But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Parallel translations
- WEB but you shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people.
- BSB Instead, you must surely kill him. Your hand must be the first against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.
- NKJV but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.
- NASB Instead, you shall most certainly kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people.
- NLT You must put them to death! Strike the first blow yourself, and then all the people must join in.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The enticer must be executed, with the one he tempted casting the first stone. The witness bears responsibility for upholding justice.
Overview
Under Israel's law the person who was tempted, having resisted, was to lead in carrying out the sentence. This guarded against false accusation and showed that loyalty to God outweighed personal affection. The seriousness of the judgment underscores the holiness God required of his covenant nation, a holiness now secured for his people through the death of Christ in their place.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Luke 14:26If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
- Deut 17:2–7If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,
- Matt 10:37He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
- John 8:7So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
- Acts 7:58And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 13:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.