Deuteronomy 21:5 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

The priests shall come near, both to direct them in all the circumstances of action and to see that the law was observed, and to bless them in God's name, by praying for them, and absolving or pronouncing them guiltless in this matter. Every controversy; not absolutely all manner of controversies that could possibly arise, as if their word were to determine whether there were a God or providence or no, whether God should be worshipped, and his commands observed, or no, whether Moses was a true prophet or an impostor, whether apostate and idolatrous Israelites should be punished or no, which is apparently absurd and ridiculous; but every such controversy as might arise about the matter here spoken of; nothing being more usual than to understand universal expressions in a limited sense; and indeed this is limited and explained by the following words, and every stroke, the particle and being put expositively, of which instances have been formerly given, i.e. every controversy which shall arise about any stroke, whether such a mortal stroke as is here spoken of, a murder, which may well be called a stroke, as to smite is oft used for to kill, as Genesis 4:15 Leviticus 24:17, &c., or any other stroke or wound given by one man to another.