8:17

Even in your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid: This clause indicates that Moses’ law required at least two witnesses to prove a charge (accusation). See Deuteronomy 19:15. One witness was not sufficient to prove that someone was guilty.

Even in your own Law it is written: In some languages it may be natural to make your own Law the subject of the clause. For example:

Your own law says that (New Century Version)
-or-
Your law requires (Contemporary English Version)

in your own Law: The phrase your own Law refers to the Jewish law, the law of Moses. The pronoun your is emphasized, and you may want to emphasize the word in your translation.

it is written: This phrase introduces a quotation from the Old Testament. It implies that the following statement has authority. All Jews agreed that what was written in Scripture had authority.

the testimony of two men is valid: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as valid is more literally “true,” as in 8:13b and 8:14a. This clause indicates that when two people agree about something in their testimony, it should be accepted. That means that people should believe that it is true and reliable. One witness was not sufficient. The testimony of one person might be true, but it was not accepted as legal proof. Here are other ways to translate this clause:

the witness of two people is reliable
-or-
if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
when two witnesses say the same thing, you must accept what they say (New Century Version)

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