Deuteronomy25
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, and the judges judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
2And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his wickedness, by number.
3Forty stripes he may give him, he shall not exceed; lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee.
4Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the grain.
5If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her.
6And it shall be, that the first-born that she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead, that his name be not blotted out of Israel.
7And if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel; he will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto me.
8Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand, and say, I like not to take her;
9then shall his brother’s wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face; and she shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto the man that doth not build up his brother’s house.
10And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
11When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets;
12then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall have no pity.
13Thou shalt not have in thy bag diverse weights, a great and a small.
14Thou shalt not have in thy house diverse measures, a great and a small.
15A perfect and just weight shalt thou have; a perfect and just measure shalt thou have: that thy days may be long in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee.
16For all that do such things, even all that do unrighteously, are an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
17Remember what Amalek did unto thee by the way as ye came forth out of Egypt;
18how he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee, all that were feeble behind thee, when thou wast faint and weary; and he feared not God.
19Therefore it shall be, when Jehovah thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 25.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Extent of punishment. (1–3). The ox that treadeth the corn. (4). Marriage of a brother's wife. (5–12). Of unjust weights. (13–16). War against Amalek. (17–19).
vv1-3
Every punishment should be with solemnity, that those who see it may be filled with dread, and be warned not to offend in like manner. And though the criminals must be shamed as well as put to pain, for their warning and disgrace, yet care should be taken that they do not appear totally vile. Happy those who are chastened of the Lord to humble them, that they should not be condemned with the world to destruction.
v4
This is a charge to husbandmen. It teaches us to make much of the animals that serve us. But we must learn, not only to be just, but kind to all who are employed for the good of our better part, our souls, 1Co 9:9.
vv5-12
The custom here regulated seems to have been in the Jewish law in order to keep inheritances distinct; now it is unlawful.
Key Words
כִּי: (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below); often largely modified by other particles annexed
רִיב: a contest (personal or legal)
בֶּזֶק: Bezek, a place in Palestine
אֱנוֹשׁ: a man in general (singly or collectively)
נָגַשׁ: to be or come (causatively, bring) near (for any purpose); euphemistically, to lie with a woman; as an enemy, to attack; religious to worship; causatively, to present; figuratively, to adduce an argument; by reversal, to stand back
מִשְׁפָּט: properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstractly, justice, including a participant's right or privilege (statutory or customary), or even a style
שָׁפַט: to judge, i.e. pronounce sentence (for or against); by implication, to vindicate or punish; by extenssion, to govern; passively, to litigate (literally or figuratively)
צָדַק: to be (causatively, make) right (in a moral or forensic sense)
צַדִּיק: just
רָשַׁע: to be (causatively, do or declare) wrong; by implication, to disturb, violate
Cross References
Deuteronomy 25Paul relates his receiving of 'forty stripes save one' to keep strictly within this law's limit.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Paul explicitly quotes this verse to argue that ministers deserve material support for their labors.
Supported by Matthew Henry, Matthew Poole, JFB
Paul cites the law of the treading ox alongside Christ's words to command support for elders.
Supported by JFB
The Sadducees cite this levirate marriage law to challenge Jesus regarding the resurrection.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Saul is commissioned to execute God's decree here to completely destroy the memory of Amalek.
Supported by JFB
God's original oath to utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek, here recalled and enjoined.
Supported by Matthew Henry, John Calvin
Demonstrates the pre-Mosaic existence of the levirate custom with Judah's instruction to Onan.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Condemns divers weights and divers measures as an abomination, echoing Deuteronomy's exact wording.
Supported by JFB
Declares that a just weight and balance are the Lord's, directly reflecting Deuteronomy's standard.
Supported by JFB
The original historical account of Amalek's unprovoked attack on Israel at Rephidim.
Supported by John Calvin, JFB
Prophetic allusion to Ephraim being trained and loving to tread out the corn.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Levitical parallel commanding absolute honesty in meteyard, weight, and measure.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Shows Amalek was Esau's grandson, making their attack on Israel a betrayal of kindred.
Supported by John Calvin