying on behalf of the guilty.

Keil and Delitzsch: Breaking the neck...was a symbolical infliction of the punishment that should have been borne by the murderer, upon the animal which was substituted for him.

The dead person’s killer was not found, therefore he is not redeemed in the death of the killer. Therefore, the breaking of a neck is the substitution. The heifer which bears this guilt had to be one full of growth and strength, and had not yet been ceremonially profaned by human use. A death is required for the innocent shedding of blood, as per Gen. 9:5–6. So this sacrifice both speaks of an unprofaned Christ and a substitutionary punishment. The unusual mode of sacrifice distinguishes this animal from the sin-offering, where blood must be shed. Finally, the rushing water speaks of the cleansing which takes place.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum of Onkelos                And the priests the sons of Levi shall draw near; for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to Him, and to bless Israel in His Name, and according to their words to resolve every judgment, and in any plague of leprosy to shut up, and pronounce concerning it;...

Latin Vulgate                          And the priests the sons of Levi shall come, whom the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister to him, and to bless in his name, and that by their word every matter should be decided, and whatsoever is clean or unclean should be judged.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And have come forth the priests, sons of Levi, for in them has chosen Y^ehowah your Elohim to serve Him and to bless in a name of Y^ehowah. And by their mouth is every dispute and every injury [determined].

Peshitta (Syriac)                    ...And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near, for them the LORD your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every lawsuit and every attack be tried...

Septuagint (Greek)                And the priests, the Levites, shall come near, because the Lord God has chosen them to stand by Him, and to bless in His name, and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be decided.

Significant differences:           The Greek has stand by rather than minister to, serve. Both the targum and the Latin add a lot of extra words at the end of this verse. The Syriac seems to add an additional word at the end, which seems to be called for.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Then the priests, the descendants of Levi, will step forward because the Lord your God selected them to minister for him and to bless in the Lord's name, and because every legal dispute and case of assault is decided by them.

Easy English                          The *priests from the family of Levi must go there too. The *Lord your God has chosen them to do his work. They must also decide what is right and wrong among you.

Easy-to-Read Version            The priests, the descendants of Levi, must also go there. (The Lord your God has chosen these priests to serve him and to bless people in his name. The priests will decide who is right in every argument where a person is hurt.)

Good News Bible (TEV)         The levitical priests are to go there also, because they are to decide every legal case involving violence. The LORD your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name.

The Message                         The Levitical priests will then step up. GOD has chosen them to serve him in these matters by settling legal disputes and violent crimes and by pronouncing blessings in GOD's name.

New Berkeley Version           The priestly sons of Levi must come forward, for they have been chosen by the Lord your God to be His ministers to bless in His name, and, by their decisions, to settle every dispute and every case of assault,...

New Century Version             The priests, the sons of Levi, should come forward, because they have been chosen by the Lord your God to serve him and to give blessings in the Lord's name. They are the ones who decide cases of quarreling and attacks.

New Life Bible                        Then the religious leaders, the sons of Levi, will come near for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bring good in the name of the Lord. Every question about what is right and every fight will be decided upon by them.

New Living Translation           Then the Levitical priests must step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister before him and to pronounce blessings in the Lord's name. They are to decide all legal and criminal cases.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Thereafter, the Levite priests must go there (because they're the ones who Jehovah has chosen to represent Him and to praise His Name), and whatever they decide must stand.

Christian Community Bible     The priests, descendants of Levi, shall be present for they were chosen by Yahweh to minister and give the blessings in his name, and they are those who decide on all lawsuits or criminal cases.

God’s Word™                         The priests, the descendants of Levi, must come forward. The LORD your God has chosen them to serve him as priests and to bless people in the LORD'S name. Their decision is final in all cases involving a disagreement or an assault.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Priests must be there, of Levi's race; these are the men whom the Lord thy God has chosen to minister to him, and give their blessing in his name, and also to decide between right and wrong, clean and unclean.

New American Bible              The priests, the descendants of Levi, shall also be present, for the LORD, your God, has chosen them to minister to him and to give blessings in his name, and every case of dispute or violence must be settled by their decision.

New American Bible (R.E.)    The priests, the descendants of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD, your God, has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the LORD, and every case of dispute or assault shall be for them to decide.

NIRV                                      The priests, who are sons of Levi, will step forward. The Lord your God has chosen them to serve him. He wants them to bless the people in his name. He wants them to decide all cases that have to do with people arguing and attacking others.

New Jerusalem Bible             The priests, the sons of Levi, will then step forward, these being the men whom Yahweh your God has chosen to serve him and to bless in Yahweh's name, and it being their business to settle all cases of dispute or of violence.

Today’s NIV                          The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Approach the priests of the sons of Levi over any argument and any plague. Yahweh your God chose them to minister to him, and to have blessing in the name of Yahweh by their mouth.

Bible in Basic English             Then the priests, the sons of Levi, are to come near; for they have been marked out by the Lord your God to be his servants and to give blessings in the name of the Lord; and by their decision every argument and every blow is to be judged:....

The Expanded Bible              The priests, the sons of Levi, should come forward, because they have been chosen by the Lord your God to serve him and to give blessings in the Lord's name. They are the ones who decide cases of ·quarreling [accusation] and attacks.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Then the priests of the sons of Levi shall approach, —for the Lord your God chose them to officiate, and to bless the name of the Ever-living, and every contention and every dispute shall be decided by them, with all the Magistrates of the surrounding towns;....

NET Bible®                             Then the Levitical priests [Heb "the priests, the sons of Levi."] will approach (for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in his name [Heb "in the name of the Lord." See note on Deut 10:8. The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.], and to decide [Heb "by their mouth."] every judicial verdict [Heb "every controversy and every blow."]).

NIV, ©2011                             The Levitical priests shall step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Then the cohanim, who are L'vi'im, are to approach; for ADONAI your God has chosen them to serve him and to pronounce blessings in the name of ADONAI; they will decide the outcome of every dispute and matter involving violence.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...and the priests the sons of Levi come near;

for Yah Veh your Elohim

chooses them to minister to him

and to bless in the name of Yah Veh;

and by their mouth

is every dispute and every plague:...

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               The priests, sons of Levi, shall come forward; for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to pronounce blessing in the name of the Lord, and every lawsuit and case of assault [Or, “skin affection”; compare Deut. 24:8] is subject to their ruling.

Judaica Press Complete T.    And the kohanim, the sons of Levi, shall approach, for the Lord, your God, has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the Name of the Lord, and by their mouth shall every controversy and every lesion be judged.

Kaplan Translation                 The priests from the tribe of Levi shall then come forth. (It is these [priests] whom God has chosen to serve Him and to pronounce blessings in God's name, and who are entrusted to decide in cases of litigation and leprous signs.).

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And the kohanim the Bnei Levi shall come near; for them Hashem Eloheicha hath chosen to minister unto Him, and to bless in the Shem of Hashem; and by their word shall every controversy and every assault be tried;...

The Scriptures 1998              “And the priests, the sons of Lĕwi, shall come near, for יהוה your Elohim has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the Name of יהוה, and by their mouth every strife and every stroke is tried.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name [and presence] of the Lord, and by their word shall every controversy and every assault be settled.

Concordant Literal Version    Then the priests, the sons of Levi, will come close, for Yahweh your Elohim has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of Yahweh, and at their bidding every contention and every assault shall come to be settled.

Context Group Version          And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near; for YHWH your God has chosen them to minister to him, and to esteem in the name of YHWH; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be.

English Standard Version      Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the LORD, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled.

New King James Version       Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the Lord; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.

New RSV                               Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to him and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord, and by their decision all cases of dispute and assault shall be settled.

World English Bible                The priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Yahweh your God has chosen to minister to him, and to bless in the name of Yahweh; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be.

Young’s Updated LT             “And the priests, sons of Levi, have come nigh—for on them has Jehovah your God fixed to serve Him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah, and by their mouth is every strife, and every stroke.

The gist of this verse:          The priests will be called in to make final judgments on strife and assaults.

Translation: The priests, the sons of Levi, will come forward,... In this and in every problem, the priests will play a part. This is both a criminal problem and a spiritual problem (all criminal problems are spiritual problems).

As we have often seen, the closer we are to the literal translation, the better chance we have to determine what is being said here. First, sons of Levi is not preceded by a definite article. As we have seen several times, the Levites are not synonymous with the priesthood. The priests are a subset of the Levites, through Aaron. The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the face of Y^ehowah , to minister to Him and to bless in His name forever (1Chron. 23:13). The verse, as is often the case in the Hebrew, begins with the verb, which is followed by the subject—in this case, the priests, sons of Levi. That verb is nâgash (נָגַש) [pronounced naw-GASH] and it means come near, draw near, approach in the Qal stem; here, it is found in the Niphal, which is the passive. The priests will be brought near, or drawn near. The Niphal is often used in worship. Strong's #5066 BDB #620. The next portion of the verse reads, literally, for them has chosen Y^ehowah your [singular] God to serve Him [or, minister to Him] and to bless in [the] name of Y^ehowah. This portion of the verse explains why they are chosen for this task. Their qualifications are that God specifically chose them, the priests, to serve Him and to bless others in His name.

Interestingly enough, we do not have clear legal training for the priests laid out in the Bible; but it is clear, by the time of Jesus, there was some sort of training which was available, as so many of the religious types seemed to know when Jesus was violating the Law (He never did). We may assume that, originally, the training was in the Word of God; but, then as rabbis continued to add their views on this and that passage, that an entire system of legalistic theology was built upon the truth, and was barely related to the truth.

On the one hand, I can appreciate the importance of legal training; on the other hand, given the liberal judges which we have which dismiss cases and give out light sentences for child abuse, I am not sure that the training does them much good.