Deuteronomy 16:21 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:18-22

Here is, I. Care taken for the due administration of justice among them, that controversies might be determined, matters in variance adjusted, the injured redressed, and the injurious punished. While they were encamped in the wilderness, they had judges and officers according to their numbers, rulers of thousands and hundreds, Exod. 18:25. When they came to Canaan, they must have them according to their towns and cities, in all their gates; for the courts of judgment sat in the gates. Now, 1.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21

Thou shall not plant thee a grove of any trees ,.... Of any sort of trees, as oaks or any other; not but that it was lawful to plant trees and groves of them, but not for a religious or idolatrous use: particularly near unto the altar of the Lord thy God, which thou shalt make thee ; as the Heathens did near their altars, lest it should be thought to be done for a like superstitious and idolatrous use; which evil the Jews sometimes fell into in the times of wicked reigns, and which their... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 16:21

Thou shalt not plant thee a grove, etc. - We have already seen that groves were planted about idol temples for the purpose of the obscene worship performed in them. (See on Deuteronomy 12:3 ; (note)). On this account God would have no groves or thickets about his altar, that there might be no room for suspicion that any thing contrary to the strictest purity was transacted there. Every part of the Divine worship was publicly performed, for the purpose of general edification. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 16:21

Verse 21 21.Thou shalt not plant thee. It is plain from the end of this verse that it is part of the Second Commandment. We know (300) that amongst the heathen nations groves were sacred, so that with them no religious object would receive due reverence, except under the shade of trees. Wherefore lest conformity with this general custom should vitiate the pure worship of God, this distinction was made; and this then is the intent of the prohibition, that the Jews should fly from all strange... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:18-21

Model judges. I. JUDGES OCCUPY A HIGH AND RESPONSIBLE POSITION . 1. They are necessary. They require to be set up "in all thy gates … throughout thy tribes." 2. They represent God ( Deuteronomy 1:17 ). They are called "gods" ( Psalms 82:1 ). They are clothed with a portion of God's authority ( Romans 13:1 ). 3. They are set to uphold the sacred interests of justice. 4. They may, by wresting judgment, or by hasty and wrong decisions, inflict irremediable... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:18-22

The administration of justice. True religion is related to true morality as the parent is related to the child. God cares as much that right dispositions should prevail between man and man as between man and God. By an eternal decree, religion and morality have been conjoined, and no man can put them asunder. He that loves God will love his brother also. I. THE ADMINISTRATION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE IS ENTRUSTED TO IMPERFECT MEN . The laws of the Jews were framed in... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21

Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees ; thou shalt not plant , i . e . place or set up, an asherah of any wood . The asherah was an idol of wood in the form of a pillar, usually placed by the side of the altars of Baal. It was the symbol of Astarte, the great Canaanitish goddess, the companion and revealer of Baal. The two are usually associated in the Old Testament (cf. 2:13 ; 6:28 ; 1 Kings 18:19 ; 2 Kings 23:4 ). The rendering "grove" has been taken from the ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21-22

In all states, the highest crime of which the judge has to take note is that of treason against the supreme Rower; and, under the theocracy, the act most distinctly treasonable was idolatry. In proceeding, therefore, to give some practical admonitions as to the things to be observed in the administration of justice, Moses begins by denouncing and forbidding this most flagrant form of iniquity. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21-22

(See Homily, Deuteronomy 5:8-10 , on "The second commandment," and also Homily, Deuteronomy 13:1-18 ; on "Temptations to idolatry to be resisted.") HOMILIES BY J. ORR read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21-22

The pathways to temptation to be shunned. A rash and hare-brained pilot may venture as near as he can to a sunken reef, but a wise captain will prefer plenty of sea-room. It is no proof of wisdom to tamper with temptation. One cannot handle pitch without being defiled. I. GOD WISHES TO IMPART TO MEN HIS OWN FEELING TOWARDS IDOLATRY . ( Deuteronomy 16:22 .) To be like God is the summit of every good man's ambition. This is God's intention also. But the attainment... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:18-22

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 16:21

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Deuteronomy 16:21

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:18-21

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:18-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21-22

The Pulpit Commentary - Deuteronomy 16:21-22

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