Deuteronomy 17

1 "Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God cattle or sheep that have any defects; the Lord hates this.

2 "Suppose you hear that in one of your towns some men or women have sinned against the Lord and broken his covenant

3 by worshiping and serving other gods or the sun or the moon or the stars, contrary to the Lord's command. ¹

4 If you hear such a report, then investigate it thoroughly. If it is true that this evil thing has happened in Israel,

5 then take them outside the town and stone them to death.

6 However, they may be put to death only if two or more witnesses testify against them; they are not to be put to death if there is only one witness. ²

7 The witnesses are to throw the first stones, and then the rest of the people are to stone them; in this way you will get rid of this evil. ³

8 "It may be that some cases will be too difficult for the local judges to decide, such as certain cases of property rights or of bodily injury or those cases that involve a distinction between murder and manslaughter. When this happens, go to the one place of worship chosen by the Lord your God,

9 and present your case to the levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time, and let them decide the case.

10 They will give their decision, and you are to do exactly as they tell you.

11 Accept their verdict and follow their instructions in every detail.

12 Anyone who dares to disobey either the judge or the priest on duty is to be put to death; in this way you will remove this evil from Israel.

13 Then everyone will hear of it and be afraid, and no one else will dare to act in such a way.

14 "After you have taken possession of the land that the Lord your God is going to give you and have settled there, then you will decide you need a king like all the nations around you. ⁴

15 Be sure that the man you choose to be king is the one whom the Lord has chosen. He must be one of your own people; do not make a foreigner your king.

16 The king is not to have a large number of horses for his army, and he is not to send people to Egypt to buy horses, because the Lord has said that his people are never to return there. ⁵

17 The king is not to have many wives, because this would make him turn away from the Lord; and he is not to make himself rich with silver and gold. ⁶

18 When he becomes king, he is to have a copy of the book of God's laws and teachings made from the original copy kept by the levitical priests.

19 He is to keep this book near him and read from it all his life, so that he will learn to honor the Lord and to obey faithfully everything that is commanded in it.

20 This will keep him from thinking that he is better than other Israelites and from disobeying the Lord's commands in any way. Then he will reign for many years, and his descendants will rule Israel for many generations.

Deuteronomy 17 Commentary

Chapter 17

All sacrifices to be perfect, Idolaters must be slain. (1-7) Difficult controversies. (8-13) The choice of a king, His duties. (14-20)

Verses 1-7 No creature which had any blemish was to be offered in sacrifice to God. We are thus called to remember the perfect, pure, and spotless sacrifice of Christ, and reminded to serve God with the best of our abilities, time, and possession, or our pretended obedience will be hateful to him. So great a punishment as death, so remarkable a death as stoning, must be inflicted on the Jewish idolater. Let all who in our day set up idols in their hearts, remember how God punished this crime in Israel.

Verses 8-13 Courts of judgment were to be set up in every city. Though their judgment had not the Divine authority of an oracle, it was the judgment of wise, prudent, experienced men, and had the advantage of a Divine promise.

Verses 14-20 God himself was in a particular manner Israel's King; and if they set another over them, it was necessary that he should choose the person. Accordingly, when the people desired a king, they applied to Samuel, a prophet of the Lord. In all cases, God's choice, if we can but know it, should direct, determine, and overrule ours. Laws are given for the prince that should be elected. He must carefully avoid every thing that would turn him from God and religion. Riches, honours, and pleasures, are three great hinderances of godliness, (the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life,) especially to those in high stations; against these the king is here warned. The king must carefully study the law of God, and make that his rule; and having a copy of the Scriptures of his own writing, must read therein all the days of his life. It is not enough to have Bibles, but we must use them, use them daily, as long as we live. Christ's scholars never learn above their Bibles, but will have constant occasion for them, till they come to that world where knowledge and love will be made perfect. The king's writing and reading were as nothing, if he did not practise what he wrote and read. And those who fear God and keep his commandments, will fare the better for it even in this world.

Cross References

• 1. 17.3Exodus 22.20.
• 2. 17.6Numbers 35.30;Deuteronomy 19.15;Matthew 18.16;2 Corinthians 13.1;1 Timothy 5.19;Hebrews 10.28.
• 3. 17.71 Corinthians 5.13.
• 4. 17.14 1 Samuel 8.5.
• 5. 17.16 1 K 10.28;2 Chronicles 1.16; 9.28.
• 6. 17.17 a 1 K 11.1-8; b 1 K 10.14-22, 27;2 Chronicles 1.15; 9.27.

Footnotes

• [a]. to buy horses; [or] in exchange for horses.

Chapter Summary

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.