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Deuteronomy 21:5

in Deuteronomy 21

And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them Jehovah thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of Jehovah; and according to their word shall every controversy and every stroke be.

KJV

And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the Lord thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the Lord; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:

This verse in Deuteronomy 21

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

According to Jewish writers, the Sanhedrin, taking charge of such a case, sent a deputation to examine the neighborhood. They reported to the nearest town to the spot where the body was found. An order was then issued by their supreme authority to the elders or magistrates of that town, to provide the heifer at the civic expense and go through the appointed ceremonial.

This site's exposition

If one is found slain, lying in a field

on Deuteronomy 21:1-5

An unsolved killing leaves guilt on the land, and the town nearest the body answers for it. The heifer has never been yoked and the valley never plowed or sown, and Albert Barnes notes that it is not called a sin offering and its blood never reaches an altar. Behind the rite stands Genesis 9:5, where God requires a man's blood of every man.

This site's exposition

a ruling in every dispute

Matthew Henry has the priests direct the rite by the law and speak the prayer of verse 8 on behalf of the people. Wesley takes case of assault to cover every wound one man gives another, whether it killed or only hurt. Their word settled such cases.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

), that they might direct the management of it in all points according to the law, and particularly might be the people's mouth to God in the prayer that was to be put up on this sad occasion,

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Every controversy - Of this kind: every controversy which shall rise about any stroke, whether such a mortal stroke as is here spoken of, or any other stroke or wound given by one man to another.
And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near,....

The words behind it

20 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וְנִגְּשׁ֣וּand they will draw near

    venigeshuH5066 →125 times

  • הַכֹּהֲנִים֮the priests

    hakohanimH3548 →750 times

  • בְּנֵ֣י[the] sons of

    beneiH1121 →4930 times

  • לֵוִי֒Levi

    leviH3878 →59 times

  • כִּ֣יfor

    kiH3588 →4482 times

  • בָ֗ם<in> <the> them

    vam

  • בָּחַ֞רhe has chosen

    bacharH977 →171 times

  • יְהוָ֤הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙God your

    ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times

  • לְשָׁ֣רְת֔וֹto serve him

    lesharetoH8334 →97 times

  • וּלְבָרֵ֖ךְand to bless

    ulevarekhH1288 →330 times

  • בְּשֵׁ֣םin [the] name of

    beshemH8034 →864 times

  • יְהוָ֑הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • וְעַל־and on

    veal-H5921 →5755 times

  • פִּיהֶ֥םmouth their

    pihemH6310 →498 times

  • יִהְיֶ֖הit will be

    yihyehH1961 →3559 times

  • כָּל־every

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • רִ֥יבdispute

    rivH7379 →61 times

  • וְכָל־and every

    vekholH3605 →5413 times

  • נָֽגַע׃wound

    naga'H5061 →78 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Malachi 2:7

    For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts.

    it leads to

    • 2 Timothy 2:24–25

      And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

    • Leviticus 10:11

      so that you may teach the Israelites all the statutes that the LORD has given them through Moses.”

    • 2 Corinthians 5:20

      Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God.

    • John 13:20

      Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 19:17

    both parties to the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD, before the priests and judges who are in office at that time.

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 17:9

      You are to go to the Levitical priests and to the judge who presides at that time. Inquire of them, and they will give you a verdict in the case.

  • Through

    Deuteronomy 10:8

    At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to serve Him, and to pronounce blessings in…

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 18:5

      For the LORD your God has chosen Levi and his sons out of all your tribes to stand and minister in His name for all time.

    • Numbers 4:15

      When Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy objects and all their equipment, as soon as the camp is ready to move, the Kohathites shall come and do the carrying. But they…

  • Through

    1 Chronicles 23:13

    The sons of Amram: Aaron and Moses. Aaron and his descendants were set apart forever to consecrate the most holy things, to burn incense before the LORD, to minister before Him, and to pronounce…

    it leads to

    • Exodus 6:20

      And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.

Where this verse is studied

About Deuteronomy

Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.
Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.