Deuteronomy 21:6
New International Version
Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,

New Living Translation
“The elders of the town must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken.

English Standard Version
And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,

Berean Standard Bible
Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken,

King James Bible
And all the elders of that city, that are next unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:

New King James Version
And all the elders of that city nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.

New American Standard Bible
And all the elders of that city which is nearest to the person killed shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

NASB 1995
“All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

NASB 1977
“And all the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

Legacy Standard Bible
And all the elders of that city who are nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

Amplified Bible
All the elders of that city nearest to the dead man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

Christian Standard Bible
All the elders of the city nearest to the victim will wash their hands by the stream over the young cow whose neck has been broken.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
All the elders of the city nearest to the victim will wash their hands by the stream over the young cow whose neck has been broken.

American Standard Version
And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And all Elders of that city that is near him who was killed shall wash their hands over the heifer that was slaughtered in the valley:

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And all the elders of that city who draw nigh to the slain man shall wash their hands over the head of the heifer which was slain in the valley;

Contemporary English Version
The town leaders will wash their hands over the body of the dead cow

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the ancients of that city shall come to the person slain, and shall wash their hands over the heifer that was killed in the valley,

English Revised Version
and all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
All the leaders from the city which was nearest the murder victim must wash their hands over the dead heifer.

Good News Translation
Then all the leaders from the town nearest the place where the murdered person was found are to wash their hands over the cow

International Standard Version
All the elders of the city nearest the dead body are to wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,

JPS Tanakh 1917
And all the elders of that city, who are nearest unto the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.

Literal Standard Version
and all [the] elderly of that city, who are near to the slain one, wash their hands over the heifer which is beheaded in the valley,

Majority Standard Bible
Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken,

New American Bible
Then all the elders of that city nearest the corpse shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the wadi,

NET Bible
and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.

New Revised Standard Version
All the elders of that town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the wadi,

New Heart English Bible
All the elders of that city, who are nearest to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley;

Webster's Bible Translation
And all the elders of that city that are next to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:

World English Bible
All the elders of that city which is nearest to the slain man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley.

Young's Literal Translation
and all the elders of that city, who are near unto the slain one, do wash their hands over the heifer which is beheaded in the valley,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
5And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault. 6Then all the elders of the city nearest the victim shall wash their hands by the stream over the heifer whose neck has been broken, 7and they shall declare, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.…

Cross References
Matthew 27:24
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "You bear the responsibility."

Deuteronomy 21:7
and they shall declare, "Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.

2 Samuel 3:29
May it whirl over the heads of Joab and the entire house of his father, and may the house of Joab never be without one having a discharge or skin disease, or one who leans on a staff or falls by the sword or lacks food."


Treasury of Scripture

And all the elders of that city, that are next to the slain man, shall wash their hands over the heifer that is beheaded in the valley:

Job 9:30
If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean;

Psalm 19:12
Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Psalm 26:6
I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I compass thine altar, O LORD:

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Beheaded Body Broken City Cow Dead Elders Hands Heifer Nearest Neck Responsible Slain Valley Wash Washing Watercourse
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Beheaded Body Broken City Cow Dead Elders Hands Heifer Nearest Neck Responsible Slain Valley Wash Washing Watercourse
Deuteronomy 21
1. The Atonement for an Unsolved Murder
10. The usage of a captive taken to wife
15. The firstborn is not to be disinherited upon private affection
18. A rebellious son is to be stoned to death
22. The malefactor must not hang all night on a tree














Verse 6. - The elders of that city. The elders, by the significant act of washing their hands, indicated that they threw off from them, utterly repudiated, the charge of blood-guiltiness on the part of the town which they represented (cf. Psalm 26:6; Psalm 73:13; Matthew 27:24).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then all
וְכֹ֗ל (wə·ḵōl)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the elders
זִקְנֵי֙ (ziq·nê)
Adjective - masculine plural construct
Strong's 2205: Old

of the city
הָעִ֣יר (hā·‘îr)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5892: Excitement

nearest
הַקְּרֹבִ֖ים (haq·qə·rō·ḇîm)
Article | Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7138: Near

the victim
הֶחָלָ֑ל (he·ḥā·lāl)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2491: Pierced, polluted

shall wash
יִרְחֲצוּ֙ (yir·ḥă·ṣū)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7364: To wash, wash off or away, bathe

their hands
יְדֵיהֶ֔ם (yə·ḏê·hem)
Noun - fdc | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3027: A hand

by the stream
בַנָּֽחַל׃ (ḇan·nā·ḥal)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5158: A stream, a winter torrent, a, valley, a shaft

over
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

the heifer
הָעֶגְלָ֖ה (hā·‘eḡ·lāh)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5697: A, calf, one nearly grown

whose neck has been broken,
הָעֲרוּפָ֥ה (hā·‘ă·rū·p̄āh)
Article | Verb - Qal - QalPassParticiple - feminine singular
Strong's 6202: To break the neck, to destroy


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 21:6 All the elders of that city who (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 21:5
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