DeuteronomyChapter 25

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¹Men may have an argument. They must go to court, and the judges will decide the case. The judges must say that the innocent one is not guilty. They must say that the guilty one is guilty. ²The guilty man may deserve to be beaten. If so, the judge must make him lie down. Then he must be whipped while the judge watches. He must get as many lashes as his crime deserves. ³He may not be given more than forty lashes. If he is beaten more than that, your brother would be shamed in front of you. ⁴Do not put a muzzle on an ox while it is walking on the grain to separate it. ⁵Brothers may live together, and one of them may die without a son. If so, his widow must not marry someone outside the family. Her husband's brother must marry her. He must do his duty as a brother-in-law for her. ⁶The first son she has will carry on the name of the brother who died. Then his name will not be wiped out from Israel. ⁷But the man may not want to marry his brother's widow. If so, she must go to the elders at the city gate. She must say, "My husband's brother refuses to keep his brother's name alive in Israel. He won't do his duty as a brother-in-law for me." ⁸Then the elders of his city must call for him and talk with him. He may still say, "I don't want to marry her." ⁹If so, his brother's widow must go up to him in front of the elders. She must take off his sandal and spit in his face. Then she must say, "This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family." ¹⁰And his family will be known in Israel as "The Family of the Man Whose Sandal Was Taken Off." ¹¹Two men may be fighting. The wife of one of them may come to save her husband from the man hitting him. She may reach out and grab the other man's private parts. ¹²If so, you must cut off her hand. Show her no pity. ¹³Do not have two different weights in your bag, one heavy and one light. ¹⁴Do not have two different measuring baskets in your house, one large and one small. ¹⁵Your weights and measures must be exact and honest. Then you will live a long time in the land the LORD your God is giving you. ¹⁶The LORD your God finds anyone who cheats with these things disgusting. ¹⁷Remember what the Amalekites did to you on your way out of Egypt. ¹⁸They came out to meet you on your trip when you were tired and worn out. They attacked all the people who were lagging behind. They had no fear of God. ¹⁹The LORD your God will give you rest from all the enemies around you. He will do it in the land he is giving you to own as your share. When he does, you must wipe out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!