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Contemporary English Version

Deuteronomy 21:4

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.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Church;   Government;   Heifer;   Homicide;   Inquest;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Blood;   Murder;   Valleys;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Earing;   Murder;   Sacrifice;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Elder;   Priest;   Uncleanness;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Leadership;   Murder;   Priest, Priesthood;   Samuel, First and Second, Theology of;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Alms;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Ablution;   Earing;   Heifer;   Murder;   Plough;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Blood;   Earing;   Murder;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Ablutions;   Blood;   Court Systems;   Crimes and Punishments;   Elder;   Heifer;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Clean and Unclean;   Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   Earing;   Justice;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Elders;   Heifer;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Blood;   Earing;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Mulberry Tree;   Murder;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Earing;   Heifer;   Heifer, Red;   Homicide;   Plow;   Prayer;   Salvation;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Ablution;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Abrogation of Laws;   Atonement;   Charity and Charitable Institutions;   Commandments, the 613;   Eleazar B. Dinai;   Homicide;   Judge;   Nashim;   Sacrifice;   Saul;   Soṭah;   Teḥina, Abba;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The elders of that city will bring the cow down to a continually flowing stream, to a place not tilled or sown, and they will break its neck there by the stream.
Hebrew Names Version
and the Zakenim 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.
King James Version
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:
Lexham English Bible
and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a wadi that flows with water all year and that has not been plowed and has not been sown; then there they shall break the neck of the heifer in the wadi.
English Standard Version
And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
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.
New English Translation
and bring the heifer down to a wadi with flowing water, to a valley that is neither plowed nor sown. There at the wadi they are to break the heifer's neck.
Amplified Bible
and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a [river] valley with running water, which has not been plowed or planted, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
New American Standard Bible
and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and they shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And let the Elders of that citie bring the heifer vnto a stonie valley, which is neyther eared nor sowen, and strike off the heifers necke there in the valley.
Legacy Standard Bible
and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and they shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
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.
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;
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.
George Lamsa Translation
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;
Good News Translation
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.
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.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
& they shal brynge her in to a valley, where as is nether earinge nor sowinge, and strike of hir heade there in the valley.
American Standard Version
and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
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:
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And let the elders of that citie bring the heyffer vnto a harde & rough valley which is neither eared nor sowen, and stryke of the heyffers necke there in the valley:
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which may neither be plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
King James Version (1611)
And the Elders of that citie shall bring downe the heifer vnto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sowen, and shall strike off the heifers necke there in the valley.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
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.
English Revised Version
and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley:
Berean Standard Bible
bring the heifer to a valley with running water that has not been plowed or sown, and break its neck there by the stream.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and thei schulen lede that cow calf to a scharp `valey, and ful of stoonys, that was neuere erid, nether resseyuede seed; and in that valey thei schulen kitte the heed of the cow calf.
Young's Literal Translation
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.
Update Bible Version
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.
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.
New King James Version
The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
New Living Translation
They must lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and that has a stream running through it. There in the valley they must break the heifer's neck.
New Life Bible
The leaders of that city will bring the young cow down to a valley with flowing water, which has not been plowed or planted. They will break the cow's neck there in the valley.
New Revised Standard
the elders of that town shall bring the heifer down to a wadi with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the wadi.
J.B. Rotherham 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.
Douay-Rheims Bible
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:
Revised Standard Version
And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.

Contextual Overview

1 Moses said to Israel: 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. 2 The judges and other leaders from the towns around there must find out what town is the closest to where the body was found. 3 The leaders from that town will go to their cattle herds and choose a young cow that has never been put to work. 4They 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. 6 The town leaders will wash their hands over the body of the dead cow 7 and say, "We had no part in this murder, and we don't know who did it. 8But since an innocent person was murdered, we beg you, our Lord , to accept this sacrifice and forgive Israel. We are your people, and you rescued us. Please don't hold this crime against us." If you obey the Lord and do these things, he will forgive Israel.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a rough valley: As the word nachal signifies both a torrent, and the valley or glen through which it flows, nachal aithan may be rendered a rapid torrent. Many torrents in Judea are dry during a great part of the year; when not only their banks but their beds may be ploughed, and yield a crop. Hence there is no impropriety in specifying that such a place should be one that "is neither cared nor sown;" while the circumstance that the elders were to wash their hands over the heifer, whose head had been struck off into the stream, confirms this interpretation. The spot of ground where this sacrifice was made must be uncultivated, because it was considered as a sacrifice for the atonement of murder, and, consequently, would pollute the land.

shall strike: 1 Peter 2:21-24, 1 Peter 3:18

Reciprocal: Genesis 45:6 - earing Exodus 34:21 - earing Isaiah 30:24 - ear the ground

Cross-References

Genesis 21:12
But God said, "Abraham, don't worry about your slave woman and the boy. Just do what Sarah tells you. Isaac will inherit your family name,
Genesis 21:22
About this time Abimelech and his army commander Phicol said to Abraham, "God blesses everything you do!
Genesis 21:23
Now I want you to promise in the name of God that you will always be loyal to me and my descendants, just as I have always been loyal to you in this land where you have lived as a foreigner."
Exodus 12:48
If anyone who isn't an Israelite wants to celebrate Passover with you, every man and boy in that family must first be circumcised. Then they may join in the meal, just like native Israelites. No uncircumcised man or boy may eat the Passover meal!
Leviticus 12:3
Her son must be circumcised on the eighth day,
Deuteronomy 12:32
Obey all the laws and teachings I am giving you. Don't add any, and don't take any away.
Luke 1:6
Both of them were good people and pleased the Lord God by obeying all that he had commanded.
Luke 1:59
Eight days later they did for the child what the Law of Moses commands. They were going to name him Zechariah, after his father.
Luke 2:21
Eight days later Jesus' parents did for him what the Law of Moses commands. And they named him Jesus, just as the angel had told Mary when he promised she would have a baby.
Acts 7:8
God said to Abraham, "Every son in each family must be circumcised to show that you have kept your agreement with me." So when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Later, Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley,.... Cities being generally built on hills, and so had adjacent valleys, to which there was a descent; but here a rough valley, or the rougher part of it, was selected for this purpose. As a valley is low, and this a rough one, it may be an emblem of Christ's being brought into this lower world, from heaven to earth, to do the will of his Father, which was to work out the salvation of his people; and of his coming into the lower parts of the earth, the womb of the virgin, at his incarnation, and to the grave at his death, Psalms 139:15, and of the low estate he came into by the assumption of human nature; through appearing in the form of a servant, being in indigent circumstances, and ministered to by others, and needing the assistance of angels in the wilderness and garden, by which it appeared he was made lower than they; by his being despised of men, and forsaken by his Father; all which are proofs of the low estate he was brought into, fitly signified by a valley, and which was a rough valley to him; in which he was roughly treated, his life being sought after in his infancy by Herod, which obliged the flight of his parents with him into Egypt; and being not received, but rejected by his own, as the King Messiah, whom they would not have to reign over them, and loaded with opprobrious names by them; and who often sought and attempted by various ways to take away his life; and when apprehended and examined before the high priest, and in Pilate's hall, was used in the rudest manner, being spit upon, buffeted, and scourged; and when led out to be crucified, was treated in the most barbarous and scornful manner, and was put to death in the most painful and shameful way; and, above all, was severely handled by the justice of God, being numbered among the transgressors, when the sword of justice was awaked against him, and he was not in the least spared, but wrath came upon him to the uttermost for the sins of his people; so that this world he was brought into proved a rough valley indeed to him. This some take to be an emblem of the hard heart of the murderer who had committed such a barbarous and cruel action as to kill a man; or of the hard heart of a sinner, into which Christ is brought through the ministry of the word; or of the infamous place, Calvary, where Christ was brought to suffer death; but the former is best. Some interpret it, a "strong stream" q, or "rapid torrent"; so Maimonides r and others; and indeed in valleys there are generally streams or brooks of water, but this seems not so well to agree with what follows:

which is neither cared nor sown; that is, neither ploughed nor sown, but quite an uncultivated place; and this the Jews understand not of what it had been, or then was, but what it should be hereafter; that from henceforward it should never be manured, but lie barren and useless; so it is said in the Misnah s, the place is forbid sowing or tilling, but is free to dress flax in, or to dig stones out of it: so R. Joseph Kimchi t interprets this of a fat and fruitful valley, which was not to be tilled nor sown from thenceforward for time to come; the reason of which he thinks was, that they might be the more careful of their countries and borders, and how they encouraged bloody minded men to dwell among them; that no slain person might be found there, and so they lose a choice part of their possessions; and to the same purpose Maimonities u: and this became true of the fruitful land of Judea and Jerusalem, after the sufferings and death of Christ there, Luke 21:24

and shall strike off the heifer's neck there in the valley; with an axe, on the back part of it, in the midst of the valley, as the Targum of Jonathan, and the same is said in the Misnah w: in this it was a type of Christ, who was put to death at the instigation of the elders of the Jewish nation, Matthew 27:1 and without the gates of Jerusalem at Golgotha; see Hebrews 13:11.

q אל נחל איתן "ad torrentem fortem", Montanus. r Hilchot Rotzeach, c. 9. sect. 2, so Abarbinel in Muis. & Ben Melech. s Ut supra. (Sotah, c. 9. sect. 5.) t Apud D. Kimchi, Sepher Shorash, rad. איח u Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 40. w Ut supra. (Sotah, c. 9. sect. 5.)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Eared - i. e., plowed; compare Genesis 45:6 note and references. The word is derived from the Latin, and is in frequent use by English writers of the fifteenth and two following centuries.

Strike off the heifer’s neck - Rather, “break its neck” (compare Exodus 13:13). The mode of killing the victim distinguishes this lustration from the sin-offering, in which there would be of course shedding and sprinkling of the blood.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 21:4. Shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley — נחל איתן nachal eythan might be translated 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. This regulation was calculated to keep murder in abhorrence, and to make the magistrates alert in their office, that delinquents might be discovered and punished, and thus public expense saved.


 
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