New King James Version
Deuteronomy 21:22
22“If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him 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 Living Translation (NLT)“If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree,
Context of Deuteronomy 21:22
20And they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ 21Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones; so you shall put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear. “If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.
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 commanded his young men, and they executed them, cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron.
- Joshua 8:29And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until evening. And as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his corpse down from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones that remains to this day.
- Joshua 10:26And afterward Joshua struck them and killed them, and hanged them on five trees; and they were hanging on the trees until evening.
- Numbers 25:4Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the Lord, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”
- Deuteronomy 19:6lest the avenger of blood, while his anger is hot, pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and kill him, though he was not deserving of death, since he had not hated the victim in time past.
- Deuteronomy 22:26But you shall do nothing to the young woman; there is in the young woman no sin deserving of death, for just as when a man rises against his neighbor and kills him, even so is this matter.
- 1 Samuel 26:16This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not guarded your master, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”
- Matthew 26:66What do you think?” They answered and said, “He is deserving of death.”
- Acts 23:29I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains.
- Acts 25:11For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.”
- Acts 26:31and when they had gone aside, they talked among themselves, saying, “This man is doing nothing deserving of death or chains.”
- 2 Samuel 21:6let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord chose.” And the king said, “I will give them.”
- Luke 23:33And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.
- John 19:31Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
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 King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries