Deuteronomy 17:16

Deuteronomy 17:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.'
• New King James Version (NKJV)But he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again.’
• New Living Translation (NLT)“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’

Context of Deuteronomy 17:16

14When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15be sure to appoint over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. 18When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests.

Deuteronomy 17:16 word by word

רַק֮ לֹא־יַרְבֶּה־לּ֣וֹ סוּסִים֒ וְלֹֽא־יָשִׁ֤יב אֶת־הָעָם֙ מִצְרַ֔יְמָה לְמַ֖עַן הַרְבּ֣וֹת ס֑וּס וַֽיהוָה֙ אָמַ֣ר לָכֶ֔ם לֹ֣א תֹסִפ֗וּן לָשׁ֛וּב בַּדֶּ֥רֶךְ הַזֶּ֖ה עֽוֹד׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But he shall not multiplyרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• to himself, nor cause the peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• to returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• to Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• forasmuch as the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• hath saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• unto you, Ye shall henceforthיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254
• no more that wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 17:16

• 1 Samuel 8:11He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.
• 2 Samuel 8:4David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers and twenty thousand foot soldiers. He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.
• 1 Kings 1:5Now Adonijah, whose mother was Haggith, put himself forward and said, “I will be king.” So he got chariots and horses ready, with fifty men to run ahead of him.
• 1 Kings 4:26Solomon had four thousand stalls for chariot horses, and twelve thousand horses.
• 1 Kings 10:26Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
• 2 Chronicles 9:25Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem.
• Psalms 20:7Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
• Isaiah 36:8“ ‘Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!
• Hosea 14:3Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
• Isaiah 31:1Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in the multitude of their chariots and in the great strength of their horsemen, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel, or seek help from the Lord.
• Jeremiah 42:14and if you say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the trumpet or be hungry for bread,’
• Ezekiel 17:15But the king rebelled against him by sending his envoys to Egypt to get horses and a large army. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Will he break the treaty and yet escape?
• Deuteronomy 28:68The Lord will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.
• Exodus 13:17When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”
• Exodus 14:13Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
• Numbers 14:3Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 17:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16He shall not multiply horses - As horses appear to have been generally furnished by Egypt, God prohibits these, Lest there should be such commerce with Egypt as might lead to idolatry. Lest the people might depend on a well-appointed cavalry as a means of security, and so cease from trusting in the strength and protection of God. And, 3. That they might not be tempted to extend their dominion by means of cavalry, and so get scattered among the surrounding…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16The horse was not anciently used in the East for purposes of agriculture or traveling, but ordinarily for war only. He appears constantly in Scripture as the symbol and embodiment of fleshly strength and the might of the creature (compare Psalm 20:7; Psalm 33:16-17; Psalm 147:10; Job 39:19 ff), and is sometimes significantly spoken of simply as “the strong one” (compare Jeremiah 8:16). The spirit of the prohibition therefore is that the king of Israel…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-20Verses 14-20 God himself was in a particular manner Israel's King; and if they set another over them, it was necessary that he should choose the person. Accordingly, when the people desired a king, they applied to Samuel, a prophet of the Lord. In all cases, God's choice, if we can but know it, should direct, determine, and overrule ours. Laws are given for the prince that should be elected. He must carefully avoid every thing that would turn him from God…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16You are never to go back that way again: Going there would show that the king did not rely on God, who freed Israel from slavery in Egypt. The best horses came from Egypt (see 1 Kings 10:28–29).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. he shall not multiply horses to himself--The use of these animals was not absolutely prohibited, nor is there any reason to conclude that they might not be employed as part of the state equipage. But the multiplication of horses would inevitably lead to many evils, to increased intercourse with foreign nations, especially with Egypt, to the importation of an animal to which the character of the country was not suited, to the establishment of an…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 17:16

• Horse
• King
• Rulers
• Solomon

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Army
• Horse
• Mouth
• Atonement, Day of
• Chariot
• Conversion
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 17

• 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