Deuteronomy 21:18-23

18 "If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will 1not obey * his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them,
19 then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown.
20 "They shall say to the elders of his city, 'This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey * us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.'
21 "2Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so 3you shall remove the evil from your midst, and 4all Israel will hear of it and fear.
22 "If a man has committed a sin 5worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
23 6his corpse shall not hang all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on the same day (for 7he who is hanged is accursed of God ), so that you 8do not defile your land which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 21:18-23 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 21

This chapter treats of the beheading of the heifer, for the expiation of unknown murder, and the rules to be observed in it, De 21:1-9 of a beautiful captive woman an Israelite is desirous of having for his wife, and what methods he must take to accomplish it, De 21:10-14, of giving the double portion to the firstborn, which he must not be deprived of in favour of the son of a beloved wife, De 21:15-17 and of the stubborn and rebellious son, who remaining so must be put to death, De 21:18-21 and of burying a person hanged on a tree the same day he is executed, De 21:22,23.

Cross References 8

  • 1. Exodus 20:12; Leviticus 19:3; Proverbs 1:8; Ephesians 6:1-3
  • 2. Leviticus 20:2, 27; Leviticus 24:14-23; Numbers 15:25, 36
  • 3. Deuteronomy 19:19
  • 4. Deuteronomy 13:11
  • 5. Deuteronomy 22:26; Matthew 26:66; Mark 14:64; Acts 23:29
  • 6. Joshua 8:29; Joshua 10:26, 27; John 19:31
  • 7. Galatians 3:13
  • 8. Leviticus 18:25; Numbers 35:34

Footnotes 2

  • [a]. Lit "and to the gate of his place"
  • [b]. Lit "the curse of God"
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