Deuteronomy 21:18-21

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.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 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

• 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

Footnotes

• [a] Lit "and to the gate of his place"