Deuteronomy 25

¹When there shall be strife betweene men, and they shall come vnto iudgement, and sentence shall be giuen vpon them, and the righteous shall be iustified, and the wicked condemned,

²Then if so be the wicked be worthy to bee beaten, the iudge shall cause him to lie downe, and to be beaten before his face, according to his trespasse, vnto a certaine nomber.

³Fortie stripes shall he cause him to haue and not past, lest if he should exceede and beate him aboue that with many stripes, thy brother should appeare despised in thy sight.

⁴Thou shalt not mousell the oxe that treadeth out the corne.

⁵If brethren dwell together, and one of them dye and haue no sonne, the wife of the dead shall not marry without: that is, vnto a stranger, but his kinseman shall goe in vnto her, and take her to wife, and doe the kinsemans office to her.

⁶And the first borne which she beareth, shall succeede in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel.

⁷And if the man will not take his kinsewoman, then let his kinsewoman goe vp to the gate vnto the Elders, and say, My kinsman refuseth to rayse vp vnto his brother a name in Israel: hee will not doe the office of a kinsman vnto me.

⁸Then the Elders of his citie shall call him, and commune with him: if he stand and say, I wil not take her,

⁹Then shall his kinswoman come vnto him in the presence of the Elders, and loose his shooe from his foote, and spit in his face, and answere, and say, So shall it be done vnto that man, that will not buylde vp his brothers house.

¹⁰And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him whose shooe is put off.