Deuteronomy 24:6

Deuteronomy 24:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge: for he taketh a man’s life to pledge.
• New International Version (NIV)Do not take a pair of millstones—not even the upper one—as security for a debt, because that would be taking a person’s livelihood as security.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"No one shall take a mill or an upper millstone in pledge, for that would be taking a life in pledge.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“No man shall take the lower or the upper millstone in pledge, for he takes one’s living in pledge.

Context of Deuteronomy 24:6

4then the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination to the LORD. You must not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. 5If a man is newly married, he must not be sent to war or be pressed into any duty. For one year he is free to stay at home and bring joy to the wife he has married. Do not take a pair of millstones or even an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that would be taking one’s livelihood as security. 7If a man is caught kidnapping one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. So you must purge the evil from among you. 8In cases of infectious skin diseases, be careful to diligently follow everything the Levitical priests instruct you. Be careful to do as I have commanded them.

Deuteronomy 24:6 word by word

לֹא־יַחֲבֹ֥ל רֵחַ֖יִם וָרָ֑כֶב כִּי־נֶ֖פֶשׁ ה֥וּא חֹבֵֽל׃ סRead the interlinear

• Do notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• take a pair of millstonesרֵחֶהrêcheh · millstoneH7347
• or even an upper millstoneרֶ֫כֶבrekeb · chariot: millstoneH7393
• as security for a debtחָבַלchâbal · to pledgeH2254
• becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• that would beהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• taking one’s livelihoodנֶ֫פֶשׁnephesh · soul: lifeH5315

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 24:6

• Exodus 22:26If you take your neighbor’s cloak as collateral, return it to him by sunset,
• Revelation 18:22And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again.
• Deuteronomy 20:19When you lay siege to a city for an extended time while fighting against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their fruit. You must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human, that you should besiege them?
• Genesis 44:30So if the boy is not with us when I return to your servant, and if my father, whose life is wrapped up in the boy’s life,
• Luke 12:15And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 24:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6The nether or the upper mill-stone - Small hand-mills which can be worked by a single person were formerly in use among the Jews, and are still used in many parts of the East. As therefore the day's meal was generally ground for each day, they keeping no stock beforehand, hence they were forbidden to take either of the stones to pledge, because in such a case the family must be without bread. On this account the text terms the millstone the man's life.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Compare Exodus 22:25-26.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-13Verses 5-13 It is of great consequence that love be kept up between husband and wife; that they carefully avoid every thing which might make them strange one to another. Man-stealing was a capital crime, which could not be settled, as other thefts, by restitution. The laws concerning leprosy must be carefully observed. Thus all who feel their consciences under guilt and wrath, must not cover it, or endeavour to shake off their convictions; but by…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6that would be taking one’s livelihood (literally it is his life): Without his tool, the millstone owner might die. The law set a limit on what could secure a loan. The millstone probably represents any way a person earned a living.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. No man shall take the nether or the upper millstone to pledge--The "upper" stone being concave, covers the "nether" like a lid; and it has a small aperture, through which the corn is poured, as well as a handle by which it is turned. The propriety of the law was founded on the custom of grinding corn every morning for daily consumption. If either of the stones, therefore, which composed the handmill was wanting, a person would be deprived of his…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 24:6

• Creditor
• Debt
• Lending
• Mill
• Millstone

In the dictionaries

• Divorcement
• Former
• Grind
• Mill
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism
• Debt; Debtor
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Leviticus

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 24

• 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
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings