Deuteronomy 13:9

Deu 13:9 But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.

Ver. 9. Kill him,] i.e., Deliver him up to the magistrate to be killed; for he bears not the sword in vain, like St Paul in a glass window, or George on a signpost.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Deu 13:9-11. Thou shalt surely kill him — Not privately, a permission to do which, under pretence of the party’s being guilty of the crime in question, would have opened the door to innumerable murders; but by procuring his death through the sentence of the magistrate. Thy hand shall be first upon him — As the witness of his crime; for he was to be stoned to death, and the accuser was to throw the first stone, together with the witnesses, Deu 17:7. This law, at first sight, may appear too great a trial to humanity; but it is indeed no more than requiring a compliance with that plain principle of religion and morality, to sacrifice all private considerations to the glory of God and good of mankind. All Israel shall hear and fear — The law, though severe, yet was just and necessary, and calculated to preserve the body of the people from the contagion of idolatry.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13:9 Strike the first blow yourself: Because the guilty parties would be members of one’s own family (13:6), this difficult demand would test the depth of a person’s commitment to worship the Lord exclusively. Love for God must take priority over love for family members and friends (Matt 10:34-39).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

As the witness is charged, Deut. 17:7.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

thou shalt surely kill him--not hastily, or in a private manner, but after trial and conviction; and his relative, as informer, was to cast the first stone (see on Deu 17:2; Act 7:58). It is manifest that what was done in secret could not be legally proved by a single informer; and hence Jewish writers say that spies were set in some private part of the house, to hear the conversation and watch the conduct of a person suspected of idolatrous tendencies.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(9) Thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death.—A law tending to prevent false accusation. Where the witness is obliged to carry out himself, or to aid in carrying out, the sentence he demands, secret accusation is impossible; and it is far less easy to pervert the law in order to prosecute a private quarrel.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

But thou shalt surely kill him,.... Not privately and secretly, when and where he entices, nor the enticed himself by his own authority, but after being examined, judged, and condemned by the civil magistrate; and none might judge a false prophet but the sanhedrim at Jerusalem, the sanhedrim of seventy one (m); see Luk 13:33, but the difficulty is how such an one could be convicted, since the affair was transacted secretly, Deu 13:6 and there were none present to be witnesses, none but the enticer and the enticed; so that either the enticer must be brought to a confession of his guilt, or the testimony of the enticed alone must be taken. The Jewish doctors say (n), that they laid in wait for the enticer, which they never did for any other person, and the method they took was this; the enticed brought two persons, and put them behind a hedge, so that they might see the enticer, and hear his words, and he not see them; and he said to the enticer, say what thou hast said to me privately; which said, the enticed answered to him, how shall we leave our God which is in heaven, and go and serve wood and stone? if he returned (from his evil) hereby, or was silent, he was free; but if he said unto him, so we are obliged, and thus it is comely for us; they that stood afar off, behind the hedge (or in a dark room), brought him to the sanhedrim, and stoned him, that is, after examination, trial, judgment, and condemnation:

thine hand shall be first upon him, to put him to death; he was to throw the first stone at him, partly to show his indignation against the sin he had enticed him to, and that it had not at all affected him so as to incline him unto it; and partly to show that he had bore a true testimony, of which a suspicion might have been created in the minds of some, had he been backward to the execution of him:

and afterwards the hand of all the people; who then could proceed with more certainty and satisfaction: this shows that the person enticed had not a right to kill the enticer, without a judicial process, and the order of the civil magistrate.

(m) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 1. sect. 7. (n) Ibid. c. 7. sect. 10. Maimon. Obede Cochabim, c. 5. sect. 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Presently put him to death. Not by killing him by private authority, but by informing the magistrate, and proceeding by order of justice. (Challoner) (Worthington) --- Philo seems to assert the contrary. But he perhaps speaks of those who publicly endeavoured to lead the people astray. Presently in not in Hebrew. Other criminals were allowed twenty-four hours after condemnation. No delay was granted to false prophets. No excuse was admitted. If he had even been once acquitted, he might be examined again. --- Thy hand. The accuser of witness first threw a stone, after the wretch had been conducted out of the city, chap. xvii. 4., and Acts vii. 58.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Thou shalt surely kill him; not privately, which pretence would have opened the door to innumerable murders, but by procuring his death by the sentence of the magistrate; and thou shalt cast the first stone at him, as the witness was to do. See Deu 17:7; Act 7:58.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Thou shalt kill him - Not privately, which pretense would have opened the door to innumerable murders, but by procuring his death by the sentence of the magistrate. Thou shalt cast the first stone at him, as the witness was to do.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

To such persuasion Israel was not to yield, nor were they to spare the tempters. The accumulation of synonyms (pity, spare, conceal) serves to make the passage more emphatic. כּסּה, to cover, i.e., to keep secret, conceal. They were to put him to death without pity, viz., to stone him (cf. Lev 20:2). That the execution even in this case was to be carried out by the regular authorities, is evident from the words, "thy hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and the hand of all the people afterwards," which presuppose the judicial procedure prescribed in Deu 17:7, that the witnesses were to cast the first stones at the person condemned.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

לא תאבה לו THOU SHALT NOT CONSENT UNTO HIM — i.e. thou shalt feel no longing (תאב) towards him, thou shalt show no affection for him (אהב); This is stated because it is said, (Leviticus 19:18) “Thou shalt love thy fellowman as thyself”; this man, however, thou shalt not love (Sifrei Devarim 89:1).

ולא תשמע אליו AND THOU SHALT NOT HEARKEN UNTO HIM when he makes entreaty for his life, that you should forgive him. This is stated because it says. (Exodus 23:5) “[If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee] thou shalt surely help him”; this man, however, thou shalt not help (Sifrei Devarim 89:2).

ולא תחוס עינך עליו NEITHER SHALL THINE EYE SPARE HIM — This is stated because it says, (Leviticus 19:16) “thou shalt not stand against the blood of thy fellow” — this man, however, thou shalt not spare (Sifrei Devarim 89:3).

ולא תחמל NEITHER SHALT THOU PITY [HIM] — i.e. thou shalt not occupy thyself in his favour (you shall not seek to find anything favorable to him) (Sifrei Devarim 89:4).

ולא תכסה עליו AND THOU SHALT NOT CONCEAL (COVER OVER) HIM — If you know anything about him that will condemn him, you are not allowed to keep silent (Sifrei Devarim 89:5).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

THOU SHALT NOT ‘THOVEH LO’ — “you shall not ‘long’ for him, nor shall you love him. Because it is said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself — [it is necessary to caution that] this one [who seeks to mislead you into idolatry] you shall not love.” This is Rashi’s language quoting the Sifre. 89. But in the Gemara the Rabbis have said [in connection with this verse]: “But [if the one misled] avah (wanted) and consented [to the words of the inciter, although he actually did not worship the idols, the misleader] is guilty” [thus showing that the word thoveh is not an expression of “longing” as Rashi holds, but of “willingness”]. And this is correct, for avah is an expression of “desire,” as it is said, And the Eternal thy G-d was not ‘avah’ (willing) to hearken unto Balaam, meaning “He did not desire.” So also, he is not ‘avah’ (willing) to perform the duty of my husband’s brother, 25:7. [this expression being based upon the statement in the first part of that verse], and if the man ‘desires’ not to take his brother’s wife. Thus, thou shalt not ‘thoveh lo’ means [“thou shalt not be willing] in your heart [to give credence to him”], nor hearken unto him by consenting to him, saying “I will do so; I will go and I will worship the idol you mentioned.” And [the inciter] becomes liable to the death penalty because of his [the victim’s] consent. And such is the opinion of Onkelos [who translated]: “Do not accept [the offer] from him.” Now these two prohibitions [Thou shalt not be willing to give credence to him in your heart, nor shalt thou hearken unto him] are like Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbor’s house [which prohibits us from desiring what belongs to another], and Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house [which prohibits us from scheming to acquire it], so that if he desires it in his heart, he infringes the first prohibition, and if he goes on to do as he thought, he transgresses also the second negative commandment.

NEITHER SHALL THINE EYE PITY HIM — to show him mercy that he not die.

NEITHER SHALT THOU SPARE because of the close [family] relationship as mentioned, as it is said, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

NEITHER SHALT THOU CONCEAL HIM — by not testifying against him in court. And in the Sifre it is written: 89. “Neither shalt thou spare — you shall not plead in his favor. Neither shalt thou conceal — if you know anything unfavorable to him, you are not permitted to stand mute.” All [these interpretations] by “not testifying” against him, or “withhold” anything unfavorable to him — the purport is the same, since covering up of evidence is a form of silence. convey the same thought, for the term “concealing” is from he that ‘concealeth’ his transgressions; but a prudent man ‘concealeth’ shame, 12:16. meaning that he refrains from telling it. And he states, and they shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee, because this matter [of a misleader] is very common, and it would be frequently done were it not for the law [as a deterrent, hence this pronouncement was necessary], but the matter of a false prophet mentioned [above] is not a common occurrence, [therefore, unlike in the verse before us, no admonitions were mentioned in Verse 6].

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

Do not be favorably inclined to him. With belief in the heart.

Do not listen to him. In actions.

Do not view him compassionately. To refrain from executing him.

Do not cover for him. To leave him. Rather, reveal the matter so that the witnesses hear it from his mouth, and then you must execute him.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.