Deuteronomy25
New King James Version
1“If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked,
2then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows.
3Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother be humiliated in your sight.
4“You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain.
5“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
6And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel.
7But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’
8Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, ‘I do not want to take her,’
9then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not build up his brother’s house.’
10And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’
11“If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals,
12then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not pity her.
13“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light.
14You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small.
15You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.
16For all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are an abomination to the Lord your God.
17“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt,
18how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God.
19Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall 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