Deuteronomy 19:15-17 New English Translation
15 A single witness may not testify[a] against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established[b] only on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 16 If a false[c] witness testifies against another person and accuses him of a crime,[d] 17 then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges[e] who will be in office in those days.
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- Deuteronomy 19:15 tn Heb “rise up” (likewise in v. 16).
- Deuteronomy 19:15 tn Heb “may stand.”
- Deuteronomy 19:16 tn Heb “violent” (חָמָס, khamas). This is a witness whose motivation from the beginning is to do harm to the accused and who, therefore, resorts to calumny and deceit. See I. Swart and C. VanDam, NIDOTTE 2:177-80.
- Deuteronomy 19:16 tn Or “rebellion.” Rebellion against God’s law is in view (cf. NAB “of a defection from the law”).
- Deuteronomy 19:17 tn The appositional construction (“before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges”) indicates that these human agents represented the Lord himself, that is, they stood in his place (cf. Deut 16:18-20; 17:8-9).
New English Translation (NET)
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