Deuteronomy 17:2

Capital punishment

2 If someone, whether male or female, is found in your community—in one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you—who does evil in the LORD your God's eyes, by breaking God's covenant,

Deuteronomy 17:2 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 17:2

If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the
Lord thy God giveth thee
In any of their cities in the land of Canaan:

man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy
God:
as all that is wrought is in the sight of the omniscient God; here it means not any kind of wickedness, for there is none lives without committing sin of one sort or another, all which is known to God the searcher of hearts, but such wickedness as is after described:

in transgressing his covenant;
that is, his law, and particularly the first table of it, which respects divine worship, and which is in the nature of a marriage contract or covenant; which, as that is transgressed by adultery committed by either party, so the covenant between God and Israel was transgressed by idolatry, which is spiritual adultery, and going a whoring after other gods, as it follows:

Deuteronomy 17:2 In-Context

1 Don't sacrifice to the LORD your God any oxen or sheep that have defects of any kind, because that is detestable to the LORD your God.

2 If someone, whether male or female, is found in your community—in one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you—who does evil in the LORD your God's eyes, by breaking God's covenant,

3 by following and serving other gods, and by bowing down to them, to the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly bodies that I haven't permitted—

4 and you hear news about it, then you must look into this situation very carefully. And if it's definitely true that this detestable thing was done in Israel,

5 then you must bring out the man or woman who has done this evil thing to the gates of the city. Stone that person until he or she is dead.