On the testimony of two or three witnesses a man shall be put to death, but he shall not be executed on the testimony of a lone witness.
Parallel translations
- WEB At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death. At the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
- KJV At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
- NKJV Whoever is deserving of death shall be put to death on the testimony of two or three witnesses; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of one witness.
- NASB On the testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, the condemned shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.
- NLT But never put a person to death on the testimony of only one witness. There must always be two or three witnesses.
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
No one could be put to death on a single witness; two or three were required. God's law demanded reliable evidence to protect the innocent.
Overview
Capital cases required corroboration by multiple witnesses, safeguarding against false or malicious testimony. This principle of established truth runs throughout Scripture. Jesus and the apostles apply the two-or-three-witness rule to church discipline, and it underlies the careful, truthful establishing of every important matter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Num 35:30If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death on the testimony of the witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of a lone witness.
- Heb 10:28Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
- Deut 19:15A lone witness is not sufficient to establish any wrongdoing or sin against a man, regardless of what offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
- Matt 18:16But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
- 1 Tim 5:19Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
- John 8:17–18Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid.
- 2 Cor 13:1This is the third time I am coming to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 17:6 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.