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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.”
• 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.’

Context of Deuteronomy 17:16

14When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein; and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are round about me; 15thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the LORD thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not put a foreigner over thee, which is not thy brother. Only 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. 17Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. 18And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

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

• Onlyרַקraq · exceptH7535
• notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• multiplyרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235
• horsesסוּסsûs sûs · horseH5483
• causeשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• moreעוֹד‛ôd ‛ôd · stillH5750
• wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: roadH1870

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 17:16

• 1 Samuel 8:11And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them unto him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots:
• 2 Samuel 8:4And David took from him a thousand and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen: and David houghed all the chariot horses, but reserved of them for an hundred chariots.
• 1 Kings 1:5Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him.
• 1 Kings 4:26And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.
• 1 Kings 10:26And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
• 2 Chronicles 9:25And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem.
• Psalms 20:7Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will make mention of the name of the LORD our God.
• Isaiah 36:8Now therefore, I pray thee, give pledges to my master the king of Assyria, and I will give thee two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy part to set riders upon them.
• Hosea 14:3Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
• Isaiah 31:1Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help, and stay on horses; and trust in chariots, because they are many, and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD!
• Jeremiah 42:14saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell:
• Ezekiel 17:15But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? shall he break the covenant, and yet escape?
• Deuteronomy 28:68And the LORD shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I said unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall sell yourselves unto your enemies for bondmen and for bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
• Exodus 13:17And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
• Exodus 14:13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
• Numbers 14:3And wherefore doth the LORD bring us unto this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones shall be a prey: were it not better for us to return into 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
• Army
• Horse
• Mouth
• Atonement, Day of
• Chariot
• Conversion
• Criticism
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis

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