Numbers 36:6

Contemporary English Version

I will allow Zelophehad's daughters to marry anyone, as long as those men belong to one of the clans of the Manasseh tribe.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
This is the thing which the LORD does command concerning the daughters of Tzelohchad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.

King James Version
This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.

Lexham English Bible
This is the word that Yahweh commanded the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry whomever they like; only they must marry from within the clan of the tribe of their father.

English Standard Version
This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father.

New Century Version
This is the Lord 's command to Zelophehad's daughters: You may marry anyone you wish, as long as the person is from your own tribe.

New English Translation
This is what the Lord has commanded for Zelophehad's daughters: ‘Let them marry whomever they think best, only they must marry within the family of their father's tribe.

Amplified Bible
"This is what the LORD commands regarding the daughters of Zelophehad: 'Let them marry whom they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.'

New American Standard Bible
"This is what the LORD has commanded regarding the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, 'Let them marry whomever they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.'

Geneva Bible (1587)
This is the thing that the Lorde hath commaunded, concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, They shall be wiues, to whome they thinke best, onely to the familie of the tribe of their father shall they marry:

Legacy Standard Bible
This is what Yahweh has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry whoever is good in their sight; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.'

Complete Jewish Bible
Here is what Adonai has ordered concerning the daughters of Tz'lof'chad: ‘Let them be married to whomever they think best, but they must marry only into a family from their father's tribe.

Darby Translation
This is the thing which Jehovah hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry whom they please; only they shall marry one of the tribe of their father,

Easy-to-Read Version
This is the Lord 's command to Zelophehad's daughters: If you want to marry someone, you must marry someone from your own tribe.

George Lamsa Translation
This is the thing which the LORD has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying. Let them marry whom they think best; but only within the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry,

Good News Translation
and so the Lord says that the daughters of Zelophehad are free to marry anyone they wish but only within their own tribe.

Christian Standard Bible®
This is what the Lord has commanded concerning Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they like provided they marry within a clan of their ancestral tribe.

Literal Translation
This is the thing which Jehovah has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be wives to those good in their eyes, only let them be for wives to the family of the tribe of their father,

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
This is it that ye LORDE commaundeth the doughters of Zelaphead, and sayeth: Let them mary as they like best, onely that they mary in ye kynred of the trybe of their father,

American Standard Version
This is the thing which Jehovah doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.

Bible in Basic English
This is the order of the Lord about the daughters of Zelophehad: The Lord says, Let them take as their husbands whoever is most pleasing to them, but only among the family of their father's tribe.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
This therefore doth the Lorde commaunde the daughters of Zelaphead, saying: Let them be wyues, to whom they them selues thinke best: only to the familie of the tribe of their father shall they marry.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying: Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.

King James Version (1611)
This is the thing which the Lord doeth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they thinke best: onely to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
This is the thing which the Lord has appointed the daughters of Salpaad, saying, Let them marry where they please, only let them marry men of their father’s tribe.

English Revised Version
This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.

Berean Standard Bible
This is what the LORD has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: They may marry anyone they please, provided they marry within a clan of the tribe of their father.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and this lawe is denounsid of the Lord on the douytris of Salphaat; be thei weddid to whiche men thei wolen, oneli to the men of her lynage;

Young's Literal Translation
this [is] the thing which Jehovah hath commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, To those good in their eyes let them be for wives; only, to a family of the tribe of their fathers let them be for wives;

Update Bible Version
This is the thing which Yahweh commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; they shall be married only into the family of the tribe of their father.

Webster's Bible Translation
This [is] the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.

World English Bible
This is the thing which Yahweh does command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them be married to whom they think best; only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they be married.

New King James Version
This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, "Let them marry whom they think best, but they may marry only within the family of their father's tribe.'

New Living Translation
This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe.

New Life Bible
This is what the Lord has said about the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best. Only they must marry within the family group of their father.'

New Revised Standard
This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, ‘Let them marry whom they think best; only it must be into a clan of their father's tribe that they are married,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
This, is the thing which Yahweh hath commanded, as to the daughters of Zelophehad saying: Unto whomsoever it may be good in their eyes, let them become wives, - save only unto the family of the tribe of their father, let them become wives.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And this is the law promulgated by the Lord touching the daughters of Salphaad: Let them marry to whom they will, only so that it be to men of their own tribe.

Revised Standard Version
This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zeloph'ehad, 'Let them marry whom they think best; only, they shall marry within the family of the tribe of their father.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"This is what the LORD has commanded concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, 'Let them marry whom they wish; only they must marry within the family of the tribe of their father.'

Contextual Overview

⁵ So Moses told the people that the Lord had said: These men from the Manasseh tribe are right. ⁶ I will allow Zelophehad's daughters to marry anyone, as long as those men belong to one of the clans of the Manasseh tribe. ⁷ Tribal land must not be given to another tribe—it will remain the property of the tribe that received it. ⁸In the future, any daughter who inherits land must marry someone from her own tribe. Israel's tribal land is never to be passed from one tribe to another. ¹⁰Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah the daughters of Zelophehad obeyed the Lord and married their uncles' sons ¹² and remained part of the Manasseh tribe. So their land stayed in their father's clan. ¹³ These are the laws that the Lord gave to Moses and the Israelites while they were camped in the lowlands of Moab across the Jordan River from Jericho.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

marry: Heb. be wives

only to the family: Numbers 36:12, Genesis 24:3, Genesis 24:57, Genesis 24:58, 2 Corinthians 6:14

Reciprocal: Exodus 18:16 - make Leviticus 24:12 - that the mind of the Lord might be showed them 1 Chronicles 23:22 - took them

Cross-References

Genesis 13:6
At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the same area, and so there wasn't enough pastureland left for Abram and Lot with all of their animals. Besides this, the men who took care of Abram's animals and the ones who took care of Lot's animals started quarreling.

Genesis 13:11
So Lot chose the whole Jordan Valley for himself, and as he started toward the east, he and Abram separated.

Genesis 17:8
I will give you and them the land in which you are now a foreigner. I will give the whole land of Canaan to your family forever, and I will be their God.

Genesis 25:23
and he told her: "Your two sons will become two separate nations. The younger of the two will be stronger, and the older son will be his servant."

Genesis 28:4
May he bless you with the land he gave Abraham, so that you will take over this land where we now live as foreigners.

Genesis 32:3
Jacob sent messengers on ahead to Esau, who lived in the land of Seir, also known as Edom.

Ezekiel 27:13
The people of Greece, Tubal, and Meshech traded slaves and things made of bronze,

Revelation 18:13
No one will buy their cinnamon, spices, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, chariots, slaves, and other humans.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

This is the thing which the Lord doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad,.... Concerning this affair relative to them; the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases the words,

"not for the generations that rise up after the division of the land, but for the daughters of Zelophehad;''

as if this order only respected them, or what might happen before the land was divided, but not after; and this is the general opinion of the Jewish writers; but it seems, that as the following law not only concerns them, but all heiresses, so all such after as well as before the division of the land, since the reason of it holds good after as before:

saying, let them marry to whom they think best; whom they like best, who are most acceptable to them; as it was reasonable they should, and not have such forced upon them, whose persons were disagreeable to them:

only into the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry; they were to marry not only such as were of the tribe of Manasseh, but of their father's family in that tribe; they could only marry into the family of the Hepherites; see Numbers 26:32.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The daughters of Zelophehad had obtained an ordinance Numbers 28:6-11 which permitted the daughters of an Israelite dying without male issue to inherit their father’s property. The chiefs of the Machirites, of whom Zelophehad had been one, now obtain a supplemental enactment, directing that heiresses should marry within their own tribe.

Numbers 36:4

Be taken away - i. e. be permanently taken away. The jubilee year, by not restoring the estate to the tribe to which it originally belonged, would in effect confirm the alienation.

Numbers 36:11

Unto their father’s brothers’ sons - Or more generally, “unto the sons of their kinsmen.”

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 36:6. Let them marry to whom they think best — Here was latitude sufficient, and yet a salutary and reasonable restraint, which prevented a vexatious mixture of property and possession.