Deuteronomy 17:2
New International Version
If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the LORD gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God in violation of his covenant,

New Living Translation
“When you begin living in the towns the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman among you might do evil in the sight of the LORD your God and violate the covenant.

English Standard Version
“If there is found among you, within any of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing his covenant,

Berean Standard Bible
If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant

King James Bible
If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,

New King James Version
“If there is found among you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who has been wicked in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing His covenant,

New American Standard Bible
“If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns which the LORD your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, by violating His covenant,

NASB 1995
“If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the LORD your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, by transgressing His covenant,

NASB 1977
“If there is found in your midst, in any of your towns, which the LORD your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, by transgressing His covenant,

Legacy Standard Bible
“If there is found in your midst, in any of your gates of the towns which Yahweh your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of Yahweh your God, by trespassing against His covenant,

Amplified Bible
“If there is discovered among you, within any of your cities, which the LORD your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does evil in the sight of the LORD your God, by transgressing (violating) His covenant,

Christian Standard Bible
“If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the LORD your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and violating his covenant

Holman Christian Standard Bible
If a man or woman among you in one of your towns that the LORD your God will give you is discovered doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and violating His covenant

American Standard Version
If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth that which is evil in the sight of Jehovah thy God, in transgressing his covenant,

English Revised Version
If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
In one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you, there may be a man or woman among you who is doing what the LORD considers evil. This person may be disregarding the conditions of the LORD's promise

Good News Translation
"Suppose you hear that in one of your towns some men or women have sinned against the LORD and broken his covenant

International Standard Version
"You may discover that a man or woman living in one of your cities that the LORD your God is about to give you has done evil in the eyes of the LORD your God by transgressing his covenant.

Majority Standard Bible
If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant

NET Bible
Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you--in one of your villages that the LORD your God is giving you--who sins before the Lord your God and breaks his covenant

New Heart English Bible
If there is found in the midst of you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, man or woman, who does that which is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing his covenant,

Webster's Bible Translation
If there shall be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant,

World English Bible
If there is found among you, within any of your gates which Yahweh your God gives you, a man or woman who does that which is evil in Yahweh your God’s sight in transgressing his covenant,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
When there is found in your midst, in one of your cities which your God YHWH is giving to you, a man or a woman who does evil in the eyes of your God YHWH by transgressing His covenant,

Young's Literal Translation
'When there is found in thy midst, in one of thy cities which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, a man or a woman who doth the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah thy God by transgressing His covenant,

Smith's Literal Translation
When there shall be found in the midst of thee in one of thy gates which Jehovah thy God gave to thee, a man or a woman who shall do evil in the eyes of Jehovah thy God to pass by his covenant,
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
When there shall be found among you within any of thy gates, which the Lord thy God shall give thee, man or woman that do evil in the sight of the Lord thy God, and transgress his covenant,

Catholic Public Domain Version
When there will have been found among you, within one of your gates which the Lord your God will give to you, a man or a woman who is doing evil in the sight of the Lord your God, and who is transgressing his covenant,

New American Bible
If there is found in your midst, in any one of the communities which the LORD, your God, gives you, a man or a woman who does evil in the sight of the LORD, your God, and transgresses his covenant,

New Revised Standard Version
If there is found among you, in one of your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, a man or woman who does what is evil in the sight of the LORD your God, and transgresses his covenant
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
If there is found among you, within any of your towns which the LORD your God gives you, a man or a woman who shall do evil in the sight of the LORD your God and transgress his covenant,

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And if a man or a woman who will do evil before LORD JEHOVAH your God will be found among you in one of your cities that LORD JEHOVAH your God gives to you, and that one will pass over his covenant.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
If there be found in the midst of thee, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that doeth that which is evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing His covenant,

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And if there should be found in any one of thy cities, which the Lord thy God gives thee, a man or a woman who shall do that which is evil before the Lord thy God, so as to transgress his covenant,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Purge the Idolater
2If a man or woman among you in one of the towns that the LORD your God gives you is found doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God by transgressing His covenant 3and going to worship other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or moon or any of the host of heaven—which I have forbidden—…

Cross References
Exodus 22:20
If anyone sacrifices to any god other than the LORD alone, he must be set apart for destruction.

Leviticus 20:2-5
“Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him. / And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name. / And if the people of the land ever hide their eyes and fail to put to death the man who gives one of his children to Molech, ...

Deuteronomy 13:1-5
If a prophet or dreamer of dreams arises among you and proclaims a sign or wonder to you, / and if the sign or wonder he has spoken to you comes about, but he says, “Let us follow other gods (which you have not known) and let us worship them,” / you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul. ...

Deuteronomy 13:6-11
If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known, / the gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, whether from one end of the earth or the other), / you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him. ...

Deuteronomy 13:12-18
If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said / that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known), / then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you, ...

1 Kings 21:10-13
But seat two scoundrels opposite him and have them testify, ‘You have cursed both God and the king!’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” / So the elders and nobles who lived in Naboth’s city did as Jezebel had instructed in the letters she had written to them. / They proclaimed a fast and gave Naboth a seat of honor among the people. ...

2 Kings 17:7-18
All this happened because the people of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They had worshiped other gods / and walked in the customs of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites, as well as in the practices introduced by the kings of Israel. / The Israelites secretly did things against the LORD their God that were not right. From watchtower to fortified city, they built high places in all their cities. ...

2 Chronicles 33:2-9
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD by following the abominations of the nations that the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. / For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he raised up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. And he worshiped and served all the host of heaven. / Manasseh also built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” ...

Jeremiah 19:4-5
because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in this place to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have ever known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. / They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I never commanded or mentioned, nor did it even enter My mind.

Ezekiel 8:5-18
“Son of man,” He said to me, “now lift up your eyes to the north.” So I lifted up my eyes to the north, and in the entrance north of the Altar Gate I saw this idol of jealousy. / “Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.” / Then He brought me to the entrance to the court, and I looked and saw a hole in the wall. ...

Matthew 18:15-17
If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. / But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ / If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

John 8:3-11
The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them / and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. / In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. So what do You say?” ...

Acts 15:20
Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.

Romans 1:18-25
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. / For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. / For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. ...

1 Corinthians 5:1-5
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. / And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been stricken with grief and have removed from your fellowship the man who did this? / Although I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, and I have already pronounced judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. ...


Treasury of Scripture

If there be found among you, within any of your gates which the LORD your God gives you, man or woman, that has worked wickedness in the sight of the LORD your God, in transgressing his covenant,

man

Deuteronomy 17:5
Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

Deuteronomy 13:6
If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;

Deuteronomy 29:18
Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood;

in transgressing

Deuteronomy 4:23
Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.

Deuteronomy 29:25
Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:

Deuteronomy 31:20
For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.

Jump to Previous
Covenant Evil Eyes Midst Sight Sinning Towns Transgressing Wickedness Within Wrought
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Covenant Evil Eyes Midst Sight Sinning Towns Transgressing Wickedness Within Wrought
Deuteronomy 17
1. The things sacrificed must be sound
2. Idolaters must be slain
8. Hard controversies are to be determined by the priests and judges
12. The one who shows contempt for the judge must die
14. The election
16. and duty of a king














If a man or woman among you
This phrase emphasizes the inclusivity of the law, applying equally to both genders. In the Hebrew context, the word for "man" is "ish" and for "woman" is "ishah," highlighting the individual responsibility before God. The law is not biased; it holds every member of the community accountable, reflecting the just nature of God who sees all equally.

in one of the towns
The Hebrew word for "towns" is "arei," which refers to the cities or settlements within the Promised Land. This phrase situates the law within the context of the Israelites' new life in Canaan. It underscores the importance of maintaining holiness and obedience in every part of the land that God has given them, reinforcing the idea that God's laws are to be observed everywhere, not just in sacred spaces.

that the LORD your God is giving you
This phrase is a reminder of the divine gift of the land. The Hebrew word "natan" means "to give," indicating that the land is a gracious gift from God, not something earned by the Israelites. This gift comes with the responsibility to live according to God's commandments, as a response to His generosity and covenantal faithfulness.

is discovered doing evil
The Hebrew word for "discovered" is "matsa," meaning to find or uncover. This implies that the evil act is not hidden from God, who sees all things. The term "evil" is "ra," which encompasses actions that are morally wrong or harmful. This highlights the seriousness of sin and the need for vigilance within the community to uphold God's standards.

in the sight of the LORD your God
This phrase underscores the omnipresence and omniscience of God. The Hebrew word "ayin" means "eye," suggesting that nothing escapes God's notice. It serves as a sobering reminder that all actions are ultimately accountable to God, who is the ultimate judge of right and wrong.

and violating His covenant
The Hebrew word for "violating" is "abar," which means to transgress or pass over. The "covenant" (Hebrew "berit") refers to the solemn agreement between God and Israel, established at Sinai. Violating the covenant is not just a legal infraction but a breach of a sacred relationship. This phrase calls the community to remember their identity as God's chosen people and the importance of faithfulness to His commands.

Deuteronomy 17:2-7. EVERY IDOLATER TO BE STONED.

(2) If there be found . . . man or woman.--This section differs slightly from the third section of Deuteronomy 13. The penalty there is directed against the teachers of idolatry, whether prophets, private individuals, or communities in Israel. Here the penalty of death is enacted for every individual, man or woman, found guilty of worshipping any other god but Jehovah. We find traces of this law in the covenant made in the reign of Asa (2Chronicles 15:13), "that whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.

(3) Either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven.--The oldest and simplest, and apparently most innocent form of idolatry. If this was punishable with death, obviously no grosser form of idolatry could be spared. The Book of Job, which knows no other idolatry, admits this to be a denial "of the God that is above" (Job 31:26-28).

(6) He that is worthy of death.--Literally, he that dieth.

(7) The hands of the witnesses . . . first.--A great safeguard against false testimony.

Put . . . away.--Literally, consume. The primary meaning of the word is "burn." Taberah, "burning," is a derivative.

The evil.--The Greek version renders this "the wicked man," and the sentence is taken up in this form in 1Corinthians 5:13, "and ye shall put away from among you that wicked person." The phrase is of frequent occurrence in Deuteronomy, and if we are to understand that in all places where it occurs "the evil" is to be under. stood of an individual, and to be taken in the masculine gender, the fact seems to deserve notice in considering the phrase "deliver us from evil" in the Lord's Prayer. There is really no such thing as wickedness in the world apart from some wicked being or person. We are also reminded of the famous argument of St. Augustine, that evil has no existence except as a corruption of good, or a creature's perverted will. . . .

Verse 2. - In Deuteronomy 13, Moses enacts what is to be done to those who seduce into idolatry. Here he declares what is to be done to those who are so seduced. Done wickedness; literally, done the evil. The definite article is prefixed; it is not any kind of wickedness that is here denounced, but the special sin of idolatry, the wickedness κατ ἐξόχην. All idolatry was to be strictly suppressed - those convicted of it to be put to death by stoning.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
If
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

a man
אִ֣ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

or
אוֹ־ (’ōw-)
Conjunction
Strong's 176: Desire, if

woman
אִשָּׁ֗ה (’iš·šāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

among you
בְקִרְבְּךָ֙ (ḇə·qir·bə·ḵā)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 7130: The nearest part, the center

in one
בְּאַחַ֣ד (bə·’a·ḥaḏ)
Preposition-b | Number - masculine singular construct
Strong's 259: United, one, first

of the towns
שְׁעָרֶ֔יךָ (šə·‘ā·re·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 8179: An opening, door, gate

that
אֲשֶׁר־ (’ă·šer-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 834: Who, which, what, that, when, where, how, because, in order that

the LORD
יְהוָ֥ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

your God
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ (’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

gives
נֹתֵ֣ן (nō·ṯên)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 5414: To give, put, set

you
לָ֑ךְ (lāḵ)
Preposition | second person masculine singular
Strong's Hebrew

is found
יִמָּצֵ֤א (yim·mā·ṣê)
Verb - Nifal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 4672: To come forth to, appear, exist, to attain, find, acquire, to occur, meet, be present

doing
יַעֲשֶׂ֧ה (ya·‘ă·śeh)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6213: To do, make

evil
הָרַ֛ע (hā·ra‘)
Article | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 7451: Bad, evil

in the sight
בְּעֵינֵ֥י (bə·‘ê·nê)
Preposition-b | Noun - cdc
Strong's 5869: An eye, a fountain

of the LORD
יְהוָֽה־ (Yah·weh-)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

your God
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ (’ĕ·lō·he·ḵā)
Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

by transgressing
לַעֲבֹ֥ר (la·‘ă·ḇōr)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5674: To pass over, through, or by, pass on

His covenant
בְּרִיתֽוֹ׃ (bə·rî·ṯōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1285: A covenant


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 17:2 If there be found in the midst (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 17:1
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