then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance from the slain man to the surrounding cities.
Parallel translations
- WEB then your elders and your judges shall come out, and they shall measure to the cities which are around him who is slain.
- KJV Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
- BSB your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities.
- NASB then your elders and your judges shall go out and measure the distance to the cities which are around the one who was killed.
- NLT In such a case, your elders and judges must measure the distance from the site of the crime to the nearby towns.
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 elders and judges measure the distance to determine the nearest city. Responsibility is assigned in an orderly, fair manner.
Overview
To handle the unsolved killing, the leaders measure to identify which city lies closest to the body. This careful, objective procedure assigned responsibility justly. It reflects God's concern that even cases without a known offender be handled with order, fairness, and seriousness about innocent blood.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Deut 16:18–19You shall make judges and officers in all your gates, which Yahweh your God gives you, according to your tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.
- 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
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 21:2 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.