Deuteronomy 21:14

Deuteronomy 21:14 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.
• New International Version (NIV)If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But if you no longer delight in her, you shall let her go where she wants. But you shall not sell her for money, nor shall you treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.
• New King James Version (NKJV)And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have humbled her.

Context of Deuteronomy 21:14

12then you shall bring her [home] to your house, and she shall shave her head and trim her nails [in preparation for mourning]. 13She shall take off the clothes of her captivity and remain in your house, and weep (mourn) for her father and her mother a full month. After that you may go in to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. But it shall be that if you have no delight and take no pleasure in her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes. You certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not deal with her as a slave or mistreat her, because you have humbled her [by forced marriage]. 15“If a man has two wives, one loved and the other unloved, and both the loved and the unloved have born him sons, and the firstborn son belongs to the unloved wife, 16then on the day when he wills his possessions to his sons, he cannot treat the son of his loved wife as firstborn in place of the son of the unloved wife—the [actual] firstborn.

Deuteronomy 21:14 word by word

וְהָיָ֞ה אִם־לֹ֧א חָפַ֣צְתָּ בָּ֗הּ וְשִׁלַּחְתָּהּ֙ לְנַפְשָׁ֔הּ וּמָכֹ֥ר לֹא־תִמְכְּרֶ֖נָּה בַּכָּ֑סֶף לֹא־תִתְעַמֵּ֣ר בָּ֔הּ תַּ֖חַת אֲשֶׁ֥ר עִנִּיתָֽהּ׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And it shall be, if thou have no delightחָפֵץchâphêts · to delight inH2654
• in her, then thou shalt let her goשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: let goH7971
• whither she willנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: appetiteH5315
• but thou shalt not sellמָכַרmâkar · to sellH4376
• for moneyכֶּ֫סֶףkeseph · silver: moneyH3701
• thou shalt not make merchandiseעָמַר‛âmar · deal tyrannicallyH6014
• of her, becauseאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• thou hast humbledעָנָה‛ânâh · to afflictH6031

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 21:14

• Exodus 21:7“If a man sells his daughter to be a female servant, she shall not go free [after six years] as male servants do.
• Deuteronomy 22:19and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give it to the father of the young woman, because he publicly defamed a virgin of Israel. And she shall remain his wife; he is not allowed to divorce her as long as he lives.
• Genesis 34:2When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince (sheik) of the land, saw her, he kidnapped her and lay [intimately] with her by force [humbling and offending her].
• Judges 19:24Here is my virgin daughter and this man’s concubine. I will bring them out now; abuse and humiliate them and do to them whatever you want, but do not commit this act of sacrilege against this man.”

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21:14

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Thou shalt not make merchandise of her - Rather, thou shalt not constrain her: literally “treat her with constraint,” or “treat her as a slave.”Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 10-14Verses 10-14 By this law a soldier was allowed to marry his captive, if he pleased. This might take place upon some occasions; but the law does not show any approval of it. It also intimates how binding the laws of justice and honour are in marriage; which is a sacred engagement.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14dishonored her: When a man first took a woman as a prisoner and later divorced her, he treated her as if she had little value. This action brought shame and pain to her. To protect her from further harm, the law limited what he could do. He was not allowed to sell her as a slave or treat her like property. Instead, he had to let her go free.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-2310-14. When thou goest to war ... and seest among the captives a beautiful woman ... that thou wouldest have her to thy wife--According to the war customs of all ancient nations, a female captive became the slave of the victor, who had the sole and unchallengeable control of right to her person. Moses improved this existing usage by special regulations on the subject. He enacted that, in the event that her master was captivated by her beauty and…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 21:14

• Concubinage
• Divorce
• Marriage
• Money
• Servant

In the dictionaries

• Concubine
• Controversy
• Crucifixion
• Divers
• Rebellious
• Wrought
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism
• Deuteronomy
• Exodus, the Book of

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings