New English Translation
Deuteronomy 21:22
22If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse on a tree,
Deuteronomy 21:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
- New International Version (NIV)If someone guilty of a capital offense is put to death and their body is exposed on a pole,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
Context of Deuteronomy 21:22
20They must declare to the elders of his city, “Our son is stubborn and rebellious and pays no attention to what we say – he is a glutton and drunkard.” 21Then all the men of his city must stone him to death. In this way you will purge out wickedness from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid. If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse on a tree, 23his body must not remain all night on the tree; instead you must make certain you bury him that same day, for the one who is left exposed on a tree is cursed by God. You must not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Read all of Deuteronomy 21Deuteronomy 21:22 word by word
וְכִֽי־יִהְיֶ֣ה בְאִ֗ישׁ חֵ֛טְא מִשְׁפַּט־מָ֖וֶת וְהוּמָ֑ת וְתָלִ֥יתָ אֹת֖וֹ עַל־עֵֽץ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 21:22
- 2 Samuel 4:12So David issued orders to the soldiers and they put them to death. Then they cut off their hands and feet and hung them near the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ish-bosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.
- Joshua 8:29He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day).
- Joshua 10:26Then Joshua executed them and hung them on five trees. They were left hanging on the trees until evening.
- Numbers 25:4The Lord said to Moses, “Arrest all the leaders of the people, and hang them up before the Lord in broad daylight, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel.”
- Deuteronomy 19:6Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, and kill him, though this is not a capital case since he did not hate him at the time of the accident.
- Deuteronomy 22:26You must not do anything to the young woman – she has done nothing deserving of death. This case is the same as when someone attacks another person and murders him,
- 1 Samuel 26:16This failure on your part isn’t good! As surely as the Lord lives, you people who have not protected your lord, the Lord’s chosen one, are as good as dead! Now look where the king’s spear and the jug of water that was by his head are!”
- Matthew 26:66What is your verdict?” They answered, “He is guilty and deserves death.”
- Acts 23:29I found he was accused with reference to controversial questions about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment.
- Acts 25:11If then I am in the wrong and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, but if not one of their charges against me is true, no one can hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
- Acts 26:31and as they were leaving they said to one another, “This man is not doing anything deserving death or imprisonment.”
- 2 Samuel 21:6let seven of his male descendants be turned over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, who was the Lord’s chosen one.” The king replied, “I will turn them over.”
- Luke 23:33So when they came to the place that is called “The Skull,” they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
- John 19:31Then, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies should not stay on the crosses on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was an especially important one), the Jewish leaders asked Pilate to have the victims’ legs broken and the bodies taken down.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21:22
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22There were four methods of execution in use among the ancient Jews; stoning (Exodus 17:4; Deuteronomy 13:10, etc.), burning Leviticus 20:14; Leviticus 21:9, the sword Exodus 32:27, and strangulation. The latter, though not named in Scripture, is regarded by the rabbis as the most common, and the proper one to be adopted when no other is expressly enjoined by the Law. Suspension, whether from cross, stake, or gallows, was not used as a mode of taking life…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-23Verses 22-23 By the law of Moses, the touch of a dead body was defiling, therefore dead bodies must not be left hanging, as that would defile the land. There is one reason here which has reference to Christ; "He that is hanged is accursed of God;" that is, it is the highest degree of disgrace and reproach. Those who see a man thus hanging between heaven and earth, will conclude him abandoned of both, and unworthy of either. Moses, by the Spirit, uses this…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 22hang his body on a tree: This was not the method of execution, at least in this text. It was a shameful display of those already put to death for severe crimes punishable by death. This was probably to show the Lord's hatred of sin. It also warned others about committing similar acts (see also Genesis 40:19, 22; Joshua 10:26; 2 Samuel 4:12; 21:12; Esther 2:23; 7:10).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-2322-23. if a man have committed a sin ... and thou hang him on a tree--Hanging was not a Hebrew form of execution (gibbeting is meant), but the body was not to be left to rot or be a prey to ravenous birds; it was to be buried "that day," either because the stench in a hot climate would corrupt the air, or the spectacle of an exposed corpse bring ceremonial defilement on the land.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 21:22
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
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries