Deuteronomy 19:19

The context

The chapter deals with cities of refuge, the protection of the accidental killer, and then turns to witnesses in court. The rule is stated as a principle of equivalence: what the false accuser intended is done to him. The passage ends with the formula about purging evil from the community.

What it establishes

It establishes that perjury is treated as an attempt on a life rather than a procedural irregularity, and that the penalty is measured by the harm intended. The stated aim is deterrence as much as retribution.

What it does not establish

It does not mandate literal retaliation today. The rule belongs to a judicial system with courts, witnesses, and elders, and it is not addressed to private individuals. Nor does the verse say whether the intended harm applies in kind or in equivalent measure.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• Should we really be stoning homosexuals, disobedient children, adulterers and witches, as the Old Testament commands? What an all-loving god you serve, Christians!

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.