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THE MESSAGE

Deuteronomy 21:22

When a man has committed a capital crime, been given the death sentence, executed and hung from a tree, don't leave his dead body hanging overnight from the tree. Give him a decent burial that same day so that you don't desecrate your God -given land—a hanged man is an insult to God.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Hanging;   Punishment;   Sanitation;   The Topic Concordance - Curses;   Execution;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Punishments;   Trees;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Cross;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Alms;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Gallows;   Hanging;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Cross;   Gibeonites;   Hanging;   Punishments;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Crimes and Punishments;   Cross, Crucifixion;   Hanging;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Clean and Unclean;   Crimes and Punishments;   Crucifixion;   Deuteronomy;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Curse;   Joseph (2);   Tree ;   Vicarious Sacrifice;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Punishment;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Cross;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Conquest of Canaan;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Burial;   Punishments;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Capital Punishment;   Commandments, the 613;   Crucifixion;   Gallows;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“If anyone is found guilty of an offense deserving the death penalty and is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,
Hebrew Names Version
If a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and you hang him on a tree;
King James Version
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
Lexham English Bible
"And if a man commits a sin punishable by death, and so he is put to death and you hang him on a tree,
English Standard Version
"And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
New Century Version
If someone is guilty of a sin worthy of death, he must be put to death and his body displayed on a tree.
New English Translation
If a person commits a sin punishable by death and is executed, and you hang the corpse on a tree,
Amplified Bible
"And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death and [afterward] you hang him on a tree [as a public example],
New American Standard Bible
"Now if a person has committed a sin carrying a sentence of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
Geneva Bible (1587)
If a man also haue committed a trespasse worthy of death, and is put to death, & thou hangest him on a tree,
Legacy Standard Bible
"And if a man has committed a sin, the judgment of which is death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
Contemporary English Version
Moses said to Israel: If a criminal is put to death, and you hang the dead body on a tree,
Complete Jewish Bible
(ii) "If someone has committed a capital crime and is put to death, then hung on a tree,
Darby Translation
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou have hanged him on a tree,
Easy-to-Read Version
"A man might be guilty of a sin that must be punished by death. People might kill him and hang his body on a tree.
George Lamsa Translation
And if any man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is crucified on a tree, and thus put to death;
Good News Translation
"If someone has been put to death for a crime and the body is hung on a post,
Literal Translation
And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf a man haue commytted a synne yt is worthy of death, and is put to death, so that he is hanged on tre,
American Standard Version
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree;
Bible in Basic English
If a man does a crime for which the punishment is death, and he is put to death by hanging him on a tree;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
If a man haue committed a trespasse worthy of death, and is put to death for it, and thou hangest hym on tree.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree;
King James Version (1611)
And if a man haue committed a sinne worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And if there be sin in any one, and the judgment of death be upon him, and he be put to death, and ye hang him on a tree:
English Revised Version
And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree;
Berean Standard Bible
If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whanne a man doith a synne which is worthi to be punyschid bi deeth, and he is demed to deeth, and is hangid in a iebat,
Young's Literal Translation
`And when there is in a man a sin -- a cause of death, and he hath been put to death, and thou hast hanged him on a tree,
Update Bible Version
And if a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree;
Webster's Bible Translation
And if a man shall have committed a sin worthy of death, and he must be put to death, and thou shalt hang him on a tree:
World English Bible
If a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and you hang him on a tree;
New King James Version
"If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
New Living Translation
"If someone has committed a crime worthy of death and is executed and hung on a tree,
New Life Bible
"If a man has sinned and should be put to death and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree,
New Revised Standard
When someone is convicted of a crime punishable by death and is executed, and you hang him on a tree,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But when there shall be in any man a sin worthy of death and he is to be put to death, - and thou shalt hang him on a tree,
Douay-Rheims Bible
When a man hath committed a crime for which he is to be punished with death, and being condemned to die is hanged on a gibbet:
Revised Standard Version
"And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If a man has committed a sin worthy of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree,

Contextual Overview

18When a man has a stubborn son, a real rebel who won't do a thing his mother and father tell him, and even though they discipline him he still won't obey, his father and mother shall forcibly bring him before the leaders at the city gate and say to the city fathers, "This son of ours is a stubborn rebel; he won't listen to a thing we say. He's a glutton and a drunk." 21 Then all the men of the town are to throw rocks at him until he's dead. You will have purged the evil pollution from among you. All Israel will hear what's happened and be in awe. 22When a man has committed a capital crime, been given the death sentence, executed and hung from a tree, don't leave his dead body hanging overnight from the tree. Give him a decent burial that same day so that you don't desecrate your God -given land—a hanged man is an insult to God.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Joshua 8:29, Joshua 10:26, So in Numbers 25:4, we read, "And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads - chief men of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel." Among the Romans, in after ages, they hanged, or rather fastened to the tree ALIVE; and such was the cruel death of our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 19:6, Deuteronomy 22:26, 1 Samuel 26:16, Matthew 26:66, Acts 23:29, Acts 25:11, Acts 25:25, Acts 26:31

worthy of death: Heb. of the judgment of death, The Hebrews understand this not of putting to death by hanging, but of hanging a man up after he was stoned to death; which was done more ignominiously of some heinous malefactors. We have the examples of Rechab and Baanah, who, for murdering Ish-bosheth, were slain by David's commandment, their hand and feet cut off, and then hanged up. 2 Samuel 4:12

thou hang: 2 Samuel 21:6, 2 Samuel 21:9, Luke 23:33, John 19:31-38

Reciprocal: Genesis 40:19 - hang thee Judges 19:29 - with her bones Esther 2:23 - hanged John 12:32 - if Romans 6:21 - for the 1 Peter 2:24 - the tree

Cross-References

Genesis 20:17
Then Abraham prayed to God and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his maidservants, and they started having babies again. For God had shut down every womb in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Genesis 26:26
Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his advisor and Phicol the head of his troops. Isaac asked them, "Why did you come to me? You hate me; you threw me out of your country."
Genesis 26:28
They said, "We've realized that God is on your side. We'd like to make a deal between us—a covenant that we maintain friendly relations. We haven't bothered you in the past; we treated you kindly and let you leave us in peace. So— God 's blessing be with you!"
Genesis 30:27
Laban said, "If you please, I have learned through divine inquiry that God has blessed me because of you." He went on, "So name your wages. I'll pay you."
Joshua 3:7
God said to Joshua, "This very day I will begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel. They'll see for themselves that I'm with you in the same way that I was with Moses. You will command the priests who are carrying the Chest of the Covenant: ‘When you come to the edge of the Jordan's waters, stand there on the river bank.'"
2 Chronicles 1:1
Solomon son of David took a firm grip on the reins of his kingdom. God was with him and gave him much help. Solomon addressed all Israel—the commanders and captains, the judges, every leader, and all the heads of families. Then Solomon and the entire company went to the worship center at Gibeon—that's where the Tent of Meeting of God was, the one that Moses the servant of God had made in the wilderness. The Chest of God, though, was in Jerusalem—David had brought it up from Kiriath Jearim, prepared a special place for it, and pitched a tent for it. But the Bronze Altar that Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made was in Gibeon, in its place before the Tabernacle of God ; and that is where Solomon and the congregation gathered to pray. Solomon worshiped God at the Bronze Altar in front of the Tent of Meeting; he sacrificed a thousand Whole-Burnt-Offerings on it.
Isaiah 45:14
God says: "The workers of Egypt, the merchants of Ethiopia, and those statuesque Sabeans Will all come over to you—all yours. Docile in chains, they'll follow you, Hands folded in reverence, praying before you: ‘Amazing! God is with you! There is no other God—none.'"
Zechariah 8:23
A Message from God -of-the-Angel-Armies: "At that time, ten men speaking a variety of languages will grab the sleeve of one Jew, hold tight, and say, ‘Let us go with you. We've heard that God is with you.'"
Romans 8:31
So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.
Hebrews 13:5
Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote, God is there, ready to help; I'm fearless no matter what. Who or what can get to me?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death,.... This before mentioned, or any other that deserves death, any kind of death, as strangling, killing with the sword, burning and stoning, to which the Jews restrain it here:

and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him, on a tree; is condemned to stoning, and after that they hang him, as the Targum of Jonathan; and according to the Jewish Rabbins, as Jarchi observes, all that were stoned were to be hanged, and only men, not women g; for it is remarked that it is said "him" and not "her" h: about this there is a dispute in the Misnah i;

"all that are stoned are hanged, they are the words of R. Eliezer; but the wise men say none are to be hanged but the blasphemer and idolater; a man is to be hanged with his face to the people, a woman with her face to the tree, they are the words of R. Eliezer; but the wise men say, a man is to be hanged, but no woman, to whom R. Eliezer replied, did not Simeon Ben Shetach hang women in Ashkelon? they answered him, he hung eighty women (at once), but they do not judge or condemn two in one day;''

so that this was a particular case at a particular time, and not be drawn into an example: in the same place it is asked,

"how they hang one? they fix a beam in the earth, and a piece of wood goes out of it (near the top of it, as one of the commentator k remarks), and join his two hands together and hang him;''

that is, by his hand, not by his neck, as with us, but rather in the crucifixion; only in that the hands are spread, and one hand is fastened to one part of the cross beam, and the other to the other end.

g Misn. Sotah, c. 3. sect. 8. h Maimon. & Bartenora in. ib. i Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 6. sect. 4. k Bartenora in Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 6. sect. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

There were four methods of execution in use among the ancient Jews; stoning (Exodus 17:4; Deuteronomy 13:10, etc.), burning Leviticus 20:14; Leviticus 21:9, the sword Exodus 32:27, and strangulation. The latter, though not named in Scripture, is regarded by the rabbis as the most common, and the proper one to be adopted when no other is expressly enjoined by the Law. Suspension, whether from cross, stake, or gallows, was not used as a mode of taking life, but was sometimes added after death as an enhancement of punishment. Pharaoh’s chief baker Genesis 40:19 was hanged after being put to death by the sword; and similarly Joshua appears Joshua 10:26 to have dealt with the five kings who made war against Gibeon. Compare also Numbers 25:4.


 
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