Deuteronomy 25

Fairness and Mercy

1 "If there is a dispute between men, they are to go to court, and the judges will hear their case. They will clear the innocent and condemn the guilty.

2 If the guilty party deserves to be flogged, the judge will make him lie down and be flogged in his presence with the number [of lashes] appropriate for his crime.

3 He may be flogged with 40 lashes, but no more. Otherwise, if he is flogged with more lashes than these, your brother will be degraded in your sight.

4 "Do not muzzle an ox while it treads out grain.^[a]

Preserving the Family Line

5 "When brothers live on the same property^[b] and one of them dies without a son, the wife of the dead man may not marry a stranger outside [the family]. Her brother-in-law is to take her as his wife, have sexual relations with her, and perform the duty of a brother-in-law for her.

6 The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so his name will not be blotted out from Israel.^[c]

7 But if the man doesn't want to marry his sister-in-law, she must go to the elders at the [city] gate^[d] and say, 'My brother-in-law refuses to preserve his brother's name in Israel. He isn't willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.'

8 The elders of his city will summon him and speak with him. If he persists and says, 'I don't want to marry her,'

9 then his sister-in-law will go up to him in the sight of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, and spit in his face. Then she will declare, 'This is what is done to a man who will not build up his brother's house.'

10 And his [family] name in Israel will be called 'The house of the man whose sandal was removed.'^[e]

11 "If two men are fighting with each other, and the wife of one steps in to rescue her husband from the one striking him, and she puts out her hand and grabs his genitals,

12 you are to cut off her hand. You must not show pity.

Honest Weights and Measures

13 "You must not have two different weights^[f] in your bag, one heavy and one light.

14 You must not have two differing dry measures in your house, a larger and a smaller.

15 You must have a full and honest weight, a full and honest dry measure, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

16 For everyone who does such things and acts unfairly is detestable to the Lord your God.^[g]

Revenge on the Amalekites

17 "Remember what the Amalekites did to you on the journey after you left Egypt.

18 They met you along the way and attacked all your stragglers from behind when you were tired and weary. They did not fear God.

19 When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget.^[h]

Deuteronomy 25 Commentary

Chapter 25

Extent of punishment. (1-3) The ox that treadeth the corn. (4) Marriage of a brother's wife. (5-12) Of unjust weights. (13-16) War against Amalek. (17-19)

Verses 1-3 Every punishment should be with solemnity, that those who see it may be filled with dread, and be warned not to offend in like manner. And though the criminals must be shamed as well as put to pain, for their warning and disgrace, yet care should be taken that they do not appear totally vile. Happy those who are chastened of the Lord to humble them, that they should not be condemned with the world to destruction.

Verse 4 This is a charge to husbandmen. It teaches us to make much of the animals that serve us. But we must learn, not only to be just, but kind to all who are employed for the good of our ( 1 Corinthians. 9:9 )

Verses 5-12 The custom here regulated seems to have been in the Jewish law in order to keep inheritances distinct; now it is unlawful.

Verses 13-16 Dishonest gain always brings a curse on men's property, families, and souls. Happy those who judge themselves, repent of and forsake their sins, and put away evil things, that they may not be condemned of the Lord.

Verses 17-19 Let every persecutor and injurer of God's people take warning from the case of the Amalekites. The longer it is before judgement comes, the more dreadful will it be at last. Amalek may remind us of the foes of our souls. May we be enabled to slay all our lusts, all the corruptions both within and without, all the powers of darkness and of the world, which oppose our way to the blessed Saviour.

Footnotes

• [a]. 1 Co 9:9; 1 Tm 5:18
• [b]. Lit live together
• [c]. Mt 22:24; Mk 12:19; Lk 20:28
• [d]. Dt 17:8; 21:19; 22:15
• [e]. Gn 38; Ru 4:1-12
• [f]. Lit have a stone and a stone
• [g]. Lv 19:35-36
• [h]. Ex 17:8-16; 1 Sm 15; 30

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 25

Several laws are contained in this chapter, as concerning beating such whose crimes required it, De 25:1-3; of not muzzling the ox in treading out the corn, De 25:4; of marrying a deceased brother's wife, when there was no issue, and of the disgrace of such that refused it, De 25:5-10; of the punishment of an immodest woman, De 25:11,12; and against bad weights and measures, De 25:13-16; and for the utter destruction of Amalek, De 25:17-19.