Deuteronomy 17:9

9 Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.

Deuteronomy 17:9 in Other Translations

KJV
9 And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:
ESV
9 And you shall come to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall consult them, and they shall declare to you the decision.
NLT
9 and present them to the Levitical priests or the judge on duty at that time. They will hear the case and declare the verdict.
MSG
9 Bring them to the Levitical priests and the judge who is in office at the time. Consult them and they will hand down the decision for you.
CSB
9 You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Ask, and they will give you a verdict in the case.

Deuteronomy 17:9 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 17:9

Thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites
The priests that are of the tribe of Levi, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi; for Aben Ezra says there are priests that are not of the genealogy of Levi; such there were indeed in Jeroboam's time, ( 1 Kings 12:31 ) ( 13:33 ) . Maimonides F6 observes, that it is ordered that there should be in the great sanhedrim priests and Levites, as it is said: "and thou shalt come unto the priests, and the judge that shall be in those days, and inquire"; judge is here put for judges, of which the great court consisted, being priests, Levites, and Israelites; (See Gill on Deuteronomy 16:18), though others think that only a single person is meant, such as Othniel, Ehud, Gideon, Samson but then as there was not always such an one in being, I should rather think that the judge here, if a single person, is the president or prince of the great sanhedrim, who succeeded Moses, and sat in his place; and of him and his court, the priests, and Levites and Israelites that composed it, inquiry was to be made:

and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment;
give their judgment in the difficult case proposed, and declare what is right to be done, and what sentence is to be pronounced.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 2. sect. 2.

Deuteronomy 17:9 In-Context

7 The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death, and then the hands of all the people. You must purge the evil from among you.
8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults—take them to the place the LORD your God will choose.
9 Go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.
10 You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do.
11 Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.

Cross References 3

  • 1. Deuteronomy 24:8; Deuteronomy 27:9
  • 2. S Exodus 21:6
  • 3. S Genesis 25:22; Deuteronomy 19:17; Ezekiel 44:24; Haggai 2:11
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