Whipping as Punishment for a Crime
Moses said to Israel:
1-2 Suppose you and someone else each accuse the other of doing something wrong, and you go to court, where the judges decide you are guilty. If your punishment is to be beaten with a whip, one of the judges will order you to lie down, and you will receive the number of lashes you deserve. 3 Forty lashes is the most that you can be given, because more than that might make other Israelites think you are worthless.
Don't Muzzle an Ox
Moses said to Israel:
4 Don't muzzle an ox while it is threshing grain.
A Son for a Dead Brother
Moses said to Israel:
5-6 Suppose two brothers are living on the same property, when one of them dies without having a son to carry on his name. If this happens, his widow must not marry anyone outside the family. Instead, she must marry her late husband's brother, and their first son will be the legal son of the dead man.
7 But suppose the brother refuses to marry the widow. She must go to a meeting of the town leaders at the town gate and say, “My husband died without having a son to carry on his name. And my husband's brother refuses to marry me so I can have a son.”
8 The leaders will call the living brother to the town gate and try to persuade him to marry the widow. But if he doesn't change his mind and marry her, 9 she must go over to him while the town leaders watch. She will pull off one of his sandals and spit in his face, while saying, “That's what happens to a man who won't help provide descendants for his dead brother.” 10 From then on, that man's family will be known as “the family of the man whose sandal was pulled off.”
When Two Men Fight
Moses said to Israel:
11 If two men are fighting, and the wife of one man tries to rescue her husband by grabbing the other man's private parts, 12 you must cut off her hand. Don't have any mercy.
Be Honest in Business
Moses said to Israel:
13-14 Don't try to cheat people by having two sets of weights or measures, one to get more when you are buying, and the other to give less when you are selling. 15 If you weigh and measure things honestly, the Lord your God will let you enjoy a long life in the land he is giving you. 16 But the Lord is disgusted with anyone who cheats or is dishonest.
Wipe Out Amalek
Moses said:
17 People of Israel, do you remember what the Amalekites did to you after you came out of Egypt? 18 You were tired, and they followed along behind, attacking those who could not keep up with the others. This showed that the Amalekites have no respect for God.
19 The Lord your God will help you capture the land, and he will give you peace. But when that day comes, you must wipe out Amalek so completely that no one will remember they ever lived.
1 “Suppose two Israelites go to court to settle a dispute, and one is declared innocent and the other guilty. 2 If the guilty one is sentenced to be beaten, the judge is to make him lie face downward and have him whipped. The number of lashes will depend on the crime he has committed. 3 He may be given as many as forty lashes, but no more; more than that would humiliate him publicly.
4 “Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain.
Duty to a Dead Brother
5 “If two brothers live on the same property and one of them dies, leaving no son, then his widow is not to be married to someone outside the family; it is the duty of the dead man's brother to marry her. 6 The first son that they have will be considered the son of the dead man, so that his family line will continue in Israel. 7 But if the dead man's brother does not want to marry her, she is to go before the town leaders and say, ‘My husband's brother will not do his duty; he refuses to give his brother a descendant among the people of Israel.’ 8 Then the town leaders are to summon him and speak to him. If he still refuses to marry her, 9 his brother's widow is to go up to him in the presence of the town leaders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face, and say, ‘This is what happens to the man who refuses to give his brother a descendant.’ 10 His family will be known in Israel as ‘the family of the man who had his sandal pulled off.’
Other Laws
11 “If two men are having a fight and the wife of one tries to help her husband by grabbing hold of the other man's genitals, 12 show her no mercy; cut off her hand.
13-14 “Do not cheat when you use weights and measures. 15 Use true and honest weights and measures, so that you may live a long time in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16 The Lord hates people who cheat.
The Command to Kill the Amalekites
17 “Remember what the Amalekites did to you as you were coming from Egypt. 18 They had no fear of God, and so they attacked you from the rear when you were tired and exhausted, and killed all who were straggling behind. 19 So then, when the Lord your God has given you the land and made you safe from all your enemies who live around you, be sure to kill all the Amalekites, so that no one will remember them any longer. Do not forget!