Deuteronomy 21:4

Deuteronomy 21:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And the elders of that city shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley, which is neither eared nor sown, and shall strike off the heifer’s neck there in the valley:
• English Standard Version (ESV)And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with running water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and shall break the heifer's neck there in the valley.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a valley with flowing water, which is neither plowed nor sown, and they shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.
• New Living Translation (NLT)They must lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and that has a stream running through it. There in the valley they must break the heifer’s neck.

Context of Deuteronomy 21:4

2your elders and judges shall go out and measure the distance from the body to the neighboring towns. 3Then the elders of the town nearest the body shall take a heifer that has never been worked and has never worn a yoke and lead it down to a valley that has not been plowed or planted and where there is a flowing stream. There in the valley they are to break the heifer’s neck. 5The 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. 6Then all the elders of the town nearest the body shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck was broken in the valley,

Deuteronomy 21:4 word by word

וְהוֹרִ֡דוּ זִקְנֵי֩ הָעִ֨יר הַהִ֤וא אֶת־הָֽעֶגְלָה֙ אֶל־נַ֣חַל אֵיתָ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹא־יֵעָבֵ֥ד בּ֖וֹ וְלֹ֣א יִזָּרֵ֑עַ וְעָֽרְפוּ־שָׁ֥ם אֶת־הָעֶגְלָ֖ה בַּנָּֽחַל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And the eldersזָקֵןzâqên · old: elderH2205
• of that cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• shall bring downיָרַדyârad · to go downH3381
• the heiferעֶגְלָה‛eglâh · heiferH5697
• unto a roughאֵיתָן'êythân · strongH386
• valleyנַ֫חַלnachal nachlâh nachălâh · torrent: valleyH5158
• which is neither earedעָבַד‛âbad · to serve: labourH5647
• nor sownזָרַעzâra‛ · to sowH2232
• and shall strike offעָרַף‛âraph · to break the neckH6202

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 21:4

• 1 Peter 2:21To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
• 1 Peter 3:18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Shall bring down the heifer unto a rough valley - איתן נחל nachal eythan might be translated a rapid stream, probably passing through a piece of uncultivated ground where the elders of the city were to strike off the head of the heifer, and to wash their hands over her in token of their innocence. The spot of ground on which this sacrifice was made must be uncultivated, because it was considered to be a sacrifice to make atonement for the murder, and…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Eared - i. e., plowed; compare Genesis 45:6 note and references. The word is derived from the Latin, and is in frequent use by English writers of the fifteenth and two following centuries. Strike off the heifer‘s neck - Rather, “break its neck” (compare Exodus 13:13). The mode of killing the victim distinguishes this lustration from the sin-offering, in which there would be of course shedding and sprinkling of the blood.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The stream would be an ever-flowing brook. It would be located in an isolated area, away from people and animals. This would help keep it free from contaminants (anything that makes something unclean).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 21:4

• Church
• Government
• Heifer
• Homicide
• Inquest

In the dictionaries

• Ablution
• Controversy
• Crucifixion
• Divers
• Earing
• Heifer
• Murder
• Plough
• Rebellious
• Wrought

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