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Deuteronomy 17

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Blemished Offerings and the Punishment for Idolatry 1–7

1
Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. ​
2
If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, ​
3
And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4
And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
5
Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. ​
6
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. ​
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. ​

The Central Judicial Authority 8–13

8
If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; ​
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: ​
10
And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:
11
According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.
12
And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. ​
13
And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

Laws Governing the King 14–20

14
When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me; ​
15
Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. ​
16
But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. ​
17
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. ​
18
And it shall be, when he sitteth upon 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: ​
19
And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: ​
20
That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not 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. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Deuteronomy 17

Verse 1

blemish, or any evilfavouredness — The Hebrew for 'evilfavouredness' is 'evil thing', a flaw of any kind. The rule was given for firstlings in 15:21, 'lame, or blind, or… any ill blemish', and is called here an 'abomination' (to'ebah). Malachi charges priests who offered 'the blind for sacrifice' and 'the lame and sick' with the same fault (Mal 1:8).

Verse 2

in transgressing his covenant — 'Transgressing' is abar, to pass over, as a boundary is crossed. The charge is set before the offence is named: verse 3 says he 'hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven'. 'Man or woman' (v.5) are equally liable. Hos 8:1 speaks of those who 'have transgressed my covenant'.

Verse 5

stone them with stones — The condemned is taken 'unto thy gates', the town gates of 16:18, and stoned there. Stoning (saqal) is also the penalty in 13:10 for the one who enticed to other gods. When Achan was stoned, 'all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire' (Josh 7:25).

Verse 6

two witnesses, or three witnesses — A death sentence needs the 'mouth of two witnesses, or three', and 'one witness' is not enough. The rule is given for murder in Num 35:30 and generally in Deut 19:15. Christ repeats it for settling a dispute (Matt 18:16), and Hebrews recalls that under Moses a man 'died without mercy under two or three witnesses' (Heb 10:28).

Verse 7

The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him — Those who testified carry out the sentence first, then 'the hands of all the people'. The order is that of 13:9. Christ's words to the accusers of the woman, 'let him first cast a stone at her' (John 8:7), use the same order. The closing line, 'So thou shalt put the evil away from among you', is echoed in 1 Cor 5:13.

Verse 8

between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke — Three pairs name the hard cases: bloodshed, lawsuits (din) and injuries (nega, a blow or plague). Such a matter goes up 'into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose'. Jehoshaphat set Levites, priests and chief fathers in Jerusalem 'for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies' (2 Chr 19:8).

Verse 9

the priests the Levites, and… the judge — The case goes to the priests and to 'the judge that shall be in those days'. 'Enquire' is darash, the verb of 12:5 and 13:14. The priests are consulted because 'the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth' (Mal 2:7), and Moses had delivered the law to them (Deut 31:9).

Verse 12

do presumptuously — Zadon is pride, the word of Prov 11:2, 'When pride cometh, then cometh shame'. The man who refuses the verdict of the priest and the judge dies, and 'thou shalt put away the evil from Israel'. Num 15:30 gives the same ground for the sin 'presumptuously': 'the same reproacheth the LORD'.

Verse 14

I will set a king over me, like as all the nations — Moses speaks of the request long before it was made. In 1 Sam 8:5 the elders say, 'make us a king to judge us like all the nations', and again in 8:20, 'that we also may be like all the nations'. The law of the king shows he was permitted, with conditions from the LORD.

Verse 15

whom the LORD thy God shall choose — The king is chosen by the LORD, and he is to come 'from among thy brethren'. Samuel said of Saul, 'See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen' (1 Sam 10:24). A 'stranger' (nokri, the foreigner of 15:3) is excluded. Jeremiah promises that 'their governor shall proceed from the midst of them' (Jer 30:21).

Verse 16

he shall not multiply horses — The verb rabah, to make many, occurs four times in vv.16–17 for horses, wives and silver and gold. Horses are tied to Egypt, from which the LORD said, 'Ye shall henceforth return no more that way'. Solomon 'had horses brought out of Egypt' (1 Kings 10:28), and Isaiah pronounces woe on those who 'stay on horses' (Isa 31:1).

Verse 17

neither shall he multiply wives to himself — The reason is given in the verse: 'that his heart turn not away'. Of Solomon it is said that 'his wives turned away his heart after other gods' (1 Kings 11:4), and Nehemiah asks, 'Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things?' (Neh 13:26). The same verb limits his silver and gold.

Verse 18

a copy of this law in a book — 'Copy' is mishneh, a duplicate or second, the same word as the 'double' hired servant in 15:18. Joshua wrote 'a copy of the law of Moses' on stones at Mount Ebal (Josh 8:32). The king writes his from the book 'before the priests the Levites', the keepers of the original.

Verse 19

he shall read therein all the days of his life — The king reads (qara) 'that he may learn to fear the LORD his God', the aim given to all the people in 4:10 and 31:12. It is the same charge as Joshua's: 'This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night' (Josh 1:8).

Verse 20

to the right hand, or to the left — The king's heart is not to be 'lifted up above his brethren', the same word as in v.15, 'from among thy brethren'. Turning 'to the right hand, or to the left' is the phrase of Deut 5:32 and Josh 1:7. The reward is long days 'in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel'.