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 must bring her into your home. She must cut the hair off her head. She must cut her fingernails. 13She must change the clothes that she was wearing when you found her. Let her live in your house and weep for her parents for a whole month. Then you may have sex with her. You will be her husband and she will be your wife. Later, you may not be pleased with her. If so, you must let her go wherever she wants. You must never sell her or make her become a slave. You must not do that, because you have made her have sex with you, as your wife. 15A man may have two wives, but he may love only one of them. Each wife may give birth to a son. The firstborn son may be the son of the wife that he does not love. 16But when the man shares his things with his children, he must promise this: After his death, the firstborn son will receive what he should have. The man may not choose to give the double share of his things to the son of the wife that he loves.

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 21:7Perhaps a man may sell his daughter to someone as a slave. She is not free to leave her master after six years, as the male slaves are.
• Deuteronomy 22:19They must make the man pay 100 pieces of silver to the young woman's father. The man has told lies. He has accused a pure Israelite girl to say that she is bad. After that, she will continue to be his wife. He may never send her away as long as he lives.
• Genesis 34:2Hamor the Hivite ruled that region. When his son, Shechem, saw Dinah, he took hold of her. Dinah could not get free and Shechem had sex with her.
• Judges 19:24Look! Here is my daughter. She has never had sex with anyone before. Here is my visitor's slave wife too. I will bring them outside to you. Then you can do whatever cruel things you want to do to them. But do not do such a terrible thing to 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