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Deuteronomy 17
1You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox, or a sheep, in which is a blemish, [or] anything evil; for that is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
2If there be found in the midst of you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, man or woman, who does that which is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God, in transgressing his covenant,
3and has gone and served other gods, and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the army of the sky, which I have not commanded;
4and it be told you, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire diligently; and behold, if it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is done in Israel,
5then you shall bring forth that man or that woman, who has done this evil thing, to your gates, even the man or the woman; and you shall stone them to death with stones.
6At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he who is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
7The hand of the witnesses shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall put away the evil from the midst of you.
8If there arises a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within your gates; then you shall arise, and go up to the place which Yahweh your God shall choose;
9and you shall come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days: and you shall inquire; and they shall show you the sentence of judgment.
10You shall do according to the tenor of the sentence which they shall show you from that place which Yahweh shall choose; and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you:
11according to the tenor of the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do; you shall not turn aside from the sentence which they shall show you, to the right hand, nor to the left.
12The man who does presumptuously, in not listening to the priest who stands to minister there before Yahweh your God, or to the judge, even that man shall die: and you shall put away the evil from Israel.
13All the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
14When you are come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and shall possess it, and shall dwell therein, and shall say, "I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me;"
15you shall surely set him king over yourselves, whom Yahweh your God shall choose: one from among your brothers you shall set king over you; you may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
16Only he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he may multiply horses; because Yahweh has said to you, "You shall not go back that way again."
17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
18It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of [that which is] before the priests the Levites:
19and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life; that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them;
20that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he not turn aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children, in the midst of Israel.
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Aliens: Jews not Permitted to Make Kings of Deuteronomy 17:15
you are to appoint over yourselves the king whom the LORD your God shall choose. Appoint a king from among your brothers; you are not to set over yourselves a foreigner who is not one of your brothers.
Assault and Battery: Laws Concerning Deuteronomy 17:8–12
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. / You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case. / You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you,
Assumption Deuteronomy 17:13
Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will no longer behave arrogantly.
Bigamy Deuteronomy 17:17
He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.
Church: Government of, Mosaic and Christian Deuteronomy 17:8–13
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. / You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case. / You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you,
Church: Rules of Discipline In, Mosaic and Christian Deuteronomy 17:2–13
If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant / and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden— / and if it is reported and you hear about it, you must investigate it thoroughly. If the report is true and such an abomination has happened in Israel,
Constitution: Agreement Between the Ruler and People Deuteronomy 17:18–20
When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. / It is to remain with him, and he is to read from it all the days of his life, so that he may learn to fear the LORD his God by carefully observing all the words of this instruction and these statutes. / Then his heart will not be exalted above his countrymen, and he will not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or to the left, in order that he and his sons may reign many years over his kingdom in Israel.
Court: Civil: Composition of, and Mode of Procedure Deuteronomy 17:9
You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
Court: Contempt of Deuteronomy 17:8–13
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. / You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case. / You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you,
Court: Sentence of, Final and Obligatory Deuteronomy 17:8–12
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. / You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case. / You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you,
Court: Superior, and Inferior Deuteronomy 17:8–13
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. / You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case. / You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you,
Courts of Justice: Superior Court: Consisted Subsequently of Priests and Levites Deuteronomy 17:9
You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
Courts of Justice: Superior Court: Decided on all Appeals and Difficult Cases Deuteronomy 17:8, 9
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose. / You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.
Courts of Justice: Superior Court: Decisions of, Conclusive Deuteronomy 17:10, 11
You must abide by the verdict they give you at the place the LORD will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you, / according to the terms of law they give and the verdict they proclaim. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from the decision they declare to you.
Courts of Justice: Superior Court: Held at the Seat of Government Deuteronomy 17:8
If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.
Courts of Justice: Superior Court: Presided Over by the Governor or the High Priest Deuteronomy 17:12
But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.
Courts of Justice: The Accused: The Evidence of Two or More Witnesses Required In Deuteronomy 17:6
On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness.
Courts of Justice: The Judgment of Witnesses First to Execute Deuteronomy 17:7
The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.
Evidence: Laws Concerning Deuteronomy 17:6, 7
On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness. / The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.
Fear of God: A Motive of Obedience Deuteronomy 17:11–13
according to the terms of law they give and the verdict they proclaim. Do not turn aside to the right or to the left from the decision they declare to you. / But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel. / Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will no longer behave arrogantly.
Gates of Cities: Criminals Punished At Deuteronomy 17:5
you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.
Gates: Punishment of Criminals Outside of Deuteronomy 17:5
you must bring out to your gates the man or woman who has done this evil thing, and you must stone that person to death.
Gold: Kings of Israel not to Multiply Deuteronomy 17:17
He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold.
Homicide: Felonious, or Murder Deuteronomy 17:6
On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness.
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Deuteronomy 17:1-7 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.
Deuteronomy 17:8-13 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.
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 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.