New English Translation
Deuteronomy 23:17
17There must never be a sacred prostitute among the young women of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute among the young men of Israel.
Deuteronomy 23:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.
- New International Version (NIV)No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"None of the daughters of Israel shall be a cult prostitute, and none of the sons of Israel shall be a cult prostitute.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“There shall be no ritual harlot of the daughters of Israel, or a perverted one of the sons of Israel.
Context of Deuteronomy 23:17
15You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you. 16Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages he prefers; you must not oppress him. There must never be a sacred prostitute among the young women of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute among the young men of Israel. 18You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God. 19You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite, whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest.
Read all of Deuteronomy 23Deuteronomy 23:17 word by word
לֹא־תִהְיֶ֥ה קְדֵשָׁ֖ה מִבְּנ֣וֹת יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְלֹֽא־יִהְיֶ֥ה קָדֵ֖שׁ מִבְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 23:17
- Deuteronomy 22:21the men of her city must bring the young woman to the door of her father’s house and stone her to death, for she has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by behaving like a prostitute while living in her father’s house. In this way you will purge evil from among you.
- Leviticus 19:29Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness.
- Proverbs 2:16to deliver you from the adulteress, from the sexually loose woman who speaks flattering words;
- Romans 1:26For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones,
- Genesis 19:4Before they could lie down to sleep, all the men – both young and old, from every part of the city of Sodom – surrounded the house.
- Judges 19:22They were having a good time, when suddenly some men of the city, some good-for-nothings, surrounded the house and kept beating on the door. They said to the old man who owned the house, “Send out the man who came to visit you so we can have sex with him.”
- 1 Kings 14:24There were also male cultic prostitutes in the land. They committed the same horrible sins as the nations that the Lord had driven out from before the Israelites.
- 1 Kings 15:12He removed the male cultic prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the disgusting idols his ancestors had made.
- 1 Kings 22:46He removed from the land any male cultic prostitutes who had managed to survive the reign of his father Asa.
- 2 Kings 23:7He tore down the quarters of the male cultic prostitutes in the Lord’s temple, where women were weaving shrines for Asherah.
- Romans 1:27and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
- 1 Corinthians 6:9Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! The sexually immoral, idolaters, adulterers, passive homosexual partners, practicing homosexuals,
- 1 Timothy 1:10sexually immoral people, practicing homosexuals, kidnappers, liars, perjurers – in fact, for any who live contrary to sound teaching.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 23:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17There shall be no whore - See on Genesis 38:15-21; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Compare the marginal reference. Prostitution was a common part of religious observances among idolatrous nations, especially in the worship of Ashtoreth or Astarte. Compare Micah 1:7; Baruch 6:43.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 15-25Verses 15-25 It is honourable to shelter and protect the weak, provided they are not wicked. Proselytes and converts to the truth, should be treated with particular tenderness, that they may have no temptation to return to the world. We cannot honour God with our substance, unless it be honestly and honourably come by. It must not only be considered what we give, but how we got it. Where the borrower gets, or hopes to get, it is just that the lender…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17A temple prostitute was commonly a part of Canaanite religious ceremonies, but they were forbidden in Israel.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-251-3. He that is wounded ..., shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord--"To enter into the congregation of the Lord" means either admission to public honors and offices in the Church and State of Israel, or, in the case of foreigners, incorporation with that nation by marriage. The rule was that strangers and foreigners, for fear of friendship or marriage connections with them leading the people into idolatry, were not admissible till their…Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 23:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 23
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries