Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 21:6-9 
Context21:6 and all the elders of that city nearest the corpse 1 must wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley. 2 21:7 Then they must proclaim, “Our hands have not spilled this blood, nor have we 3 witnessed the crime. 4 21:8 Do not blame 5 your people Israel whom you redeemed, O Lord, and do not hold them accountable for the bloodshed of an innocent person.” 6 Then atonement will be made for the bloodshed. 21:9 In this manner you will purge out the guilt of innocent blood from among you, for you must do what is right before 7 the Lord.
1 tn Heb “slain [one].”
2 tn Heb “wadi,” a seasonal watercourse through a valley.
3 tn Heb “our eyes.” This is a figure of speech known as synecdoche in which the part (the eyes) is put for the whole (the entire person).
4 tn Heb “seen”; the implied object (the crime committed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “Atone for.”
6 tn Heb “and do not place innocent blood in the midst of your people Israel.”
7 tn Heb “in the eyes of” (so ASV, NASB, NIV).
