ris3n's Apologetics Codex

Deuteronomy 21.23

type: passage created: 2026-05-06 updated: 2026-05-06 book: Deuteronomy chapter: 21 verses: "23" translation_default: ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT tags: [scripture] citation_count: 1 enriched: false

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Deuteronomy 21.23

Book: Deuteronomy · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT

Immediate context (±2 verses)

ASV (ASV)

"21. And all the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. 22. And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree;"

"23. his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt surely bury him the same day; for he that is hanged is accursed of God; that thou defile not thy land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." (Deuteronomy 21:21-23, ASV)

WEB (WEB)

"21. All the men of his city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall remove the evil from among you. All Israel shall hear, and fear. 22. If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree;"

"23. his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall surely bury him the same day; for he who is hanged is accursed of God; that you don’t defile your land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance." (Deuteronomy 21:21-23, WEB)

KJV (KJV)

"21. 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. 22. And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:"

"23. His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance. accursed: Heb. the curse of God" (Deuteronomy 21:21-23, KJV)

YLT (YLT)

"21. and all the men of his city have stoned him with stones, and he hath died, and thou hast put away the evil out of thy midst, and all Israel do hear and fear. 22. 'And when there is in a man a sin, a cause of death, and he hath been put to death, and thou hast hanged him on a tree,"

"23. his corpse doth not remain on the tree, for thou dost certainly bury him in that day, for a thing lightly esteemed of God [is] the hanged one, and thou dost not defile thy ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee, an inheritance." (Deuteronomy 21:21-23, YLT)

Setting

  • Speaker: Moses (sermons recorded by narrator)
  • Audience: second-generation Israelites about to enter Canaan
  • Location: plains of Moab, east of the Jordan
  • Time period: events c. 1406 BC; composed c. 1406 BC

Theological reading

Key words

Why these four translations

ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.

The four:

  • ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
  • WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
  • KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
  • YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.

See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.