Deuteronomy 16:21-17:7
Lexham English Bible
21 You shall not plant for yourselves[a] an Asherah pole[b] beside the altar of Yahweh your God that you make for yourselves.[c] 22 And you shall not set up for yourselves a stone pillar, a thing that Yahweh your God hates.
17 “You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or sheep that has a physical defect[d] of anything seriously wrong,[e] for that is a detestable thing to Yahweh your God. 2 If there is found in one of your towns[f] that Yahweh your God is giving to you a man or a woman that does evil in the eyes of Yahweh your God to transgress his covenant 3 and by going and serving other gods and so he bows down to them and to the sun or to the moon or to any of the host of heaven which I have forbidden,[g] 4 and it is reported to you or you hear about it and you enquire about it thoroughly and, indeed,[h] the trustworthiness of the deed[i] has been established, it has occurred,[j] this detestable thing, in Israel, 5 then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has[k] done this evil thing to your gates; that is, the man or the woman, and you shall stone them with stones to death.[l] 6 On the evidence of[m] two or three witnesses the person shall be put to death.[n] The person[o] shall not be put to death by the mouth of one witness. 7 The hand of the witnesses shall be first against the person[p] to kill the person,[q] and afterward the hands[r] of all the people, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Hebrew “for/to you” but with collective meaning
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Literally “an Asherah of any wood/tree”
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Hebrew “for/to you” but with collective meaning
- Deuteronomy 17:1 Literally “that is on it a physical defect”
- Deuteronomy 17:1 Literally “of any thing bad/evil”
- Deuteronomy 17:2 Literally “gates”
- Deuteronomy 17:3 Literally “which not I have commanded”
- Deuteronomy 17:4 Or “look!”
- Deuteronomy 17:4 Hebrew “the thing”
- Deuteronomy 17:4 Literally “has been done”
- Deuteronomy 17:5 Hebrew “have”
- Deuteronomy 17:5 Literally “and so they die”
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Literally “By the mouth of”
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Literally “he/she shall be put to death, the dead person”
- Deuteronomy 17:6 Hebrew “he/she”
- Deuteronomy 17:7 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 17:7 Hebrew “him”
- Deuteronomy 17:7 Hebrew “hand”
Deuteronomy 16:21-17:7
Common English Bible
Rules for worship
21 Don’t plant any tree to serve as a sacred pole[a] next to the altar you make for the Lord your God. 22 Don’t set up any sacred stone either, because the Lord your God hates such things.
17 Don’t sacrifice to the Lord your God any oxen or sheep that have defects of any kind, because that is detestable to the Lord your God.
Capital punishment
2 If someone, whether male or female, is found in your community—in one of the cities the Lord your God is giving you—who does evil in the Lord your God’s eyes, by breaking God’s covenant, 3 by following and serving other gods, and by bowing down to them, to the sun or the moon or any of the heavenly bodies that I haven’t permitted— 4 and you hear news about it, then you must look into this situation very carefully. And if it’s definitely true that this detestable thing was done in Israel, 5 then you must bring out the man or woman who has done this evil thing to the gates of the city. Stone that person until he or she is dead.
6 Capital punishment must be decided by two or three witnesses. No one may be executed on the basis of only one testimony. 7 In the execution, the hands of the witnesses must be against the guilty person from the start; the hand of all the people will be involved at the end. Remove[b] such evil from your community!
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 16:21 Heb asherah, perhaps an object devoted to the goddess Asherah
- Deuteronomy 17:7 Or burn
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