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 bring to your city gates that man or woman who has done this wicked thing – that very man or woman – and you must stone that person to death. 6At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. The witnesses must be first to begin the execution, and then all the people are to join in afterward. In this way you will purge evil from among you. 8If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, legal claim, or assault – matters of controversy in your villages – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. 9You will go to the Levitical priests and the judge in office in those days and seek a solution; they will render a verdict.

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 kill him without fail! Your own hand must be the first to strike him, and then the hands of the whole community.
• Acts 7:58When they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.
• Deuteronomy 17:12The person who pays no attention to the priest currently serving the Lord your God there, or to the verdict – that person must die, so that you may purge evil from Israel.
• Deuteronomy 13:5As for that prophet or dreamer, he must be executed because he encouraged rebellion against the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, redeeming you from that place of slavery, and because he has tried to entice you from the way the Lord your God has commanded you to go. In this way you must purge out evil from within.
• Deuteronomy 19:19you must do to him what he had intended to do to the accused. In this way you will purge evil from among you.
• Deuteronomy 24:7If a man is found kidnapping a person from among his fellow Israelites, and regards him as mere property and sells him, that kidnapper must die. In this way you will purge evil from among you.
• Judges 20:13Now, hand over the good-for-nothings in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness.” But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers.
• 1 Corinthians 5:13But God will judge those outside. Remove the evil person from among you.

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