Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 21:2
your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses instructs the Israelites on the plains of Moab regarding the protocol for an unidentified murder victim discovered in the promised land. The words — The text specifies וּ/מָדְדוּ (u./ma.de.Du), meaning "and they will measure," directing the community's leaders to physically determine the distance between the corpse and surrounding settlements. The thread — This procedure establishes local judicial responsibility, echoing the command to appoint judges in every town (Deuteronomy 16:18) and aligning with the principle that civil authority must address wrongdoing rather than intimidate the innocent (Romans 13:3). Why it lands — The passage requires readers to acknowledge that systematic investigation and localized accountability are the necessary responses to unresolved violence, placing the duty of justice on appointed leaders rather than leaving it to chance.
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
Then thy elders and thy judges shall come forth, and they shall measure unto the cities which are round about him that is slain:
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 16:18 You are to appoint judges and officials for your tribes in every town that the LORD your God is giving you. They are to judge the people with righteous judgment.
- Romans 13:3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval.