If the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall have him lie down and be flogged in his presence with the number of lashes his crime warrants.
Parallel translations
- WEB It shall be, if the wicked man is worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his wickedness, by number.
- KJV And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number.
- NKJV then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows.
- NASB then it shall be if the wicked person deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and have him beaten in his presence with the number of lashes according to his wrongful act.
- NLT If the person in the wrong is sentenced to be flogged, the judge must command him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate to the crime.
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
A guilty man sentenced to beating is to be flogged in the judge's presence, in proportion to his offense. Punishment must be measured, supervised, and just.
Overview
Corporal punishment was carried out under the judge's own eye, with the number of strokes fitted to the wrongdoing, preventing both excess and abuse. This judicial restraint distinguished Israel's justice from arbitrary cruelty. It upholds the principle that punishment must fit the crime, a justice ultimately satisfied at the cross where Christ bore the precise penalty our sins deserved.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Luke 12:47–48That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.
- Matt 10:17But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.
- Matt 27:26So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
- 1 Pet 2:20How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
- Acts 16:22–24The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.
- Acts 5:40At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them.
- 1 Pet 2:24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
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 25:2 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.