Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 17:7
The hands of the witnesses shall be the first in putting him to death, and after that, the hands of all the people. So you must purge the evil from among you.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, outlining judicial procedure for capital cases immediately after establishing the two-witness requirement.
The words — יַד (yad) means "hand," and בְּרִאשֹׁנָה (be-ri'shona) means "first." The text explicitly orders the witnesses' hands to act first in the execution, followed by the hands of all the people.
The thread — This procedural sequence runs parallel to Deuteronomy 13:9, which requires the accuser's hand to strike first, and aligns with the communal purification mandate in 1 Corinthians 5:13.
Why it lands — The text commands the entire community to participate in executing a convicted offender so that evil is purged from their midst.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 13:9 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.
- 1 Corinthians 5:13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”
- Deuteronomy 13:5 Such a prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he has advocated rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way in which the LORD your God has commanded you to walk. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Deuteronomy 17:12 But the man who acts presumptuously, refusing to listen either to the priest who stands there to serve the LORD your God, or to the judge, must be put to death. You must purge the evil from Israel.
- Deuteronomy 19:19 you must do to him as he intended to do to his brother. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Deuteronomy 24:7 If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Judges 20:13 Hand over the wicked men of Gibeah so we can put them to death and purge Israel of this evil.” But the Benjamites refused to heed the voice of their fellow Israelites.
- Acts 7:58 They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.