Deuteronomy 24:16
in Deuteronomy 24Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
KJV
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 24
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe fathers shall not be put to death for the children, etc. - This law is explained and illustrated in sufficient detail, Ezekiel 18.
This site's exposition
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children
on Deuteronomy 24:16-18
2 Kings 14:6 quotes this verse by name when Amaziah executes his father's murderers and spares their children, so the rule stands on record as having been kept. Exodus 20:5 speaks of God visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, while this verse governs what a court may do, and Ezekiel 18 takes up the difference at length. The stranger, the fatherless and the widow stand together here as they do through the book, and the ground given for the group is that thou wast a bondman in Egypt and the Lord thy God redeemed thee thence.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Not put to death - If the one be free from the guilt of the others sin, except in those cases where the sovereign Lord of life and death, before whom none is innocent, hath commanded it, as chap. xiii, 1-18 Josh. vii, 24. For though God do visit the father's sins upon the children, Exod. xx, 5, yet he will not suffer men to do so.
Accordingly, we find Amaziah sparing the children, even when the fathers were put to death for killing the king, 2 Kings xiv. It was in an extraordinary case, and no doubt by special direction from heaven, that Saul's sons were put to death for his offence, and they died rather as sacrifices than as malefactors, 2 Sam. xxi.
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children--The rule was addressed for the guidance of magistrates, and it established the equitable principle that none should be responsible for the crimes of others.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
A caution addressed to earthly judges. Among other Oriental nations the family of a criminal was commonly involved in his punishment (compare Est 9:13-14). In Israel it was not to be so; compare marginal references.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוּמְת֤וּ | yumetu | they will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| אָבוֹת֙ | ʾavot | parents | H1 → | 1212 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| בָּנִ֔ים | banim | children | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וּבָנִ֖ים | uvanim | and children | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוּמְת֣וּ | yumetu | they will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אָב֑וֹת | ʾavot | parents | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אִ֥יש | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| בְּחֶטְא֖וֹ | becheto | for own sin his | H2399 → | 33 times |
| יוּמָֽתוּ׃ ס | yumatu | they will be put to death | H4191 → | 839 times |
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יוּמְת֤וּthey will be put to death
yumetuH4191 →839 times
אָבוֹת֙parents
ʾavotH1 →1212 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
בָּנִ֔יםchildren
banimH1121 →4930 times
וּבָנִ֖יםand children
uvanimH1121 →4930 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יוּמְת֣וּthey will be put to death
yumetuH4191 →839 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אָב֑וֹתparents
ʾavotH1 →1212 times
אִ֥ישanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
בְּחֶטְא֖וֹfor own sin his
bechetoH2399 →33 times
יוּמָֽתוּ׃ סthey will be put to death
yumatuH4191 →839 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
7 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
Ezekiel 18:20The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:4
Behold, every soul belongs to Me; both father and son are Mine. The soul who sins is the one who will die.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 31:29–30
“In those days, it will no longer be said: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the teeth of the children are set on edge.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 14:6
Yet he did not put the sons of the murderers to death, but acted according to what is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Fathers must not…
- Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.
- 2 Chronicles 25:4
Yet he did not put their sons to death, but acted according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Fathers must not be put to…
- Ezekiel 18:4
Through
2 Chronicles 25:4Yet he did not put their sons to death, but acted according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the LORD commanded: “Fathers must not be put to…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 18:20
The soul who sins is the one who will die. A son will not bear the iniquity of his father, and a father will not bear the iniquity of his son. The righteousness of…
- 2 Kings 14:5–6
As soon as the kingdom was firmly in his grasp, Amaziah executed the servants who had murdered his father the king.
- Ezekiel 18:20
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.