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Deuteronomy 19:20

Then the rest of the people will hear about it and be afraid to do such an evil thing.
Deuteronomy 19:20 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB Those who remain shall hear, and fear, and will never again commit any such evil among you.
  • KJV And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.
  • BSB Then the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and they will never again do anything so evil among you.
  • NKJV And those who remain shall hear and fear, and hereafter they shall not again commit such evil among you.
  • NASB And the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you.

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

Hearing of such judgment, others will fear and refrain from committing similar evil. Just punishment serves as a deterrent to the whole community.

Overview

Public knowledge of the penalty against false witnesses produces a healthy fear that restrains wrongdoing. God's justice has a teaching and preserving function for society. By upholding truth visibly, the community is protected from the spread of malicious accusation.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 7

  • Deut 21:21All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel shall hear, and fear.
  • Deut 17:13All the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.
  • Deut 13:11All Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall not do any more wickedness like this among you.
  • Prov 21:11When the mocker is punished, the simple gains wisdom. When the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.
  • Deut 17:7The hand of the witnesses shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
  • 1 Tim 5:20Those who sin, reprove in the sight of all, that the rest also may be in fear.
  • Rom 13:3–4For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (6)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Deuteronomy videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Deuteronomy 19:20YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DeuteronomyMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    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 19:20 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.