The Bible — World English Bible
Deuteronomy 17
In brief
Deuteronomy 17 belongs to the laws Moses recalls to Israel before they enter Canaan. The chapter deals with pure worship, justice (at least two or three witnesses to condemn anyone) and the appeal to a central court for hard cases. It ends with the law of the king: a king chosen by God, taken from among his brothers, who does not grow rich, does not multiply horses or wives, and copies the law so that he reads it every day of his life. Power thus stays under the Word of God.
The chapter in 4 parts
1You shall not sacrifice to Yahweh your God an ox or a sheep in which is a defect or anything evil; for that is an abomination to Yahweh your God.
2If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight in transgressing his covenant,
3and has gone and served other gods and worshiped them, or the sun, or the moon, or any of the stars of the sky, which I have not commanded,
4and you are told, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is done in Israel,
5then you shall bring out that man or that woman who has done this evil thing to your gates, even that same man or woman; and you shall stone them to death with stones.
6At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
7The 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.
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 chooses.
9You shall come to the priests who are Levites and to the judge who shall be in those days. You shall inquire, and they shall give you the verdict.
10You shall do according to the decisions of the verdict which they shall give you from that place which Yahweh chooses. You shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you.
11According to the decisions 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 away from the sentence which they announce to 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. You shall put away the evil from Israel.
13All the people shall hear and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
14When you have come to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, “I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,”
15you shall surely set him whom Yahweh your God chooses as king over yourselves. You shall set as king over you one from among your brothers. 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.”
17He shall not multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away. He shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
18It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the Levitical priests.
19It shall be with him, and he shall read from it 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 away 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 middle of Israel.
Key verses
At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
No one can be put to death on the testimony of a single person. This requirement protects against hasty or false accusations, and the New Testament takes it up when it speaks of two or three witnesses.
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.
The witnesses must throw the first stone: whoever accuses takes on his own responsibility. This principle sheds light on the scene of the woman caught in adultery, where Jesus sends the accusers back to their own conscience.
Only 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.” He shall not multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away. He shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
The king must not rely on military strength (the horses of Egypt), on marriage alliances or on wealth. These three temptations lie in wait for anyone who holds power.
It shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write himself a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the Levitical priests. It shall be with him, and he shall read from it 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; that his heart not be lifted up above his brothers, and that he not turn away 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 middle of Israel.
The king must copy the law by hand and read it every day, so that his heart is not lifted up above his brothers. The one in the highest place remains first of all a disciple of the Word.
Test your knowledge
What the sermons say
Frequently asked questions about Deuteronomy 17
What does Deuteronomy 17 say about the king of Israel?
In verses 14 to 20, the king must be chosen by the Lord and taken from among his brothers. He must not multiply horses, wives, silver or gold. He must copy the law, keep it near him and read it every day, so that he fears God and does not exalt himself above others.
Why are two or three witnesses required in Deuteronomy 17:6?
This rule protects the accused against an isolated testimony, given by mistake or out of malice. A serious condemnation requires facts established by several people, after careful inquiry (verse 4). The principle is still quoted in the New Testament for dealing with disputes in the church.
What is the main message of Deuteronomy 17?
Among God's people, neither worship, nor justice, nor power is left to arbitrary rule. Worship must honor God, justice rests on the truth of the facts, and even the king stands under the Word. Humility before God's law is the common thread.
Articles quoting Deuteronomy 17
World English Bible translation — public domain.