And those which remain shall hear, and fear ,.... Those which survive the false witness shall hear of the punishment inflicted on him, and fear to commit the like sin, lest they should be punished in like manner. read more
And thine eye shall not pity ,.... The false witness when convicted; this is directed to the judges, who should not spare such an one through favour or affection, but pronounce a righteous sentence on him, and see it executed, in proportion to the crime, and that according to the law of retaliation: but life shall go for life ; in such a case where the life of a person must have gone, if the falsehood of the testimony had not been discovered, the false witness must suffer death; in other... read more
If any man hate his neighbor - See on Exodus 21:13 ; (note). read more
Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark - Before the extensive use of fences, landed property was marked out by stones or posts, set up so as to ascertain the divisions of family estates. It was easy to remove one of these landmarks, and set it in a different place; and thus the dishonest man enlarged his own estate by contracting that of his neighbor. The termini or landmarks among the Romans were held very sacred, and were at last deified. To these termini Numa Pompillus... read more
One witness shall not rise up, etc. - See Numbers 35:30 ; (note). read more
Then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother - Nothing can be more equitable or proper than this, that if a man endeavor to do any injury to or take away the life of another, on detection he shall be caused to undergo the same evil which he intended for his innocent neighbor. Some of our excellent English laws have been made on this very ground. In the 37th of Edw. III., chap. 18, it is ordained that all those who make suggestion shall incur the same pain which... read more
Life - for life, eye for eye, etc. - The operation of such a law as this must have been very salutary: if a man prized his own members, he would naturally avoid injuring those of others. It is a pity that this law were not still in force: it would certainly prevent many of those savage acts which now both disgrace and injure society. I speak this in reference to law generally, and the provision that should be made to prevent and punish ferocious and malevolent offenses. A Christian may... read more
Verse 14 A kind of theft is here condemned which is severely punished by the laws of Rome; (105) for that every one’s property may be secure, it is necessary that the land-marks set up for the division of fields should remain untouched, as if they were sacred. He who fraudulently removes a landmark is already convicted by this very act, because he disturbs the lawful owner in his quiet possession of the land; (106) whilst he who advances further the boundaries of his own land to his neighbor’s... read more
Verse 16 16.If a false witness rise up against any man. Because the fear of God does not so prevail in all men, as that they should voluntarily abstain from the love of slander, God here appoints the punishment to be inflicted for perjury: for political laws are enacted against the ungodly and disobedient, in order that those who despise God’s judgment should be brought before the tribunal of men. Although perjury is not here ordained to be tried before the judges, unless there should be an... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 19:19
Then shall ye do unto him as he had thought to have done unto his brother ,.... Inflict the same fine or punishment on him he thought to have brought his brother under by his false testimony of him; whether any pecuniary fine, or whipping and scourging, or the loss of a member, or the value of it, or death itself; whether stoning, strangling, burning, or killing with the sword: though, in the case of accusing a priest's daughter of adultery, as Jarchi observes, such were not to be burnt, as... read more