New International Version
Deuteronomy 23:15
15If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master.
Deuteronomy 23:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You shall not give up to his master a slave who has escaped from his master to you.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you.
- New Living Translation (NLT)“If slaves should escape from their masters and take refuge with you, you must not hand them over to their masters.
Context of Deuteronomy 23:15
13As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. 14For the Lord your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. If a slave has taken refuge with you, do not hand them over to their master. 16Let them live among you wherever they like and in whatever town they choose. Do not oppress them. 17No Israelite man or woman is to become a shrine prostitute.
Read all of Deuteronomy 23Deuteronomy 23:15 word by word
לֹא־תַסְגִּ֥יר עֶ֖בֶד אֶל־אֲדֹנָ֑יו אֲשֶׁר־יִנָּצֵ֥ל אֵלֶ֖יךָ מֵעִ֥ם אֲדֹנָֽיו׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 23:15
- 1 Samuel 30:15David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?” He answered, “Swear to me before God that you will not kill me or hand me over to my master, and I will take you down to them.”
- Obadiah 1:14You should not wait at the crossroads to cut down their fugitives, nor hand over their survivors in the day of their trouble.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 23:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Thou shalt not deliver - the servant which is escaped - unto thee - That is, a servant who left an idolatrous master that he might join himself to God and to his people. In any other case, it would have been injustice to have harboured the runaway.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15The case in question is that of a slave who fled from a pagan master to the holy land. It is of course assumed that the refugee was not flying from justice, but only from the tyranny of his lord.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
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 15-1615-16. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which has escaped from his master unto thee--evidently a servant of the Canaanites or some of the neighboring people, who was driven by tyrannical oppression, or induced, with a view of embracing the true religion, to take refuge in Israel.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 23:15
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 International Version — © NIV® 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica
Commentaries