Deuteronomy 19:20

That one party be not heard in the absence of another, Exodus 23:3. 10. That we decline not after many in the judgment of law; 11. Nor shall a judge condemn according to the opinion of another, but his own, Exodus 23:2. 12. That none be chosen a judge that is not learned in the law, though he be wise in other things, Deuteronomy 16:18. 13. That none bear false witness, Exodus 20:16. 14. That no offender be justified, Exodus 23:1. 15. That kinsmen be not witnesses, Deuteronomy 24:16. 16. That none be condemned upon one witness, Deuteronomy 19:15. 17. That none be condemned to death on conjecture, opinions, or thoughts, but upon clear witnesses, Exodus 23:7. 18. That we kill not, Exodus 20:13. 19. That a guilty person be not put to death before he appear in judgment, Numbers 35:12. 20. That no reward be taken for the life of a murderer; 21. Nor for him that commits manslaughter by error, Numbers 35:31, 32. 22. That none be judge and witness in a criminal cause, Numbers 35:30. 23. That none pity the woman mentioned, Deuteronomy 25:11, 12. 24 She that is forced is not to be punished, Deuteronomy 22:25, 26. 25. That none appear against the blood of his neighbour, Leviticus 19:16. 26. That no cause of offence or falling be left in an house, Deuteronomy 22:8. 27. That none lay a stumbling-block before an Israelite, Leviticus 19:14. 28. That the beating with stripes exceed not the number of forty, Deuteronomy 25:3. 29. That none calumniate or accuse falsely, Leviticus 19:16. 30.

19:15-21 Sentence should never be passed upon the testimony of one witness alone. A false witness should suffer the same punishment which he sought to have inflicted upon the person he accused. Nor could any law be more just. Let all Christians not only be cautious in bearing witness in public, but be careful not to join in private slanders; and let all whose consciences accuse them of crime, without delay flee for refuge to the hope set before them in Jesus Christ.

15 . By Deuteronomy 17:6 (cp. P, Numbers 35:30 ), a man may not be put to death save on the evidence of more than one witness. Here the same is enforced for all cases. One witness shall not rise up ] Or, stand , that is, of course, as a valid effectual witness; the vb is the same as at the end of the v., shall a matter be established . But in the next v. rise up simply means appear, offer himself . in any sin that he sinneth ] Luc. omits. 15–21. Of Witnesses Two or three witnesses are necessary for a conviction ( Deuteronomy 19:15 ). If a witness, forcing his evidence, accuse a man of defection from the law, the two shall stand before God in the supreme court ( Deuteronomy 19:16 f.), the judges shall investigate, and if the witness be found false, he shall have done to him what he devised for his brother; so shall evil be removed from Israel ( Deuteronomy 19:18 f.) and others take warning ( Deuteronomy 19:20 ); ruthlessly shall like for like be exacted ( Deuteronomy 19:21 ).—Sg. (except for one slip into the Pl. in Deuteronomy 19:19 ) with the use of the term brother and other terms usual in Sg. passages. There are no deuteronomic formulas beyond the legal ones. On the subject of this law cp. E, Exodus 23:1 , Exodus 20:16 , Deuteronomy 5:20 (the 9th commandment), and other passages cited below. By the Code of Ḫammurabi §§ 3 f., false evidence is punished on the same principle of like for like as here, Deuteronomy 19:19 .

The two men between whom the dispute lay, the accused and the witness, were to come before Jehovah, viz., before the priests and judges who should be in those days - namely, at the place of the sanctuary, where Jehovah dwelt among His people (cf. Deuteronomy 17:9 ), and not before the local courts, as Knobel supposes. These judges were to investigate the case most thoroughly (cf. Deuteronomy 13:15 ); and if the witness had spoken lies, they were to do to him as he thought to do to his brother. The words from "behold" to "his brother" are parenthetical circumstantial clauses: "And, behold, is the witness a false witness, has he spoken a lie against his brother? Ye shall do," etc. זמם, generally to meditate evil. On Deuteronomy 19:20 , see Deuteronomy 13:12 .