Deuteronomy25
World English Bible · Public Domain
1 If there is a controversy between men, and they come to judgment and the judges judge them, then they shall justify the righteous and condemn the wicked.
2 It shall be, if the wicked man is 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.
3 He may sentence him to no more than forty stripes. He shall not give more, lest if he should give more and beat him more than that many stripes, then your brother will be degraded in your sight.
4 You shall not muzzle the ox when he treads out the grain.
5 If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, and take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
6 It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name not be blotted out of Israel.
7 If the man doesn’t want to take his brother’s wife, then his brother’s wife shall go up to the gate to the elders, and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to raise up to his brother a name in Israel. He will not perform the duty of a husband’s brother to me.”
8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him. If he stands and says, “I don’t want to take her,”
9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his sandal from off his foot, and spit in his face. She shall answer and say, “So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.”
10 His name shall be called in Israel, “The house of him who had his sandal removed.”
11 When men strive against each other, and the wife of one draws near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him who strikes him, and puts out her hand, and grabs him by his private parts,
12 then you shall cut off her hand. Your eye shall have no pity.
13 You shall not have in your bag diverse weights, one heavy and one light.
14 You shall not have in your house diverse measures, one large and one small.
15 You shall have a perfect and just weight. You shall have a perfect and just measure, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
16 For all who do such things, all who do unrighteously, are an abomination to Yahweh your God.
17 Remember what Amalek did to you by the way as you came out of Egypt,
18 how he met you by the way, and struck the rearmost of you, all who were feeble behind you, when you were faint and weary; and he didn’t fear God.
19 Therefore it shall be, when Yahweh your God has given you rest from all your enemies all around, in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it, that you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky. You shall not forget.
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Deuteronomy 25Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Deuteronomy 25. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
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