seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Deuteronomy 19:15 One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
16 If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
16 If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. 21 Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
I was talking to hubby about these verses the other day. I told him that we keep studying the same thing over, and over, and over, and over again..... in fact... that's why there are four gospels. The reason we keep going over the same laws over and over is the same reason for four gospels, not one.... witnesses.... witnesses.... the witness will prove the allegation is indeed true. God said life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, and Jesus said "Father forgive them".
This is the easy English commentary.
There were strict laws about evidence in court. There had to be two or three witnesses to prove that someone was guilty. There were several witnesses when the Jews were accusing Jesus. However, Mark 14:55-59 says that they did not agree with each other! A false witness received the same punishment as he had intended for his enemy. But this punishment had its limits. It should not be more severe than the crime. That was the principle of justice that God decided.
And this is from bibletrack.org.
As a witness to a crime, you had better be sure or you're in for a surprise! Better yet, make certain to have a couple of other witnesses along to validate your accusation. Here's the Hebrew version of "the loser pays the court fees" in verse 19. If the witness is deemed by the judges to be lying, he gets the punishment instead of the accused. It is likely that Jesus based Matthew 18:15-17 on this passage with regard to the number of witnesses needed in the matter of church discipline.
So that's why the same thing appears over and over and over again.... it's a witness statement.
