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

3And it shall be that the city which is nearest to the person killed, that is, that the elders of that city shall take a heifer of the herd that has not been worked and has not pulled in a yoke; 4and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which has not been plowed or sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley. Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, because the Lord your God has chosen them to serve Him and to bless in the name of the Lord; and every dispute and violent crime shall be settled by them. 6And all the elders of that city which is nearest to the person killed 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 who did.

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

• the priestsכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
• the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Leviלֵוִיlêvîy · LeviH3878
• shall comeנָגַשׁnâgash · to approach: approachH5066
• becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• has chosenבָּחַרbâchar · to chooseH977
• them to serveשָׁרַתshârath · to ministerH8334
• Him and to blessבָּרַךְbârak · to blessH1288
• in the nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• and everyכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• disputeרִיבrîyb rib · strifeH7379
• violentנֶ֫גַעnega‛ · plagueH5061
• settledעַל‛al · uponH5921
• settledפֶּהpeh · lip: wordH6310

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 21:5

• Deuteronomy 10:8At that time the Lord singled out 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 and his sons from all your tribes, to stand to serve in the name of the Lord always.
• Numbers 6:22Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
• 1 Chronicles 23:13The sons of Amram were Aaron and Moses. And Aaron was set apart to sanctify him as most holy, he and his sons forever, to burn incense before the Lord, to serve Him and bless in His name forever.
• Deuteronomy 17:8“If a case is too difficult for you to decide, between one kind of homicide or another, between one kind of lawsuit or another, and between one kind of assault or another, that are cases of dispute in your courts, then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses.
• Malachi 2:7For the lips of a priest should maintain knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of armies.

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