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But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, then she[a] must go to the elders at the city gate and declare, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to perform the duty of a brother-in-law in order to preserve the name of his brother in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law.’ Then the elders of the city are to summon him and speak with him. If he insists on saying, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’ then she is to approach her brother-in-law in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal, spit in his face, and say in response, ‘May this be done to the man who does not preserve the lineage[b] of his brother.’

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 25:7 Lit. the brother’s wife
  2. Deuteronomy 25:9 Lit. house