Lectionary Calendar
Wednesday, July 16th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Read the Bible

Complete Jewish Bible

Deuteronomy 23:16

"If a slave has escaped from his master and taken refuge with you, you are not to hand him back to his master.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Fugitives;   Oppression;   Refugee Slaves;   Servant;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Servant;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Freedom;   Slave;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Work;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Slave;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Hospitality;   Slave/servant;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   Leviticus;   Slave, Slavery;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Best;   Courts, Judicial;   Like;   Slave;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Asenath;   Asylum;   Commandments, the 613;   Essenes;   Shekinah;   Sidra;   Slaves and Slavery;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Let him live among you wherever he wants within your city gates. Do not mistreat him.
Hebrew Names Version
he shall dwell with you, in the midst of you, in the place which he shall choose within one of your gates, where it pleases him best: you shall not oppress him.
King James Version
He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
Lexham English Bible
He shall reside with you in your midst in the place that he chooses in one of your towns wherever he pleases; you shall not oppress him.
English Standard Version
He shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place that he shall choose within one of your towns, wherever it suits him. You shall not wrong him.
New Century Version
Let the slave live with you anywhere he likes, in any town he chooses. Do not mistreat him.
New English Translation
Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages he prefers; you must not oppress him.
Amplified Bible
"He shall live among you, in the place he chooses in one of your cities where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat or oppress him.
New American Standard Bible
"He shall live with you in your midst, in the place that he chooses in one of your towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.
Geneva Bible (1587)
He shall dwell with thee, euen among you, in what place he shal chuse, in one of thy cities where it liketh him best: thou shalt not vexe him.
Legacy Standard Bible
He shall live with you in your midst, in the place which he shall choose in one of your gates of the towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.
Contemporary English Version
Instead, you must let them choose which one of your towns they want to live in. Don't be cruel to runaway slaves.
Darby Translation
he shall dwell with thee, even in thy midst, in the place that he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it seemeth good to him; thou shalt not oppress him.
Easy-to-Read Version
Runaway slaves may live with you wherever they like in whatever city they choose. You must not trouble them.
George Lamsa Translation
But he shall dwell with you in the place which he shall choose in one of your towns, where it pleases him best; you shall not oppress him.
Good News Translation
They may live in any of your towns that they choose, and you are not to treat them harshly.
Literal Translation
He shall live with you, among you, in the place which he chooses inside one of your gates, wherever it is good to him. You shall not oppress him.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He shall dwell with the in the place that he choseth within eny of thy gates, for his wealth, and thou shalt not vexe him.
American Standard Version
he shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
Bible in Basic English
Let him go on living among you in whatever place is most pleasing to him: do not be hard on him.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
He shall dwell with thee [euen] among you, in what place he hym selfe liketh best, in one of thy cities where it is good for hym, and thou shalt not vexe hym.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a bondman that is escaped from his master unto thee;
King James Version (1611)
He shall dwell with thee, euen among you, in that place which he shall choose, in one of thy gates where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppresse him.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
He shall dwell with thee, he shall dwell among you where he shall please; thou shalt not afflict him.
English Revised Version
he shall dwell with thee, in the midst of thee, in the place which he shall choose within one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
Berean Standard Bible
Let him live among you wherever he chooses, in the town of his pleasing. Do not oppress him.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
he schal dwelle with thee in the place that plesith hym, and he schal reste in oon of thi citees; and make thou not hym sori.
Young's Literal Translation
with thee he doth dwell, in thy midst, in the place which he chooseth within one of thy gates, where it is pleasing to him; thou dost not oppress him.
Update Bible Version
he shall dwell with you, in the midst of you, in the place which he shall choose inside one of your gates, where it pleases him best: you shall not oppress him.
Webster's Bible Translation
He shall dwell with thee, [even] among you in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates where it pleaseth him best: thou shalt not oppress him.
World English Bible
he shall dwell with you, in the midst of you, in the place which he shall choose within one of your gates, where it pleases him best: you shall not oppress him.
New King James Version
He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him.
New Living Translation
Let them live among you in any town they choose, and do not oppress them.
New Life Bible
Let him stay with you, in the place he chooses in one of your towns, where it pleases him. Do not make it hard for him.
New Revised Standard
They shall reside with you, in your midst, in any place they choose in any one of your towns, wherever they please; you shall not oppress them.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
with thee, shall he remain in thy midst, in the place which he shall choose in any of thy gates where it seemeth good to him, - thou shalt not oppress him.
Douay-Rheims Bible
He shall dwell with thee in the place that shall please him, and shall rest in one of thy cities: give him no trouble.
Revised Standard Version
he shall dwell with you, in your midst, in the place which he shall choose within one of your towns, where it pleases him best; you shall not oppress him.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"He shall live with you in your midst, in the place which he shall choose in one of your towns where it pleases him; you shall not mistreat him.

Contextual Overview

15 For Adonai your God moves about in your camp to rescue you and to hand over your enemies to you. Therefore your camp must be a holy place. [ Adonai ] should not see anything indecent among you, or he will turn away from you. 16 "If a slave has escaped from his master and taken refuge with you, you are not to hand him back to his master. 17 Allow him to stay with you, in whichever place suits him best among your settlements; do not mistreat him. 18 "No woman of Isra'el is to engage in ritual prostitution, and no man of Isra'el is to engage in ritual homosexual prostitution. 19 Nothing earned through heterosexual or homosexual prostitution is to be brought into the house of Adonai your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to Adonai your God. 20 "You are not to lend at interest to your brother, no matter whether the loan is of money, food or anything else that can earn interest. 21 To an outsider you may lend at interest, but to your brother you are not to lend at interest, so that Adonai your God will prosper you in everything you set out to do in the land you are entering in order to take possession of it. 22 "When you make a vow to Adonai your God, you are not to delay in fulfilling it, for Adonai your God will certainly demand it of you, and your failure to do so will be your sin. 23 If you choose not to make a vow at all, that will not be a sin for you; 24 but if a vow passes your lips, you must take care to perform it according to what you voluntarily vowed to Adonai your God, what you promised in words spoken aloud.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

shall dwell: Isaiah 16:3, Isaiah 16:4, Luke 15:15-24, Titus 3:2, Titus 3:3

liketh him best: Heb. is good for him

thou shalt not: Exodus 22:21, Exodus 23:9, Jeremiah 7:6, Zechariah 7:10, Malachi 3:5, James 2:6

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 12:11 - a place 1 Samuel 30:15 - nor deliver

Cross-References

Genesis 23:15
"My lord, listen to me. A plot of land worth 400 silver shekels — what is that between me and you? Just bury your dead."
Genesis 43:21
but when we got to camp, we opened our packs, and there inside our packs was each man's money, the full amount. We have brought it back with us;
Exodus 30:13
Everyone subject to the census is to pay as an offering to Adonai half a shekel [one-fifth of an ounce of silver]— by the standard of the sanctuary shekel (a shekel equals twenty gerahs).
Job 28:15
It can't be obtained with gold, nor can silver be weighed out to buy it.
Jeremiah 32:9
So I bought the field at ‘Anatot which belonged to my cousin Hanam'el and weighed out the money for him, seven ounces of silver shekels.
Ezekiel 45:12
Also the shekel is to be twenty gerahs; your maneh will be the sum of a twenty-shekel piece, a twenty-five-shekel piece and a fifteen-shekel piece.
Zechariah 11:12
I said to them, "If it seems good to you, give me my wages; if not, don't." So they weighed out my wages, thirty silver [shekels, that is, twelve ounces].
Matthew 7:12
"Always treat others as you would like them to treat you; that sums up the teaching of the Torah and the Prophets.
Romans 13:8
Don't owe anyone anything — except to love one another; for whoever loves his fellow human being has fulfilled Torah.
Philippians 4:8
In conclusion, brothers, focus your thoughts on what is true, noble, righteous, pure, lovable or admirable, on some virtue or on something praiseworthy.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He shall dwell in thee, [even] among you,.... This seems to confirm the sense of it, being a stranger, a: proselyte servant that is here spoken of, since the law provides for his dwelling among the Israelites:

in that place he shall choose, in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: he was not to be detained by the person that took him up in his own house, or be obliged to dwell in any certain place under, a restraint, but he might take up his abode in any of the cities of Israel, which would be most for his good, profit, and advantage:

thou shalt not oppress him; by words, as the Targum of Jonathan adds,

"calling him a fugitive servant, or by any opprobrious name.''

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The 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.


 
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