Deuteronomy 21:14

Bible in Basic English

But if you have no delight in her, you are to let her go wherever she will; you may not take a price for her as if she was your property, for you have made use of her for your pleasure.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then if you are not satisfied with her, you are to let her go where she wants, but you must not sell her or treat her as merchandise, because you have humiliated her.

Hebrew Names Version
It shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she will; but you shall not sell her at all for money, you shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.

King James Version
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.

Lexham English Bible
And then if you do not take delight in her, then you shall let her go to do whatever she wants, but you shall not treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

English Standard Version
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 Century Version
But if you are not pleased with her, you must let her go anywhere she wants. You must not sell her for money or make her a slave, because you have taken away her honor.

New English Translation
If you are not pleased with her, then you must let her go where she pleases. You cannot in any case sell her; you must not take advantage of her, since you have already humiliated her.

Amplified Bible
"But it shall be that if you have no delight and take no pleasure in her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes. You certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not deal with her as a slave or mistreat her, because you have humbled her [by forced marriage].

New American Standard Bible
"But it shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; and you certainly shall not sell her for money, you shall not treat her as merchandise, since you have humiliated her.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And if thou haue no fauour vnto her, then thou mayest let her go whither she will, but thou shalt not sell her for money, nor make marchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

Legacy Standard Bible
And it will be that, if you do not desire her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; but you shall certainly not sell her for money; you shall not mistreat her because you have humbled her.

Contemporary English Version
Later on, if you are not happy with the woman, you can divorce her, and she can go free. But you have slept with her as your wife, so you cannot sell her as a slave or make her into your own slave.

Complete Jewish Bible
In the event that you lose interest in her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes; but you may not sell her for money or treat her like a slave, because you humiliated her.

Darby Translation
And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go according to her desire; but thou shalt in no wise sell her for money; thou shalt not treat her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.

Easy-to-Read Version
If you are not pleased with her and choose to divorce her, set her free. You cannot sell her. You had sexual relations with her, so you must not treat her like a slave.

George Lamsa Translation
And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she will; but you shall not sell her at all for money; you shall not make a harlot of her, for sake of a gain, because you have humbled her.

Good News Translation
Later, if you no longer want her, you are to let her go free. Since you forced her to have intercourse with you, you cannot treat her as a slave and sell her.

Literal Translation
And it shall be, if you do not delight in her, you shall send her away at her desire; and you shall not at all sell her for silver; you shall not treat her as a slave, because you have humbled her.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But yf thou haue no fauoure vnto her, then shalt thou let her go whither she wyll, and not to sell her, ner to make cheuesaunce of her, because thou hast dishonoured her.

American Standard Version
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 deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And if thou haue no fauour vnto her, then let her go whither she lusteth, and sell her not for money, nor make marchaundize of her, because thou hast humbled her.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
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 deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.

King James Version (1611)
And it shall be if thou haue no delight in her, then thou shalt let her goe whither she will, but thou shalt not sell her at al for money, thou shalt not make merchandize of her, because thou hast humbled her.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And it shall be if thou do not delight in her, thou shalt send her out free; and she shall not by any means be sold for money, thou shalt not treat her contemptuously, because thou hast humbled her.

English Revised Version
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 deal with her as a slave, because thou hast humbled her.

Berean Standard Bible
And if you are not pleased with her, you are to let her go wherever she wishes. But you must not sell her for money or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But if aftirward sche sittith not in thi soule, `that is, plesith not thi wille, thou schalt delyuere hir fre, nethir thou schalt mowe sille hir for money, nether oppresse bi power, for thou `madist hir lowe.

Young's Literal Translation
`And it hath been -- if thou hast not delighted in her, that thou hast sent her away at her desire, and thou dost not at all sell her for money; thou dost not tyrannize over her, because that thou hast humbled her.

Update Bible Version
And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she will; but you shall not sell her at all for money, you shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it shall be, if thou shalt 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.

World English Bible
It shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall let her go where she will; but you shall not sell her at all for money, you shall not deal with her as a slave, because you have humbled her.

New King James Version
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.

New Living Translation
But if you marry her and she does not please you, you must let her go free. You may not sell her or treat her as a slave, for you have humiliated her.

New Life Bible
If you are not pleased with her, you should let her go wherever she wants. But do not sell her for money or act as if she were a servant because you have put her to shame.

New Revised Standard
But if you are not satisfied with her, you shall let her go free and not sell her for money. You must not treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And it shall be, if thou hast no pleasure in her, then shalt thou let her go whither she will but thou shalt not sell, her for silver, - thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But if afterwards she please thee not, thou shalt let her go free, but thou mayst not sell her for money nor oppress her by might because thou hast humbled her.

Revised Standard Version
Then, if you have no delight in her, you shall let her go where she will; but you shall not sell her for money, you shall not treat her as a slave, since you have humiliated her.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"It shall be, if you are not pleased with her, then you shall let her go wherever she wishes; but you shall certainly not sell her for money, you shall not mistreat her, because you have humbled her.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ When you go out to war against other nations, and the Lord your God gives them up into your hands and you take them as prisoners; ¹¹ If among the prisoners you see a beautiful woman and it is your desire to make her your wife; ¹² Then take her back to your house; and let her hair and her nails be cut; ¹³ And let her take off the dress in which she was made prisoner and go on living in your house and weeping for her father and mother for a full month: and after that you may go in to her and be her husband and she will be your wife. ¹⁴ But if you have no delight in her, you are to let her go wherever she will; you may not take a price for her as if she was your property, for you have made use of her for your pleasure.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thou shalt: Exodus 21:7-11

because thou: Deuteronomy 22:19, Deuteronomy 22:24, Deuteronomy 22:29, Genesis 34:2, Judges 19:24

Reciprocal: Esther 2:14 - delighted

Cross-References

Genesis 16:7
And an angel of the Lord came to her by a fountain of water in the waste land, by the fountain on the way to Shur.

Genesis 19:27
And Abraham got up early in the morning and went to the place where he had been talking with the Lord:

Genesis 21:6
And Sarah said, God has given me cause for laughing, and everyone who has news of it will be laughing with me.

Genesis 21:7
And she said, Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would have a child at her breast? for see, I have given him a son now when he is old.

Genesis 21:23
Now, then, give me your oath, in the name of God, that you will not be false to me or to my sons after me, but that as I have been good to you, so you will be to me and to this land where you have been living.

Genesis 21:25
But Abraham made a protest to Abimelech because of a water-hole which Abimelech's servants had taken by force.

Genesis 21:31
So he gave that place the name Beer-sheba, because there the two of them had given their oaths.

Genesis 21:33
And Abraham, after planting a holy tree in Beer-sheba, gave worship to the name of the Lord, the Eternal God.

Genesis 22:3
And Abraham got up early in the morning, and made ready his ass, and took with him two of his young men and Isaac, his son, and after the wood for the burned offering had been cut, he went on his way to the place of which God had given him word.

Genesis 22:19
Then Abraham went back to his young men and they went together to Beer-sheba, the place where Abraham was living.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her;.... Either some time after marriage:

then thou shalt let her go whither she will; by a bill of divorce, as the Targum of Jonathan, who understands it in this sense, and as the connection of the words seems to require; or else before marriage, at the month's end, or any time before, that if his affections cooled towards her, and all the above methods tended to abate his love of her, then he was obliged to dismiss her, or to grant her her freedom, and let her go wherever she pleased; she was no longer his captive, nor his servant:

but thou shalt not sell her at all for money; as he might have done if he had not made such a proposal to her, and obliged her to the observance of such rites and ceremonies as he did, in order to make her his wife:

thou shalt not make merchandise of her; which seems to express the same thing, and therefore something else is rather intended; as that he should neither make any gain of her by selling her to another, nor retain her in his own service, nor make use of her as a slave; so Jarchi says, that in the Persian language they call service by this word, and which also he says he learnt from an eminent writer of theirs, R. Moses Hadarsan; with which Maimonides s agrees, who explains it, shall make no use of her service, or serve himself by her; he should have no profit by her, either by sale, or servitude:

because thou hast humbled her; which phrase it must be owned is often, used of unlawful commerce with a woman, of defiling her, or violating her chastity; and so may seem to confirm the notion of those who think that he lay with her before he took her to his house, and therefore, upon a refusal to marry her afterwards, was obliged to this loss; though the word signifies any kind of affliction, as this was a very great one, a great mortification to her, to be taken into his house, to have her head shaved, and her nails pared, or suffered to grow, and her fine clothes changed for sordid ones; and all this with a profession of a design to marry her, and yet after all is deceived and disappointed by him; wherefore for such a conduct toward her he was obliged to give her her freedom.

s Ut supra. (Hilchot Melachim, c. 8. sect. 2.)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Thou shalt not make merchandise of her - Rather, thou shalt not constrain her: literally “treat her with constraint,” or “treat her as a slave.”