Deuteronomy 22:21

21 eicient eam extra fores domus patris sui et lapidibus obruent viri civitatis eius et morietur quoniam fecit nefas in Israhel ut fornicaretur in domo patris sui et auferes malum de medio tui

Deuteronomy 22:21 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 22:21

Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her
father's house
For his greater disgrace, and as a sort of punishment for his neglect of her education, not taking care to instruct her, and bring her up in a better manner:

and the men of her city shall stone her with stones, that she die;
which was the death this sort of adulteresses were put to; others was by strangling, and the daughter of a priest was to be burnt; see ( Leviticus 20:10 ) ( 21:9 ) , which shows that this sin was committed by her after her espousals, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra note; or otherwise it would have been only simple fornication, which was not punishable with death:

because she hath wrought folly in Israel:
a sin, as all sin is folly, and especially any notorious one, as this was; and which is aggravated by its being done in Israel, among a people professing the true religion, and whom God had chosen and separated from all others to be a holy people to himself:

to play the whore in her father's house;
where she continued after her espousals, until she was taken to the house of her husband, to consummate the: marriage; and between the one and the other was this sin committed, and which is another reason for her execution at the door of her father's house:

so shalt thou put evil away from among you;
deter others from it by such an example, and remove the guilt of it from them, which otherwise would lie upon them, if punishment was not inflicted; the Targum of Jonathan interprets it of the putting away of her that did the evil.

Deuteronomy 22:21 In-Context

19 condemnantes insuper centum siclis argenti quos dabit patri puellae quoniam diffamavit nomen pessimum super virginem Israhel habebitque eam uxorem et non poterit dimittere omni tempore vitae suae
20 quod si verum est quod obicit et non est in puella inventa virginitas
21 eicient eam extra fores domus patris sui et lapidibus obruent viri civitatis eius et morietur quoniam fecit nefas in Israhel ut fornicaretur in domo patris sui et auferes malum de medio tui
22 si dormierit vir cum uxore alterius uterque morientur id est adulter et adultera et auferes malum de Israhel
23 si puellam virginem desponderit vir et invenerit eam aliquis in civitate et concubuerit cum illa
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.