Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Deuteronomy
Chapter 17: The Law of the King
This chapter guards two things Israel would one day need: fair courts and a godly king. No one was to be condemned on a single voice, but only 'at the mouth of two witnesses, or three.' And when Israel asked for a king, God set limits no earthly monarch would think to place on himself: he must not pile up horses, wives, or gold, and he must write out God's law by hand and read it every day of his life. The king of Israel was to be a man under authority, ruling by the Book rather than above it. It is a chapter about honest judgment and a kingship humbled beneath the Word of God.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Deuteronomy chapter 17. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. The chapter requires two or three witnesses before condemnation, sends the hardest cases to God's appointed judges, and gives the law of the king, who must not exalt himself but live under the Word of God. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Two or Three
No one was to be condemned on a single voice, but only on the word of two or three witnesses.
The Hard Cases
Matters too hard to judge were brought to God's appointed priests and judge at the sanctuary.
Whom the LORD Chooses
The king must be God's choice, and must not multiply horses, wives, or silver and gold.
He Shall Write the Law
The king was to copy out God's law and read it all his days, ruling under the Word.
At the Mouth of Two or Three Witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:2-7)
A serious charge could not stand on a single accuser; only the word of two or three witnesses could establish guilt, guarding the innocent against false testimony.
Not at the Mouth of One Witness
"Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel: Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die. At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you. If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose; And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment: And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the LORD shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee: According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left. And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the LORD thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel. And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously. When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;"
Hebrew Study
"witness," ed (עֵד). One who testifies, who can say what he has seen or heard. Israel's justice rested on the sworn testimony of such witnesses. By requiring more than one, the law made it far harder for a single liar to destroy an innocent person, and it placed a sober weight on anyone who would stand up and testify against a neighbour.
Explanation
The chapter opens by forbidding a blemished sacrifice, then turns to the gravest matter: someone accused of idolatry, of serving the sun, moon, or other gods. Even here, where the crime struck at the heart of the covenant, the accusation had to be proved carefully. The matter was to be inquired into "diligently," and no one could be put to death "at the mouth of one witness," but only "at the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses." The witnesses themselves were to cast the first stones, so that no one could accuse lightly or hide behind the crowd. Truth had to be established beyond a single voice.
Gospel Focus
This safeguard runs all through Scripture and into the life of the church. Jesus applied it to settling disputes between believers: "take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established" (Matthew 18:16). Paul used the same rule for weighing charges: "In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established" (2 Corinthians 13:1). God cares about truth and about protecting the innocent from false accusation. We are not to believe every report, spread every rumor, or condemn a person on one unproven voice. Before we accept a charge against someone, especially against a fellow believer, it must be established by real evidence. This is not softness toward sin but reverence for truth. A God of justice will not have His people ruining reputations on hearsay; let every word be established by two or three witnesses.
The King the LORD Chooses (Deuteronomy 17:14-17)
When Israel would one day ask for a king, God set him under limits no earthly ruler imposes on himself: he must not multiply horses, wives, or gold.
Whom the LORD Thy God Shall Choose
"Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother. But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the LORD hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way. Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold."
Hebrew Study
Israel's king, when they have one, is bound by three restraints: he shall not "multiply horses" (trusting military might), nor "multiply wives" (whose hearts turn him away), nor "greatly multiply... silver and gold." The king is God's choice, "one from among thy brethren," and he reigns under the law, not above it. Solomon would one day break all three commands to his ruin — proof that no crown exempts a man from the word of God.
Explanation
God foresaw the day Israel would say, "I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me." He did not forbid it, but He set the terms. The king must be God's choice and one of their own brethren, not a foreigner. Then come three limits, each aimed at a besetting royal temptation. He must not "multiply horses," Egypt's war machine, nor drag the people back toward Egypt to get them; he must not "multiply wives," lest his heart be turned away, as Solomon's later was; and he must not "greatly multiply to himself silver and gold." In short, the king of Israel was not to build the military power, the harem, and the treasury that every other king craved. His trust was to be in God, not in these.
Gospel Focus
These three limits target the three great snares of power: military might, unbridled desire, and money. The king was not to lean on horses, the strength of the flesh; not to be ruled by his appetites; and not to hoard wealth. Every one of these has toppled leaders before and since. Israel's own history proved it: Solomon multiplied all three, and his wives turned his heart to other gods. The New Testament names the deepest of these dangers: "the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:10). Power without limits corrupts, and a heart set on horses, pleasure, and gold will not stay set on God. The principle reaches every one of us who holds any authority, in a home, a church, a business: God calls leaders to trust Him rather than their resources, to master their appetites, and to hold wealth loosely. The godly leader is not the one who accumulates the most, but the one who stays humble under God.
He Shall Write the Law (Deuteronomy 17:18-20)
The king was to copy out God's law with his own hand and read it every day of his life, that he might fear the LORD, obey His word, and never lift his heart above his brethren.
He Shall Read Therein All the Days of His Life
"And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites: And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel."
Hebrew Study
The first duty of Israel's king is astonishing: he must "write him a copy of this law... and he shall read therein all the days of his life." The most powerful man in the nation is to be, above all, a lifelong student of God's word — copying it by his own hand and reading it daily, "that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren." Authority is safe only when it bows to Scripture; the throne is meant to kneel to the Book.
Explanation
The most striking royal duty is the last. Once he took the throne, the king was to "write him a copy of this law in a book," copying it out by his own hand from the priests' scroll. And this copy was to stay "with him," and he was to "read therein all the days of his life." The purpose was spelled out: "that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law." Daily reading was to keep his heart humble, "that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren," and keep him from turning aside "to the right hand, or to the left." The king with the most power in the land was to be the most diligent student of God's Word, and to rule under it, not over it.
Gospel Focus
Here is a portrait of leadership that turns the world's idea of a king upside down. The greatest man in Israel was to bow lowest before the Word of God, copying it out himself and reading it every day, so that power would never make him proud or lawless. The Book was to master the king, not the king the Book. This is the mark of every leader God honors: not one who stands above the Word, but one who lives beneath it. What God asked of the king, He asks of all who love Him, to delight in His Word and meditate in it continually, for the blessed man is the one whose "delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night" (Psalm 1:2). And the ideal king who perfectly kept God's law, humble, obedient, never turning aside, was never fully found in Israel's flawed kings; he is found at last in Jesus, the true King, who loved the Father's word and did always the things that pleased Him. Whatever place of leadership you hold, take the low place under the Word: read it, keep it, and let it rule your heart every day of your life.
Chapter 17 in Review
Deuteronomy 17 protects justice and shapes kingship. No serious charge could stand on a single accuser, but only "at the mouth of two witnesses, or three," and the hardest cases were sent to God's appointed judges. Then, looking ahead to the day Israel would ask for a king, God set limits no earthly ruler places on himself: the king must not multiply horses, wives, or gold, and above all he was to write out God's law and read it "all the days of his life," ruling humbly under the Word.
For the Apostolic reader, the chapter still speaks. God guards truth and protects the innocent, requiring that every word be established by two or three witnesses, a rule Jesus and Paul carried into the church. And the law of the king teaches leadership God's way: not trusting in might, appetite, or wealth, but staying humble beneath the Word. What no earthly king kept perfectly, Jesus fulfilled, the true King who lived in perfect obedience to the Father. Weigh every charge by real evidence, hold whatever authority you have with humility, and let God's Word rule your heart every day.
- No one is condemned on one voice; "at the mouth of two witnesses, or three" (17:6; 2 Corinthians 13:1).
- Jesus and Paul carried this rule into the church for weighing charges (Matthew 18:16).
- The king must not trust in horses, wives, or wealth, the snares of power (17:16-17; 1 Timothy 6:10).
- The king was to write out and read God's law all his days, ruling under the Word (17:18-19; Psalm 1:2).
- The true King who perfectly kept God's law is Jesus, humble and obedient to the Father.
Questions for Reflection
- Do you weigh accusations carefully, or believe and repeat reports on a single voice?
- In any place of authority you hold, do you trust in your resources or in God?
- Do you read and live under God's Word daily, as the king was commanded to do?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew terms are standard and can be checked in any Hebrew lexicon. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Justice by two or three witnesses: Deuteronomy 17:2-7; Matthew 18:16; 2 Corinthians 13:1.
- The king not to multiply horses, wives, or gold: Deuteronomy 17:14-17; 1 Timothy 6:10.
- The king under the Word, and the true King Jesus: Deuteronomy 17:18-20; Psalm 1:2.