Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work,
Parallel translations
- WEB It shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the slain man shall take a heifer of the herd, which hasn’t been worked with, and which has not drawn in the yoke.
- KJV And it shall be, that the city which is next unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take an heifer, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke;
- NKJV And it shall be that the elders of the city nearest to the slain man will take a heifer which has not been worked and which has not pulled with a yoke.
- NASB And it shall be that the city which is nearest to the person killed, that is, that the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd that has not been worked and has not pulled in a yoke;
- NLT When the nearest town has been determined, that town’s elders must select from the herd a heifer that has never been trained or yoked to a plow.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The elders of the nearest city take an unworked heifer for a special rite. The community nearest the crime acknowledges its responsibility before God.
Overview
The elders of the closest city take a heifer never used for labor, set apart for this solemn ceremony. The unused animal signified something wholly devoted to dealing with the bloodguilt. This rite expressed corporate accountability and the need for atonement when innocent blood was shed and the guilty could not be found.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Num 19:2“This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Instruct the Israelites to bring you an unblemished red heifer that has no defect and has never been placed under a yoke.
- Jer 31:18I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning: ‘You disciplined me severely, like an untrained calf. Restore me, that I may return, for You are the LORD my God.
- Phil 2:8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.
- Matt 11:28–30Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 21:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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