What Does Deuteronomy 21:21 Mean?
And all the men of his city stone him with stones, and he dies; so you shall burn the evil out from your midst, and all Israel hears and fears.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.THE KEY
The Hebrew for “put away” carries the force of consuming or clearing out, and here that removal is a public execution meant to reach all Israel.
THE MEANING
Here, the city’s men stone a person to death, and the verse names that killing as the removal of evil from their midst. Its reach extends beyond the city: all Israel hears and fears.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The verse overturns the belief that judgment concerns only the person punished: it makes the whole people’s hearing and fear part of its stated effect.
THE ROOT
וּבִעַרְתָּ
uvi'arta
GROWS FROM
בער
b-ʿ-r
Burn, consume; in this form, clear out or remove.
“burn the evil out” in this verse is uvi'arta. The phrase carries the force of consuming or clearing away. In this verse, the removal is concrete and severe: a person is stoned to death, and that act is presented as removing evil from the community.
ALSO GROWS
ba'ar: Burn or be consumed.
בָּעַר
This branch reveals the force carried by “put away”: the language can evoke something being consumed, not merely overlooked.
bi'er: Clear out or remove.
בִּעֵר
This related form names the clearing away expressed in the verse’s phrase “put evil away.”
יִשְׁמְעוּ
yishme'u
GROWS FROM
שמע
sh-m-ʿ
Hear, listen.
This root also forms a word for a report or news, linking hearing with what is communicated. The punishment’s reach extends through what all Israel hears of it.
ALSO GROWS
shama: Hear or listen.
שָׁמַע
It is the same root as “shall hear,” the response shared by all Israel.
shemu'ah: A report or news.
שְׁמוּעָה
This branch shows how an event can travel beyond its witnesses as something heard and repeated.
וְיָרֵאוּ
veyare'u
GROWS FROM
ירא
y-r-ʾ
Fear or stand in awe.
“fears” in this verse is veyare'u. Fear is named alongside hearing as the community’s response to the public judgment. The verse makes that response part of the judgment’s reach beyond the person who dies.
ALSO GROWS
yir'ah: Fear or awe.
יִרְאָה
This noun shares the root of “shall fear” and names the response the verse attributes to all Israel.
mora: Dread or fear.
מוֹרָא
This related word carries the weight of fear produced by a severe and visible consequence.
THE PATTERN
In these texts, public judgment becomes a warning whose reach extends through everyone who hears of it.
And all Israel shall hear and respond, and shall tremble, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this among you.And great fear came upon the whole assembly, and upon all who heard these things.Expose those who miss the mark before all, so that the rest also may fear.THE THREAD
And those who remain shall hear and respond, and fear, and shall not add again to do any such evil within you.This verse repeats the roots for “hear” (שמע, shama) and “fear” (ירא, yare), showing the same response among those who remain. Their hearing and fear are tied directly to the stated aim that the evil not be repeated.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us