Deuteronomy 21:5

Deuteronomy 21:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:
• New International Version (NIV)The Levitical priests shall step forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the Lord and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to him and to bless in the name of the Lord, and by their word every dispute and every assault shall be settled.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, for the Lord your God has chosen them to minister to Him and to bless in the name of the Lord; by their word every controversy and every assault shall be settled.

Context of Deuteronomy 21:5

3It shall be that the elders of the city which is nearest to the dead man shall take a heifer of the herd, one which has not been worked and which has not pulled in a yoke; 4and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a [river] valley with running water, which has not been plowed or planted, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall approach, for the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the Name (Presence) of the Lord; and every dispute and every assault (violent crime) shall be settled by them. 6All the elders of that city nearest to the dead man shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley; 7and they shall respond, and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it.

Deuteronomy 21:5 word by word

וְנִגְּשׁ֣וּ הַכֹּהֲנִים֮ בְּנֵ֣י לֵוִי֒ כִּ֣י בָ֗ם בָּחַ֞ר יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ לְשָׁ֣רְת֔וֹ וּלְבָרֵ֖ךְ בְּשֵׁ֣ם יְהוָ֑ה וְעַל־פִּיהֶ֥ם יִהְיֶ֖ה כָּל־רִ֥יב וְכָל־נָֽגַע׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Leviלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878
• shall come nearנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
• for them the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• hath chosenבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• to ministerשָׁרַתshârath · to ministerH8334
• unto him, and to blessבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
• in the nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• and by their wordפֶּהpeh · lip: wordH6310
• shall every controversyרִיבrîyb rib · strifeH7379
• and every strokeנֶ֫גַעnega‛ · plagueH5061

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 21:5

• Deuteronomy 10:8At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to serve Him and to bless in His name until this day.
• Deuteronomy 18:5For the Lord your God has chosen him, him and his sons from all your tribes, to stand and serve in the name of the Lord forever.
• Numbers 6:22Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
• 1 Chronicles 23:13The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron was set apart to consecrate him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the Lord, attend to His service, and to bless [worshipers] in His name forever.
• Deuteronomy 17:8“If any case is too difficult for you to judge—between one kind of homicide and another, between one kind of lawsuit and another, between one kind of assault and another, being controversial issues in your courts—then you shall arise and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses.
• Malachi 2:7For the lips of the priest should guard and preserve knowledge [of My law], and the people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21:5

• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3-8A family member seeking revenge could not blame the entire community (19:6–7; Numbers 35:16–29).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-91-6. If one be found slain ... lying in the field, and it be not known who hath slain him--The ceremonies here ordained to be observed on the discovery of a slaughtered corpse show the ideas of sanctity which the Mosaic law sought to associate with human blood, the horror which murder inspired, as well as the fears that were felt lest God should avenge it on the country at large, and the pollution which the land was supposed to contract from the effusion…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 21:5

• Benedictions
• Church
• Government
• Heifer
• Homicide
• Inquest
• Priest

In the dictionaries

• God
• Levi
• Levi, Levite
• Matthew, Levi
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Ablution
• Controversy
• Crucifixion
• Divers
• Murder

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings