Deuteronomy 21:21
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Then all the men of his city will stone him to death. So you must purge the evil from among you, and all Israel will hear and be afraid.
Commentaries
Excerpts gathered from published commentaries to ground the reading.
In consequence of this accusation, all the men of the town were to stone him, so that he died. By this the right was taken away from the parents of putting an incorrigible son to death (cf. Pro 19:18), whilst at the same time the parental authority was fully preserved. Nothing is said about any evidence of the charge brought by the parents, or about any judicial inquiry generally. "In such a case the charge was a proof in itself. For if the heart of a father and mother could be brought to such a point as to give up their child to the judge before the community of the nation, everything would have been done that a judge would need to know" (Schnell, d. isr. Recht, p. 11). - On Deu 21:21, cf. Deu 13:6 and Deu 13:12.
Open source ↗In this chapter provision is made, I. For the putting away of the guilt of blood from the land, when he that shed it had fled from justice (Deu 21:1-9). II. For the preserving of the honour of a captive maid (Deu 21:10-14). III. For the securing of the right of a first-born son, though he were not a favourite (Deu 21:15-17). IV. For the restraining and punishing of a rebellious son (Deu 21:18-21). V. For the maintaining of the honour of human bodies, which must not be hanged in chains, but decently buried, even the bodies of the worst malefactors (Deu 21:22, Deu 21:23).
Open source ↗Original language
The Hebrew and Greek words behind this passage, with Strong's numbers — from openscriptures (CC BY-SA).
Cross-references
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Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD must surely be put to death; the whole assembly must surely stone him, whether he is a foreign resident or native; if he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.
Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.
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.
you must take both of them out to the gate of that city and stone them to death—the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has violated his neighbor’s wife. So you must purge the evil from among you.
she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.