In Deut. 21: 18–21, the case is supposed of a son incurably stubborn, rebellious, gluttonous, and drunken, upon whom parental chastisement is unavailing. The law very considerately provides that his father and his mother shall lay hold of him and bring him before the elders of his city unto its gates (_i. e._ into open court), and there, as a public example and warning, the men of his city shall stone him with stones that he die:――“So shalt thou put evil away from you and all Israel shall hear and fear.”――――Parental love and partiality would guaranty this law against abuse. It is pleasant to note that no case of its execution is on record. Perhaps the severity of the law forestalled its violation.――――The spirit of this precept is so fully in harmony with the book of Proverbs that we naturally expect to find it there. (See Prov. 20: 20 and 30: 11, 17.) A precept forbidding insult and reproach of magistrates stands in Ex. 22: 28: “Thou shalt not revile the gods [Elohim used probably in the sense of _judges_], nor curse the ruler of thy people.” The word “gods” here can not refer to false gods, idols (as the English reader might suppose), for the Hebrew word can not bear that sense, nor would it be pertinent. The parallelism with “ruler of thy people” favors the sense above suggested――_judges_――acting under God and in his behalf before the people. Their sacred office under God is assumed to be good reason for treating them with respect and against offering them insult.――――No penalty is attached to the violation of this law――perhaps because the penalty ought to depend so much upon the aggravation of the offense.――――Under the kings, it was apparently a capital crime, for when Shimei cursed king David (2 Sam. 19: 21–23) Abishai assumed that he ought to die; and his temporary pardon was manifestly due to David’s sad consciousness of deep personal ill-desert and of God’s righteous visitations upon him. III. _Crimes against Person and Life_; (Violations of the Sixth Command). Under this head the salient and vital points are: 1. That the _real murderer must be put to death_, and no “satisfaction” be ever taken in place of his life. 2. That the law discriminated with the utmost care and wisdom between real murder, and homicide, more or less justifiable. [Special laws touching injuries done to servants will be treated under the head of Hebrew servitude.] 3. A special law provided cities of refuge. 4. Another special law met the case of murder by unknown hands. 5. Inexcusable carelessness causing injury or death was punished. 6. Personal injuries not fatal were specially punished by statute.