The hands of the witnesses shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
Parallel Translations
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The hands of the witnesses shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
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The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
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The hand of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So thou shalt put away the evil from the midst of thee.
Cross-references (8)
Passages linked to Deuteronomy 17:7 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Deuteronomy 13:9 but you shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people.
- 1 Corinthians 5:13 But those who are outside, God judges. “Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.”
- Deuteronomy 13:5 That prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to draw you aside out of the way which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk in. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
- Deuteronomy 17:12 The 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. You shall put away the evil from Israel.
- Deuteronomy 19:19 then you shall do to him as he had thought to do to his brother. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
- Deuteronomy 24:7 If a man is found stealing any of his brothers of the children of Israel, and he deals with him as a slave, or sells him, then that thief shall die. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
- Judges 20:13 Now therefore deliver up the men, the wicked fellows who are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and put away evil from Israel.” But Benjamin would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the children of Israel.
- Acts 7:58-59 They threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. They stoned Stephen as he called out, saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Whereby they declared that they testifieth the truth.
Whereby they declared that they testifieth the truth.
To signify a common consent to maintain God’s honor and true religion.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Deu 17:7 The hands of the witnesses shall be…
Deu 17:7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
Ver. 9. And unto the judge,] i.e., The council of judges, the Synedrion, {2Ch 19:8} consisting partly of priests and partly of civil magistrates. Amongst the Turks at this day their judges are ever ecclesiastical persons; whereby both orders joined, give reputation one to another and maintenance; for these places of judicature are the only preferment of the priesthood. {a}
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{a} Blunt’s Voyage, p. 89.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Shall be first upon him; either laid upon his…
Shall be first upon him; either laid upon his head to design the person, or stretched out to throw the first stone at him. God thus ordered it, partly for the caution of witnesses, that if they had through malice or wrath accused him falsely, they might now be afraid to imbrue their hands in innocent blood; partly for the security and satisfaction of the people in the execution of this punishment.
The hand of all the people, who, being all highly and particularly obliged to God, are bound to express their zeal for his honour and service, and their detestation of all persons and things so highly dishonourable and abominable to him.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon…
The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death,.... Of everyone of them, as Aben Ezra; they were to cast the first stone at him, which would be a further trial and confirmation of their testimony; for if they readily and without reluctance first began the stoning of the idolater, it would not only show their zeal for the honour of the divine Being, but an unconsciousness of guilt in their testimony, and be an encouragement to others to proceed with safety:
and afterwards the hands of all the people; should be employed in taking up stones, and casting at him until he was dead:
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so thou shall put the evil away from among you; both the evil man and the evil committed by him, which by this means would be prevented from spreading, seeing by his death others would be deterred from following his example; as well as the evil of punishment, which otherwise would have come upon the nation, had they connived at so gross an iniquity.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain First upon him - God thus ordered it, for…
First upon him - God thus ordered it, for the caution of witnesses, that, if they had thro' malice or wrath accused him falsely, they might now be afraid to imbrue their hands in innocent blood; and for the security and satisfaction of the people in the execution of this punishment.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Deu 17:7. First upon him — God thus ordered…
Deu 17:7. First upon him — God thus ordered it, for the caution of witnesses, that, if they had, through malice or wrath, accused him falsely, they might now be afraid to imbrue their hands in innocent blood; and for the security and satisfaction of the people in the execution of this punishment.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Kill him. Thus testifying that they approve the sentence,…
Kill him. Thus testifying that they approve the sentence, and are willing that his blood should be required at their hands, if they had accused him falsely. The criminal was hurled down a precipice by one of the witnesses, and, if he survived, he was stoned by the other, and by the whole people. Maimonides asserts, that the execution took place on some great festival, for the terror and instruction of the multitude; but others call this in question. (Fagius) (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 7. The hand of the witnesses shall be first,…
7. The hand of the witnesses shall be first, etc.] Cp. Deu_13:9 (10): so they would feel more seriously the responsibility of their testimony!
so thou shalt put away the evil) burn out. See on Deu_13:5 (6).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 17:7 The instruction for witnesses to throw the first…
17:7 The instruction for witnesses to throw the first stones guarded against unfounded allegations. False testimony carried serious consequences. Requiring a witness to take the leading role in an execution helped guarantee the reliability of his testimony; he would personally bear the guilt if he took the life of an innocent person (see John 8:1-11). • The people would purge the evil from among you by executing those whose sin brought the stain of guilt upon the community of Israel (see “Purge the Evil” Theme Note; cp. 1 Cor 5:12-13 and study note).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.