Deuteronomy 17:1-8

1 "You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or sheep {that has a physical defect} {of anything seriously wrong}, for that [is] a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.

2 If [there] is found in one of your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant

3 and by going and serving other gods and [so] he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any [of] the host of heaven {which I have forbidden},

4 and it is reported to you or you hear [about it] and you enquire [about it] thoroughly and, indeed, [the] trustworthiness of the deed [has] been established, it {has occurred}, this detestable thing, in Israel,

5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones {to death}.

6 {On the evidence of} two or three witnesses {the person shall be put to death}. The person shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness.

7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person to kill the person, and afterward the hands [of] all the people, and [so] you shall purge the evil from your midst.

8 "{If a matter is too difficult for you}, [for example disputes] between blood and blood, between legal claim and legal claim and between assault and assault [and between] matters of discernment in your {towns}, then you shall get up and you shall go to the place that Yahweh your God will choose;

Deuteronomy 17:1-8 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.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "that is on it a physical defect"
• [b]. Literally "of any thing bad/evil"
• [c]. Literally "gates"
• [d]. Literally "which not I [have] commanded"
• [e]. Or "look!"
• [f]. Hebrew "the thing"
• [g]. Literally "has been done"
• [h]. Hebrew "have"
• [i]. Literally "and [so] they die"
• [j]. Literally "By the mouth of"
• [k]. Literally "he/she shall be put to death, the dead person"
• [l]. Hebrew "he/she"
• [m]. Hebrew "him"
• [n]. Hebrew "him"
• [o]. Hebrew "hand"
• [p]. Literally "If is difficult/wonderful from you a thing for judgment"
• [q]. Or "between one homicide and another"
• [r]. Or "one kind of lawsuit and another"
• [s]. Or "one kind of abuse and another"
• [t]. Literally "gates"