Deuteronomy 22:21 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 22:21 mean?

Deuteronomy 22:21 gives the prescribed punishment for a young woman in an ancient Israelite legal case concerning a husband’s accusation about her sexual conduct before marriage. The verse treats the alleged conduct as a serious offense against the community and orders death by stoning.

Following the finding in verse 20, the woman is brought to the door of her father’s house. That location connects the charge to the household where she lived before marriage. The men of her city carry out the sentence, making the punishment a public community action.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 22:21

• “folly” — נְבָלָה (nevalah): This word can mean an outrage or a deeply disgraceful act. Here it describes conduct considered seriously wrong within Israel, rather than a merely foolish mistake.
• “put evil away” — בָּעַר (baʿar): This word can carry the sense of removing or clearing away. The phrase presents the punishment as a way of removing what the law calls evil from the community.

Why Deuteronomy 22:21 matters

• The verse belongs to a specific accusation, not a general instruction about every young woman. In verses 13–20, a husband charges that his wife was not a virgin when they married, and her parents present evidence to the city elders.
• The preceding passage also provides for a husband’s accusation to be rejected. In verses 17–19, if the parents’ evidence is accepted, the husband is punished for bringing a false accusation and must remain married to his wife.
• “To play the whore” is the KJV’s harsh wording for the sexual conduct alleged in this case. The phrase “in her father’s house” places that conduct before her marriage, while she belonged to her father’s household.