Deuteronomy 17:7

Deuteronomy 17:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
• New International Version (NIV)The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The hands of the witnesses shall be the first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from among you.

Context of Deuteronomy 17:7

5you must punish that person. Take the man or woman who has done that wicked thing to the gate of the town. Then you must throw stones at that person to kill them. 6But two or three people must agree about what the person has done. You must never kill anyone because of the words of only one person. The people who saw the wicked act must throw the first stones to kill the person. Then everyone else must also throw stones. In that way, you must remove evil acts from among you. 8It may be difficult for the judges in your towns to decide what is true. This may happen when one person has attacked or killed another person. It may happen when people cannot agree about some land. It may be anything that people in your towns are arguing about. If you do not know who is right, you must take those people to the place that the Lord your God will choose. 9You must go to the Levite priests and to the judge who has authority at that time. Ask them to decide what is right and true.

Deuteronomy 17:7 word by word

יַ֣ד הָעֵדִ֞ים תִּֽהְיֶה־בּ֤וֹ בָרִאשֹׁנָה֙ לַהֲמִית֔וֹ וְיַ֥ד כָּל־הָעָ֖ם בָּאַחֲרֹנָ֑ה וּבִֽעַרְתָּ֥ הָרָ֖ע מִקִּרְבֶּֽךָ׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The handsיָדyâd · handH3027
• of the witnessesעֵד‛êd · witnessH5707
• shall be firstרִאשׁוֹןri'shôn ri'shôn · firstH7223
• upon him to put him to deathמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• and afterwardאַחֲרוֹן'achăryôn 'achărôn · lastH314
• of all the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• So thou shalt putבָּעַרbâ‛ar · to burn: burnH1197
• the evilרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• from amongקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 17:7

• Deuteronomy 13:9Instead, you must certainly kill him! You must be the first person to throw stones to kill him. Then everyone else must do the same thing.
• Acts 7:58They took hold of Stephen and they pulled him out of the city. They removed their coats. They gave them to a young man to keep them safe. This young man was called Saul. Then they began to throw stones at Stephen to kill him.
• Deuteronomy 17:12Someone might be too proud to obey the priest who has authority as the Lord's servant. He may not agree with what the judge says is right. You must punish any proud person like that with death. In that way you will remove evil things from Israel.
• Deuteronomy 13:5You must punish that false prophet with death. He has told you to turn against the Lord your God. The Lord rescued you from Egypt, where you were slaves. But the false prophet has tried to turn you away from the way of life that the Lord your God has commanded. So you must remove all evil things like that from among you.
• Deuteronomy 19:19If he is telling lies, you must punish him in the same way that he wanted to punish the other Israelite. You must remove evil things like this from among yourselves.
• Deuteronomy 24:7A man might take hold of another Israelite and make him his slave. He might try to sell him as a slave. Anyone who does that must die. You must remove evil things from among you.
• Judges 20:13Send those wicked men of Gibeah out to us. We must punish them with death. Only that will remove this terrible sin from Israel.’ But the people of Benjamin did not agree to do that.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 17:7

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2-7Verses 2-7 Compare Deuteronomy 13:1 ff. Here special reference is made to the legal forms to be adopted, Deuteronomy 17:5-7. The sentence was to be carried into effect at “the gates” (compare Genesis 19:1 note) of the town in which the crime was committed; because, as “all the people” were to take a part, an open space would be requisite for the execution. Note the typical and prophetical aspect of the injunction; compare Acts 7:58; Hebrews 13:12.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7The rule for witnesses to throw the first stones prevented false accusations. Giving false testimony had serious consequences. Requiring a witness to lead an execution ensured his testimony was reliable. He would feel guilty if he killed an innocent person (see John 8:1–11). The people would remove evil from among them by executing those whose sins brought guilt to the community of Israel (see “Purge the Evil” Theme Note; compare 1 Corinthians 5:12–13 and…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2-72-7. If there be found among you ... man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness--The grand object contemplated in choosing Israel was to preserve the knowledge and worship of the one true God; and hence idolatry of any kind, whether of the heavenly bodies or in some grosser form, is called "a transgression of His covenant." No rank or sex could palliate this crime. Every reported case, even a flying rumor of the perpetration of so heinous an offense, was…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 17:7

• Church
• Evidence
• Intolerance, Religious
• Punishment
• Witness

In the dictionaries

• Idolatry
• Mouth
• Murder
• Stephen
• Witness
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Leviticus

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 17

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings