Deuteronomy 17:9
in Deuteronomy 17You 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days: and thou shalt inquire; and they shall show thee the sentence of judgment.
KJV
And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 17
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites,.... The priests that are of the tribe of Levi, as the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi; for Aben Ezra says there are priests that are not of the genealogy of Levi; such there were indeed in Jeroboam's time, 1Ki 12:
This site's exposition
If a case is too difficult for you to judge
on Deuteronomy 17:8-9
The hard case goes up to “the place the LORD your God will choose”, so a standing court now sits where Moses sat at 1:17. The court is “the Levitical priests” with the presiding judge. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown identify the later form of this tribunal with the Sanhedrin.
This site's exposition
go to the Levitical priests
John Gill reads the Levitical priests as priests of the tribe of Levi, as the Targum of Jonathan does. 1 Kings 12:31 shows Jeroboam appointing priests who were outside Levi, the kind of priest this law would refuse. John Wesley reads the verdict as the judgment the case deserves.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he may be distinctly named, tho' he be one of the priests, because of his eminency, and to shew that amongst the priests, he especially was to be consulted in such cases. The sentence of judgment - Hebrew. The word, or matter of judgement, that is, the true state of the cause, and what judgment or sentence ought to be given in it.
), They shall show thee the sentence of judgment; it had also the support of a divine institution, by which they were made the supreme judicature of the nation.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment--In all civil or criminal cases, where there was any doubt or difficulty in giving a decision, the local magistrates were to submit them by reference to the tribunal of the Sanhedrim--the supreme council, which was composed partly of civil and partly of ecclesiastical persons.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבָאתָ֗ | uvata | and you will go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַכֹּהֲנִים֙ | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| הַלְוִיִּ֔ם | halviyim | the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| וְאֶל־ | veel- | and to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הַשֹּׁפֵ֔ט | hashofet | the judge | H8199 → | 202 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִהְיֶ֖ה | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּיָּמִ֣ים | baiyamim | in the days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הָהֵ֑ם | hahem | <the> those | H1992 → | 553 times |
| וְדָרַשְׁתָּ֙ | vedarashta | and you will enquire | H1875 → | 164 times |
| וְהִגִּ֣ידוּ | vehigidu | and they will tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| דְּבַ֥ר | devar | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| הַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃ | hamishpat | the verdict | H4941 → | 422 times |
וּבָאתָ֗and you will go
uvataH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הַכֹּהֲנִים֙the priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 times
הַלְוִיִּ֔םthe Levites
halviyimH3881 →291 times
וְאֶל־and to
veel-H413 →5510 times
הַשֹּׁפֵ֔טthe judge
hashofetH8199 →202 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwho
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִהְיֶ֖הhe will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
בַּיָּמִ֣יםin the days
baiyamimH3117 →2304 times
הָהֵ֑ם<the> those
hahemH1992 →553 times
וְדָרַשְׁתָּ֙and you will enquire
vedarashtaH1875 →164 times
וְהִגִּ֣ידוּand they will tell
vehigiduH5046 →370 times
לְךָ֔to <the> you
lekha
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
דְּבַ֥ר[the] word of
devarH1697 →1440 times
הַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃the verdict
hamishpatH4941 →422 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
Jeremiah 18:18Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us…
it leads to
- 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 52:2
Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.
- Jeremiah 11:19
For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from…
- Malachi 2:7
Through
Malachi 2:7For 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.”
- Deuteronomy 21:5
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…
- 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.
- Ezra 7:10
For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, to practice it, and to teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.
- 2 Timothy 2:24–25
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.