Discovery BoxDeuteronomy 19:17 
Context19:17 then both parties to the controversy must stand before the Lord, that is, before the priests and judges 1 who will be in office in those days.
Deuteronomy 25:1
Context25:1 If controversy arises between people, 2 they should go to court for judgment. When the judges 3 hear the case, they shall exonerate 4 the innocent but condemn 5 the guilty.
Deuteronomy 17:8
Context17:8 If a matter is too difficult for you to judge – bloodshed, 6 legal claim, 7 or assault 8 – matters of controversy in your villages 9 – you must leave there and go up to the place the Lord your God chooses. 10
1 tn The appositional construction (“before the
2 tn Heb “men.”
3 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the judges) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
4 tn Heb “declare to be just”; KJV, NASB “justify the righteous”; NAB, NIV “acquitting the innocent.”
5 tn Heb “declare to be evil”; NIV “condemning the guilty (+ party NAB).”
6 tn Heb “between blood and blood.”
7 tn Heb “between claim and claim.”
8 tn Heb “between blow and blow.”
9 tn Heb “gates.”
10 tc Several Greek recensions add “to place his name there,” thus completing the usual formula to describe the central sanctuary (cf. Deut 12:5, 11, 14, 18; 16:6). However, the context suggests that the local Levitical towns, and not the central sanctuary, are in mind.
