CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" /><title>Deuteronomy 21:1 If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him,</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/21-1.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/15/05_Deu_21_01.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Deuteronomy 21:1 - The Atonement for an Unsolved Murder" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him," /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="/vmenus/deuteronomy/21-1.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmc/deuteronomy/21-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="/">Bible</a> > <a href="/deuteronomy/">Deuteronomy</a> > <a href="/deuteronomy/21.htm">Chapter 21</a> > Verse 1</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div><div id="ad1"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/ad1.htm" width="100%" height="48" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="/deuteronomy/20-20.htm" title="Deuteronomy 20:20">◄</a> Deuteronomy 21:1 <a href="/deuteronomy/21-2.htm" title="Deuteronomy 21:2">►</a></div></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="topverse"> <a href="#audio" class="clickchap2" title="Context and Audio Bible"> Audio </a> <a href="#crossref" class="clickchap2" title="Cross References"> Cross </a> <a href="#study" class="clickchap2" title="Study Bible"> Study </a> <a href="#commentary" class="clickchap2" title="Commentary"> Comm </a> <a href="#lexicon" class="clickchap2" title="Lexicon"> Heb </a> </div><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheadingv">Verse<a href="/bsb/deuteronomy/21.htm" class="clickchap" style="color:#001320" title="Click any translation name for full chapter">  (Click for Chapter)</a></div><div id="par"><a href="/niv/deuteronomy/21.htm">New International Version</a> 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, <a href="/nlt/deuteronomy/21.htm">New Living Translation</a> “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. <a href="/esv/deuteronomy/21.htm">English Standard Version</a> “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, <a href="/bsb/deuteronomy/21.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a> If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, <a href="/kjv/deuteronomy/21.htm">King James Bible</a> 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: <a href="/nkjv/deuteronomy/21.htm">New King James Version</a> “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, <a href="/nasb_/deuteronomy/21.htm">New American Standard Bible</a> “If a person who has been killed by someone is found lying in the open country in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who struck him, <a href="/nasb/deuteronomy/21.htm">NASB 1995</a> &#8220If 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, <a href="/nasb77/deuteronomy/21.htm">NASB 1977 </a> “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, <a href="/lsb/deuteronomy/21.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a> “If a slain person is found fallen in the open country in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has struck him, <a href="/amp/deuteronomy/21.htm">Amplified Bible</a> “If someone is found slain, lying in the field, in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess, and it is not known who has killed him, <a href="/csb/deuteronomy/21.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a> “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, <a href="/hcsb/deuteronomy/21.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a> 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, <a href="/asv/deuteronomy/21.htm">American Standard Version</a> If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him; <a href="/cev/deuteronomy/21.htm">Contemporary English Version</a> 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. <a href="/erv/deuteronomy/21.htm">English Revised Version</a> 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 smitten him: <a href="/gwt/deuteronomy/21.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a> 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, <a href="/gnt/deuteronomy/21.htm">Good News Translation</a> "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. <a href="/isv/deuteronomy/21.htm">International Standard Version</a> "If a murder victim is found fallen in the open country of the land that the LORD your God is about to give you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, <a href="/msb/deuteronomy/21.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a> If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, <a href="/net/deuteronomy/21.htm">NET Bible</a> If a homicide victim should be found lying in a field in the land the LORD your God is giving you, and no one knows who killed him, <a href="/nheb/deuteronomy/21.htm">New Heart English Bible</a> If one be found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it isn't known who has struck him; <a href="/wbt/deuteronomy/21.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a> If one shall 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: <a href="/web/deuteronomy/21.htm">World English Bible</a> If someone is found slain in the land which Yahweh your God gives you to possess, lying in the field, and it isn’t known who has struck him, <div class="vheading2">Literal Translations</div><a href="/lsv/deuteronomy/21.htm">Literal Standard Version</a> “When one is found slain, fallen in a field on the ground which your God YHWH is giving to you to possess it, [and] it is not known who has struck him, <a href="/ylt/deuteronomy/21.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a> 'When one is found slain on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee to possess it -- fallen in a field -- it is not known who hath smitten him, <a href="/slt/deuteronomy/21.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a> When there shall be found a wounded in the land which Jehovah thy God gave to thee, to possess it, fallen in the field, not knowing who smote him:<div class="vheading2">Catholic Translations</div><a href="/drb/deuteronomy/21.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a> When there shall be found in the land, which the Lord thy God will give thee, the corpse of a man slain, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder, <a href="/cpdv/deuteronomy/21.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a> “When there will have been found in the land, which the Lord your God will give to you, the corpse of a man who has been killed, and it is not known who is guilty of the murder, <a href="/nabre/deuteronomy/21.htm">New American Bible</a> 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, <a href="/nrsvce/deuteronomy/21.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a> 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,<div class="vheading2">Translations from Aramaic</div><a href="/lamsa/deuteronomy/21.htm">Lamsa Bible</a> 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; <a href="/hpbt/deuteronomy/21.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a> "And when someone who was killed will be found in the land that LORD JEHOVAH your God gives to you to inherit, lying in a field, and it is not known who killed him:<div class="vheading2">OT Translations</div><a href="/jps/deuteronomy/21.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a> 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 smitten him; <a href="/sep/deuteronomy/21.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a> And if one be found slain with the sword in the land, which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit, having fallen in the field, and they do not know who has smitten him; <a href="/parallel/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv">Audio Bible</div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IRhBtZaVxJ0?start=5686" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="vheadingv">Context</div><a href="/bsb/deuteronomy/21.htm">The Atonement for an Unsolved Murder</a> 1<a href="/hebrew/3588.htm" title="3588: kî- (Conj) -- That, for, when. ">If</a> <a href="/hebrew/4672.htm" title="4672: yim·mā·ṣê (V-Nifal-Imperf-3ms) -- To attain to, find. ">one is found</a> <a href="/hebrew/2491.htm" title="2491: ḥā·lāl (N-ms) -- Pierced, polluted. From chalal; pierced; figuratively, polluted.">slain,</a> <a href="/hebrew/5307.htm" title="5307: nō·p̄êl (V-Qal-Prtcpl-ms) -- To fall, lie. A primitive root; to fall, in a great variety of applications.">lying</a> <a href="/hebrew/7704.htm" title="7704: baś·śā·ḏeh (Prep-b, Art:: N-ms) -- Field, land. Or saday; from an unused root meaning to spread out; a field.">in a field</a> <a href="/hebrew/127.htm" title="127: bā·’ă·ḏā·māh (Prep-b, Art:: N-fs) -- Ground, land. From 'adam; soil.">in the land</a> <a href="/hebrew/834.htm" title="834: ’ă·šer (Pro-r) -- Who, which, that. A primitive relative pronoun; who, which, what, that; also when, where, how, because, in order that, etc.">that</a> <a href="/hebrew/3068.htm" title="3068: Yah·weh (N-proper-ms) -- The proper name of the God of Israel. From hayah; self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God.">the LORD</a> <a href="/hebrew/430.htm" title="430: ’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā (N-mpc:: 2ms) -- Plural of 'elowahh; gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used of the supreme God">your God</a> <a href="/hebrew/5414.htm" title="5414: nō·ṯên (V-Qal-Prtcpl-ms) -- To give, put, set. A primitive root; to give, used with greatest latitude of application.">is giving</a> <a href="/hebrew/lə·ḵā (Prep:: 2ms) -- ">you</a> <a href="/hebrew/3423.htm" title="3423: lə·riš·tāh (Prep-l:: V-Qal-Inf:: 3fs) -- Or yaresh; a primitive root; to occupy; by implication, to seize, to rob, to inherit; also to expel, to impoverish, to ruin.">to possess,</a> <a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: lō (Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">and it is not</a> <a href="/hebrew/3045.htm" title="3045: nō·w·ḏa‘ (V-Nifal-Perf-3ms) -- A primitive root; to know; used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially.">known</a> <a href="/hebrew/4310.htm" title="4310: mî (Interrog) -- An interrogative pronoun of persons, as mah is of things, who?; also whoever; often used in oblique construction with prefix or suffix.">who</a> <a href="/hebrew/5221.htm" title="5221: hik·kā·hū (V-Hifil-Perf-3ms:: 3ms) -- To smite. A primitive root; to strike.">killed him,</a> 2your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div> <a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><a href="/numbers/35-33.htm">Numbers 35:33-34</a> Do not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. / Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell. For I, the LORD, dwell among the Israelites.” <a href="/genesis/4-10.htm">Genesis 4:10</a> “What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. <a href="/leviticus/17-4.htm">Leviticus 17:4</a> instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD before His tabernacle—that man shall incur bloodguilt. He has shed blood and must be cut off from among his people. <a href="/exodus/21-12.htm">Exodus 21:12-14</a> Whoever strikes and kills a man must surely be put to death. / If, however, he did not lie in wait, but God allowed it to happen, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee. / But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death. <a href="/numbers/35-9.htm">Numbers 35:9-15</a> Then the LORD said to Moses, / “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, / designate cities to serve as your cities of refuge, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there. ... <a href="/joshua/20-1.htm">Joshua 20:1-9</a> Then the LORD said to Joshua, / “Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, / so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood. ... <a href="/1_samuel/26-9.htm">1 Samuel 26:9-11</a> But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him, for who can extend a hand against the LORD’s anointed and be guiltless?” / David added, “As surely as the LORD lives, the LORD Himself will strike him down; either his day will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. / But the LORD forbid that I should extend my hand against the LORD’s anointed. Instead, take the spear and water jug by his head, and let us go.” <a href="/2_samuel/21-1.htm">2 Samuel 21:1-14</a> During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.” / At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.) / So David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How can I make amends so that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?” ... <a href="/1_kings/2-31.htm">1 Kings 2:31-32</a> And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed. / The LORD will bring his bloodshed back upon his own head, for without the knowledge of my father David he struck down two men more righteous and better than he when he put to the sword Abner son of Ner, commander of Israel’s army, and Amasa son of Jether, commander of Judah’s army. <a href="/ezekiel/24-7.htm">Ezekiel 24:7-8</a> For the blood she shed is still within her; she poured it out on the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust. / In order to stir up wrath and take vengeance, I have placed her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.’ <a href="/matthew/23-35.htm">Matthew 23:35</a> And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. <a href="/luke/11-50.htm">Luke 11:50-51</a> As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, / from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, all of it will be charged to this generation. <a href="/acts/28-4.htm">Acts 28:4</a> When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.” <a href="/romans/13-4.htm">Romans 13:4</a> For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer. <a href="/hebrews/12-24.htm">Hebrews 12:24</a> to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.</div> <a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div>If one be found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who has slain him:<a href="/psalms/5-6.htm">Psalm 5:6</a> Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.<a href="/psalms/9-12.htm">Psalm 9:12</a> When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.<a href="/proverbs/28-17.htm">Proverbs 28:17</a> A man that doeth violence to the blood of any person shall flee to the pit; let no man stay him.<div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/deuteronomy/7-13.htm">Body</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/16-14.htm">Country</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/18-11.htm">Dead</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/1-23.htm">Idea</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/4-42.htm">Killed</a> <a href="/numbers/35-22.htm">Lying</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/20-11.htm">Open</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/19-14.htm">Possess</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/1-4.htm">Slain</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/20-13.htm">Smitten</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/4-46.htm">Struck</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/deuteronomy/21-2.htm">Body</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/22-25.htm">Country</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/21-2.htm">Dead</a> <a href="/joshua/2-4.htm">Idea</a> <a href="/joshua/8-21.htm">Killed</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/22-13.htm">Lying</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/22-25.htm">Open</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/23-20.htm">Possess</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/21-2.htm">Slain</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/25-2.htm">Smitten</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/25-18.htm">Struck</a><div class="vheading2">Deuteronomy 21</div>1. <a href="/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">The Atonement for an Unsolved Murder</a> 10. <a href="/deuteronomy/21-10.htm">The usage of a captive taken to wife</a> 15. <a href="/deuteronomy/21-15.htm">The firstborn is not to be disinherited upon private affection</a> 18. <a href="/deuteronomy/21-18.htm">A rebellious son is to be stoned to death</a> 22. <a href="/deuteronomy/21-22.htm">The malefactor must not hang all night on a tree</a> </div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/deuteronomy/21.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/deuteronomy/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/deuteronomy/21.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div>If one is found slain This phrase introduces a scenario involving an unsolved murder. In ancient Israel, the sanctity of life was paramount, and the shedding of innocent blood was a serious offense. The law provided specific instructions for dealing with such situations to maintain communal purity and justice. This reflects the broader biblical principle that God values human life and justice (<a href="/genesis/9-6.htm">Genesis 9:6</a>).lying in a field The mention of a field suggests a rural setting, common in ancient Israel where agriculture was the primary occupation. Fields were often isolated, making them potential sites for crimes. This setting emphasizes the need for communal responsibility in maintaining justice, as fields were shared spaces among tribes and families.in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess This phrase underscores the covenant relationship between God and Israel. The land was a divine gift, a fulfillment of promises made to the patriarchs (<a href="/genesis/12-7.htm">Genesis 12:7</a>). It was not just a physical inheritance but a place where God's laws were to be upheld. The Israelites were stewards of the land, responsible for maintaining its holiness and justice.and it is not known who killed him The lack of knowledge about the perpetrator highlights the limitations of human justice and the need for divine guidance. In such cases, the community was required to seek God's direction to resolve the matter. This reflects the biblical theme of God as the ultimate judge who sees all (<a href="/hebrews/4-13.htm">Hebrews 4:13</a>). The procedure that follows in the text ensures that the community acknowledges their dependence on God for justice and cleansing from guilt.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <a href="/topical/s/slain_person.htm">Slain Person</a> An unidentified individual found dead, representing a situation of unresolved violence or injustice. 2. <a href="/topical/f/field.htm">Field</a> The location where the body is discovered, symbolizing the land given by God to the Israelites. 3. <a href="/topical/t/the_lord_your_god.htm">The LORD your God</a> The divine authority who provides the land and establishes laws for justice and community responsibility. 4. <a href="/topical/i/israelites.htm">Israelites</a> The people to whom the land is given, responsible for upholding God's laws and ensuring justice. 5. <a href="/topical/u/unresolved_murder.htm">Unresolved Murder</a> The event of finding a body without knowing the perpetrator, prompting a communal response to seek justice.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><a href="/topical/c/community_responsibility.htm">Community Responsibility</a> The passage emphasizes the collective responsibility of the community to address unresolved injustices. It teaches that even when an individual is unknown, the community must seek to uphold justice and righteousness. <a href="/topical/v/value_of_human_life.htm">Value of Human Life</a> The requirement to investigate and atone for an unsolved murder underscores the value God places on human life. It reminds us that every life is precious and that justice must be pursued diligently. <a href="/topical/d/divine_ownership_of_the_land.htm">Divine Ownership of the Land</a> The land is described as a gift from God, highlighting the Israelites' stewardship role. This teaches us to view our resources and environment as entrusted to us by God, requiring responsible and just management. <a href="/topical/s/seeking_god's_guidance.htm">Seeking God's Guidance</a> In situations of uncertainty and unresolved issues, the passage encourages seeking God's wisdom and guidance. It reminds us to rely on divine direction in our pursuit of justice and truth.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_deuteronomy_21.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Deuteronomy 21</a> <a href="/q/how_does_a_heifer_sacrifice_resolve_guilt.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1–9: How does sacrificing a heifer in a remote valley effectively resolve guilt for an unsolved murder? </a> <a href="/q/why_punish_nations_for_unagreed_actions.htm">Amos 3:3: If two can’t walk together unless agreed, why does God punish nations for actions they have not consciously “agreed” to commit?</a> <a href="/q/why_blame_all_for_one's_sin_in_joshua_7_1.htm">How does Joshua 7:1 justify blaming the entire nation for one person's wrongdoing? </a> <a href="/q/what_does_bloodguilt_mean.htm">What does bloodguilt mean?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/deuteronomy/21.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>XXI.<a href="/context/deuteronomy/21-1.htm" title="If one be found slain in the land which the LORD your God gives you to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who has slain him:">Deuteronomy 21:1-9</a>. UNDETECTED HOMICIDES.(1) If one be found slain--It is remarkable that in our own time the most effectual remedy against outrages of which the perpetrators cannot be discovered is a fine upon the district in which they occur.(2) Thy elders and thy judges shall come forth.--Rashi says these were to be special commissioners, members of the great Sanhedrin.(3-4) An heifer, which hath not been wrought with . . . a rough valley which is neither eared nor sown.--Rashi's note on this is curious: "The Holy One, blessed be He! said, 'A yearling heifer which hath borne no fruit shall come and be beheaded in a place which yieldeth no fruit, to atone for the murder of the man whom they did not suffer to bear fruit.' Some have thought that the valley was neither to be eared (ploughed) nor sown from that time forward." The verbs are not past in the Hebrew, and the words may bear this meaning. If so, the district in which the murder occurred would be mulcted in that portion of land for ever.(5) And the priests.--See on <a href="/deuteronomy/21-8.htm" title="Be merciful, O LORD, to your people Israel, whom you have redeemed, and lay not innocent blood to your people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them.">Deuteronomy 21:8</a>.(7) Our hands have not shed this blood, neither have our eyes seen it.--"Not that the chief magistrates of the city are supposed to have shed this blood; but that they have not contrived or procured the murder by any maintenance or partnership in the deed" (Rashi). We cannot but feel how impossible such solemn public declarations would be if the murderer had been harboured by the inhabitants of the place.(8) Be merciful, O Lord.--In the sense of the publican's prayer in St. Luke 18 "be propitiated," literally, cover. The mercy seat is the "covering" of the Law, which protects Israel from it. The sacrifices are a "covering" for the sinner from a punishment of sin. According to Rashi, the prayer in the eighth verse is spoken by the priests; and it seems probable enough. No part in the transaction is assigned to them, unless it be this. And their presence was certainly necessary.And the blood shall be forgiven them.--Literally, shall be covered for them. Not the same expression as <a href="/leviticus/4-20.htm" title="And he shall do with the bullock as he did with the bullock for a sin offering, so shall he do with this: and the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them.">Leviticus 4:20</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-26.htm" title="And he shall burn all his fat on the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of peace offerings: and the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.">Leviticus 4:26</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-31.htm" title="And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat is taken away from off the sacrifice of peace offerings; and the priest shall burn it on the altar for a sweet smell to the LORD; and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.">Leviticus 4:31</a>; <a href="/leviticus/4-35.htm" title="And he shall take away all the fat thereof, as the fat of the lamb is taken away from the sacrifice of the peace offerings; and the priest shall burn them on the altar, according to the offerings made by fire to the LORD: and the priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he has committed, and it shall be forgiven him.">Leviticus 4:35</a>. But we can hardly follow the Jewish commentators into the question whether, if the perpetrator of the murder were afterwards discovered, the blood of the heifer which had been shed already could be allowed to atone for it, so that the murderer need not be punished. . . . <div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/deuteronomy/21.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div>Verses 1-9. - If a body was found lying dead from a wound, and it was not known by whom the wound had been inflicted, the whole land would be involved in the guilt of the murder, unless it was duly expiated as here directed. First, the elders and judges (presumably of the neighboring towns; of Josephus, 'Antiq.' 4:8, 16) were to meet, the former as magistrates representing the communities, the latter as administrators of the law, and were to measure the distance from the body of the slain man to each of the surrounding towns, in order to ascertain which was the nearest. This ascertained, upon that town was to be laid the duty of expiating the crime. <a href="/commentaries/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a> <a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div>If כִּי־ (kî-) Conjunction <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3588.htm">Strong's 3588: </a> A relative conjunction [one] is found יִמָּצֵ֣א (yim·mā·ṣê) Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_4672.htm">Strong's 4672: </a> To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present slain, חָלָ֗ל (ḥā·lāl) Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_2491.htm">Strong's 2491: </a> Pierced, polluted lying נֹפֵ֖ל (nō·p̄êl) Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5307.htm">Strong's 5307: </a> To fall, lie in a field בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה (baś·śā·ḏeh) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_7704.htm">Strong's 7704: </a> Field, land in the land בָּאֲדָמָה֙ (bā·’ă·ḏā·māh) Preposition-b, Article | Noun - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_127.htm">Strong's 127: </a> Ground, land the LORD יְהוָ֨ה (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3068.htm">Strong's 3068: </a> LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel your God אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ (’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā) Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_430.htm">Strong's 430: </a> gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative is giving נֹתֵ֤ן (nō·ṯên) Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5414.htm">Strong's 5414: </a> To give, put, set you לְךָ֙ (lə·ḵā) Preposition | second person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/.htm">Strong's Hebrew</a> to possess, לְרִשְׁתָּ֔הּ (lə·riš·tāh) Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3423.htm">Strong's 3423: </a> To occupy, to seize, to rob, to inherit, to expel, to impoverish, to ruin and it is not לֹ֥א (lō) Adverb - Negative particle <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> Not, no known נוֹדַ֖ע (nō·w·ḏa‘) Verb - Nifal - Perfect - third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3045.htm">Strong's 3045: </a> To know who מִ֥י (mî) Interrogative <a href="/hebrew/strongs_4310.htm">Strong's 4310: </a> Who?, whoever, in oblique construction with prefix, suffix killed him, הִכָּֽהוּ׃ (hik·kā·hū) Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5221.htm">Strong's 5221: </a> To strike <div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 NIV</a> <a href="/nlt/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 NLT</a> <a href="/esv/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 ESV</a> <a href="/nasb/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 NASB</a> <a href="/kjv/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 KJV</a> <a href="//bibleapps.com/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 BibleApps.com</a> <a href="//bibliaparalela.com/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 Biblia Paralela</a> <a href="//holybible.com.cn/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 Chinese Bible</a> <a href="//saintebible.com/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 French Bible</a> <a href="/catholic/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">Deuteronomy 21:1 Catholic Bible</a> <a href="/deuteronomy/21-1.htm">OT Law: Deuteronomy 21:1 If one be found slain (Deut. De Du)</a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/deuteronomy/20-20.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Deuteronomy 20:20"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Deuteronomy 20:20" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/deuteronomy/21-2.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Deuteronomy 21:2"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Deuteronomy 21:2" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>