American Standard Version
Deuteronomy 21:2
2then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
Deuteronomy 21:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
- New International Version (NIV)your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns.
- English Standard Version (ESV)then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure the distance to the surrounding cities.
- New King James Version (NKJV)then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities.
Context of Deuteronomy 21:2
1If one be found slain in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who hath smitten him; then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain: 3and it shall be, that the city which is nearest unto the slain man, even the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which hath not been wrought with, and which hath not drawn in the yoke; 4and the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.
Read all of Deuteronomy 21Deuteronomy 21:2 word by word
וְיָצְא֥וּ זְקֵנֶ֖יךָ וְשֹׁפְטֶ֑יךָ וּמָדְדוּ֙ אֶל־הֶ֣עָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר סְבִיבֹ֥ת הֶחָלָֽל׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 21:2
- Deuteronomy 16:18Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
- Romans 13:3For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. And wouldest thou have no fear of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise from the same:
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21:2
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2The elders represented the citizens at large, the judges the magistracy: priests Deuteronomy 21:5 from the nearest priestly town, were likewise to be at hand. Thus, all classes would be represented at the purging away of that blood-guiltiness which until removed attached to the whole community.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-9The guilt of murder was usually removed through the death of the murderer (19:11–13; Numbers 35:30–34). However, if the murderer was unknown, the guilt could still be removed by using this ritual.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 21:2
In the dictionaries
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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries