19:16-18
God knew full well that there would be times when there was a malicious witness, i.e. a “witness” seeking only to get at the “accused”, rather than to help establish the truth. This matter was to be treated most seriously. If there was a case of perjury, deliberately giving false information in order to seek to damage someone, and the false witness was found to be so, then he was to suffer the same fate that he was seeking to inflict on the “accused”.
19:19-21
False witness was an evil that needed to be purged from society. Falsehood is a pernicious evil that corrupts society, and makes it impossible for society to function properly. Part of the purpose of the punishment was to serve as a warning for others. When societies do not deal with crimes properly, it causes great harm, as we experience in our own society.
This is the third mention of an “eye for eye, tooth for tooth etc” principle, others are in Ex 21:22-25 and Lev 24:17-22. It is essential that justice is seen to be done.
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