Deuteronomy 21:23
in Deuteronomy 21you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thou defile not thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
KJV
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 21
Commentary
8 notes on this verseIf any of our own people also inquire, not from love of debate but from love of learning, why he suffered death in no other way except on the cross, let him also be told that no other way than this was good for us and that it was well that the Lord suffered this for our sakes. For if he himself came to bear the curse laid upon us, how else could he have "become a curse" unless he received the death set for a curse? And that is the cross.
This site's exposition
a sin worthy of death
on Deuteronomy 21:22-23
The rule requires burial the same day so the land is not defiled. Galatians 3:13 applies “anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse” to Christ. This verse is where Paul says the curse of the law went.
This site's exposition
bury him that day
Henry reads the burial on that day as care for the body of even the worst criminal, since punishment beyond death belongs to God. Athanasius asked why Christ died on a cross and answered from this curse: He came to bear it, so He took the death it named.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
8 Be merciful, O L ORD , unto thy people Israel, whom thou hast redeemed, and lay not innocent blood unto thy people of Israel's charge. And the blood shall be forgiven them. 9 So shalt thou put away the guilt of innocent blood from among you, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:93%@v8-9
He is accursed of God - He is in a singular manner cursed and punished by God's appointment with a most shameful kind of punishment, as this was held among the Jews and all nations; and therefore this punishment may suffice for him, and there shall not be added to it that of lying unburied.
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
He that is hanged is accursed of God - i. e. “Bury him that is hanged out of the way before evening: his hanging body defiles the land; for God’s curse rests on it.” The curse of God is probably regarded as lying on the malefactor because, from the fact of his being hanged, be must have been guilty of a especially atrocious breach of God’s covenant. Such an offender could not remain on the face of the earth without defiling it (compare Lev 18:25, Lev 18:28; Num 35:34).
His body shall not remain all night upon the tree - Its exposure for the space of one day was judged sufficient. The law which required this answered all the ends of public justice, exposed the shame and infamy of the conduct, but did not put to torture the feelings of humanity by requiring a perpetual exhibition of a human being, a slow prey to the most loathsome process of putrefaction. Did ever the spiking of the heads of state criminals prevent high treason? or the gibbeting of a thief or a murderer, prevent either murder or robbery? These questions may be safely answered in the negative; and the remains of the ancient barbarism which requires these disgusting and abominable exhibitions, and which are deplored by every feeling heart, should be banished with all possible speed. In the case given in the text, God considers the land as defiled while the body of the executed criminal lay exposed, hence it was enjoined, Thou shalt in any wise bury him that day. For he that is hanged is accursed of God - That is, he has forfeited his life to the law; for it is written, Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them; and on his body, in the execution of the sentence of the law, the curse was considered as alighting; hence the necessity of removing the accursed thing out of sight. How excellent are all these laws! How wondrously well calculated to repress crimes by showing the enormity of sin! It is worthy of remark that in the infliction of punishment prescribed by the Mosaic law, we ever find that Mercy walks hand in hand with Judgment.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תָלִ֨ין | talin | it will remain overnight | H3885 → | |
| נִבְלָת֜וֹ | nivlato | corpse his | H5038 → | 48 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הָעֵ֗ץ | haetz | the tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קָב֤וֹר | kavor | certainly <to bury> | H6912 → | 133 times |
| תִּקְבְּרֶ֙נּוּ֙ | tikberenu | you will bury him | H6912 → | 133 times |
| בַּיּ֣וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֔וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| קִלְלַ֥ת | kilat | [is] a curse of | H7045 → | 33 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| תָּל֑וּי | talui | [one who] is hanged | H8518 → | |
| וְלֹ֤א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תְטַמֵּא֙ | tetame' | you will make unclean | H2930 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ | ʾadmatekha | land your | H127 → | 225 times |
| אֲשֶׁר֙ | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| נֹתֵ֥ן | noten | [is] about to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| נַחֲלָֽה׃ ס | nachalah | an inheritance | H5159 → | 222 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תָלִ֨יןit will remain overnight
talinH3885 →
נִבְלָת֜וֹcorpse his
nivlatoH5038 →48 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הָעֵ֗ץthe tree
haetzH6086 →328 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
קָב֤וֹרcertainly <to bury>
kavorH6912 →133 times
תִּקְבְּרֶ֙נּוּ֙you will bury him
tikberenuH6912 →133 times
בַּיּ֣וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֔וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
קִלְלַ֥ת[is] a curse of
kilatH7045 →33 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
תָּל֑וּי[one who] is hanged
taluiH8518 →
וְלֹ֤אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
תְטַמֵּא֙you will make unclean
tetame'H2930 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔land your
ʾadmatekhaH127 →225 times
אֲשֶׁר֙which
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
נֹתֵ֥ן[is] about to give
notenH5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֖to <the> you
lekha
נַחֲלָֽה׃ סan inheritance
nachalahH5159 →222 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 5:21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:22–24
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.”
- 1 Peter 3:18
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
- Galatians 3:13
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- 1 Corinthians 1:30
It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.
- 1 Peter 2:22–24
Through
Galatians 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
it leads to
- 1 Peter 2:24
He 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.”
- Hebrews 9:12
He did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption.
- Hebrews 9:15
Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under…
- 1 Peter 2:24
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation of the Word 25; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.