Deuteronomy 17:2-12

2 ¹"If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, ²in transgressing his covenant,

3 and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or ³the sun or the moon or any of the host of heaven, ⁴which I have forbidden,

4 and it is told you and you hear of it, then you shall inquire ⁵diligently, and if it is true and certain that such an abomination has been done in Israel,

5 then you shall bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you ⁶shall stone that man or woman to death with stones.

6 ⁷On the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses the one who is to die shall be put to death; a person shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.

7 ⁸The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So ⁹you shall purge^[a] the evil^[b] from your midst.

Legal Decisions by Priests and Judges

8 "If any case arises requiring decision between one kind of homicide and another, one kind of legal right and another, or one kind of assault and another, any case within your towns that is too difficult for you, then you shall arise and go up to ¹⁰the place that the LORD your God will choose.

9 ¹¹And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and ¹²they shall declare to you the decision.

10 Then you shall do according to what they declare to you from that place that the LORD will choose. And you shall be careful to do according to all that they direct you.

11 According to the instructions that they give you, and according to the decision which they pronounce to you, you shall do. You shall not turn aside from the verdict that they declare to you, either to the right hand or to the left.

12 The man who ¹³acts presumptuously by not obeying the priest ¹⁴who stands to minister there before the LORD your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So ¹⁵you shall purge the evil from Israel.

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Deuteronomy 17:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 17

This chapter begins with a caution not to sacrifice anything to the Lord that is blemished or ill favoured, De 17:1, an order is given to put to death men or women guilty of idolatry, where it is clearly proved upon them, De 17:2-7 and it is directed that when cases are too hard for inferior judges to determine, they should be brought to Jerusalem to the priests, Levites, and judges, which formed the great consistory there, whose sentence was to be adhered unto on pain of death, De 17:8-13, and rules are given about the choice of a king, and he is informed what he must not do, and what he should do, De 17:14-20.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 15

1. For ver. 2-7, see Deuteronomy 13:6-14
2. Joshua 7:11, 15; Joshua 23:16; Judges 2:20; Hosea 8:12">2 Kgs. 1Hosea 8:12; Hosea 6:7; Hosea 8:1
3. See Deuteronomy 4:19
4. [Jeremiah 7:31; Jeremiah 19:5; Jeremiah 32:35]
5. Deuteronomy 13:14; Deuteronomy 19:18
6. [Leviticus 24:14, 16; Joshua 7:25]
7. [John 8:17]; See Numbers 35:30
8. Deuteronomy 13:9; [Acts 7:58]
9. ver. 12; See Deuteronomy 13:5
10. See Deuteronomy 12:5
11. Deuteronomy 19:17; Deuteronomy 21:5; 2 Chronicles 19:8, 10; Psalms 122:5; Jeremiah 18:18; Haggai 2:11; Malachi 2:7
12. Ezekiel 44:24
13. [Deuteronomy 18:20, 22; Ezra 10:8]
14. Deuteronomy 10:8; Deuteronomy 18:5, 7
15. [See ver. 7 above]

Footnotes 2

[a]. Septuagint drive out; also verse 12
[b]. Or evil person; also verse 12

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.