You must put them to death! Strike the first blow yourself, and then all the people must join in.
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
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 14:26“If anyone comes to me, and doesn’t disregard his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he can’t be my disciple.
- Deut 17:2–7If 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,
- Matt 10:37He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn’t worthy of me.
- John 8:7But when they continued asking him, he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.”
- Acts 7:58They threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.