Deuteronomy 25:8

Complete Jewish Bible

The leaders of his town are to summon him and speak to him. If, on appearing before them, he continues to say, ‘I don't want to marry her,'

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
The elders of his city will summon him and speak with him. If he persists and says, ‘I don’t want to marry her,’

Hebrew Names Version
Then the Zakenim of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and if he stand, and say, I don't want to take her;

King James Version
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her;

Lexham English Bible
Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him, and if he persists and says, ‘I do not desire to marry her'

English Standard Version
Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him, and if he persists, saying, ‘I do not wish to take her,'

New Century Version
Then the elders of the town must call for the man and talk to him. But if he is stubborn and says, "I don't want to marry her,"

New English Translation
Then the elders of his city must summon him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, "I don't want to marry her,"

Amplified Bible
"Then the elders of his city will summon him and speak to him. And if he stands firm and says, 'I do not want to marry her,'

New American Standard Bible
"Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, 'I do not desire to take her,'

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then the Elders of his citie shall call him, and commune with him: if he stand and say, I wil not take her,

Legacy Standard Bible
Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he stands and says, ‘I do not desire to take her,'

Contemporary English Version
The leaders will call the living brother to the town gate and try to persuade him to marry the widow. But if he doesn't change his mind and marry her,

Darby Translation
Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak unto him; and if he stand to it and say, I like not to take her;

Easy-to-Read Version
Then the leaders of the city must call the man and talk to him. If the man is stubborn and says, ‘I don't want to take her,'

George Lamsa Translation
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him; and if he should rise up and say, I will not take her;

Good News Translation
Then the town leaders are to summon him and speak to him. If he still refuses to marry her,

Literal Translation
And the elders of his city shall call for him and shall speak to him. And he shall stand and say, I have no desire to take her.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then shal the Elders of the cite call him, and comen with him. Yf he stonde then and saye: I wyl not take her,

American Standard Version
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand, and say, I like not to take her;

Bible in Basic English
Then the responsible men of the town will send for the man, and have talk with him: and if he still says, I will not take her;

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then the elders of his citie shall call hym, and commune with hym: and if he stande and say, I wyll not take her:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him; and if he stand, and say: 'I like not to take her';

King James Version (1611)
Then the Elders of his citie shall call him and speake vnto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her:

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him; and if he stand and say, I will not take her:

English Revised Version
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand, and say, I like not to take her;

Berean Standard Bible
Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak with him. If he persists and says, "I do not want to marry her,"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And anoon thei schulen make hym to be clepid, and thei schulen axe. If he answerith, Y nyle take hir to wijf;

Young's Literal Translation
and the elders of his city have called for him, and spoken unto him, and he hath stood and said, I have no desire to take her;

Update Bible Version
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and if he stands, and says, I don't want to take her;

Webster's Bible Translation
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and [if] he shall stand [to it], and say, I like not to take her,

World English Bible
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and if he stand, and say, I don't want to take her;

New King James Version
Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, "I do not want to take her,'

New Living Translation
The elders of the town will then summon him and talk with him. If he still refuses and says, ‘I don't want to marry her,'

New Life Bible
Then the leaders of his city will call him and speak to him. If he still says, ‘I do not want to take her,'

New Revised Standard
Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him. If he persists, saying, "I have no desire to marry her,"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Then shall the elders of his city call him and speak unto him, - and he shall stand and say, I like not to take her.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And they shall cause him to be sent for forthwith, and shall ask him. If he answer: I will not take her to wife:

Revised Standard Version
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and if he persists, saying, 'I do not wish to take her,'

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Then the elders of his city shall summon him and speak to him. And if he persists and says, 'I do not desire to take her,'

Contextual Overview

⁵ "If brothers live together, and one of them dies childless, his widow is not to marry someone unrelated to him; her husband's brother is to go to her and perform the duty of a brother-in-law by marrying her. ⁶ The first child she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, so that his name will not be eliminated from Isra'el. ⁷ If the man does not wish to marry his brother's widow, then his brother's widow is to go up to the gate, to the leaders, and say, ‘My brother-in-law refuses to raise up for his brother a name in Isra'el; he will not perform the duty of a husband's brother for me.' ⁸ The leaders of his town are to summon him and speak to him. If, on appearing before them, he continues to say, ‘I don't want to marry her,' ⁹ then his brother's widow is to approach him in the presence of the leaders, pull his sandal off his foot, spit in his face and say, ‘This is what is done to the man who refuses to build up his brother's family.' ¹⁰ From that time on, his family is to be known in Isra'el as ‘the family of the man who had his sandal pulled off.' ¹¹ "If men are fighting with each other, and the wife of one comes up to help her husband get away from the man attacking him by grabbing the attacker's private parts with her hand, ¹² you are to cut off her hand; show no pity.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

I like not: Ruth 4:6

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 7:21 - a mighty God

Cross-References

Genesis 15:15
As for you, you will join your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age.

Genesis 25:7
This is how long Avraham lived: 175 years.

Genesis 25:8
Then Avraham breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, an old man full of years; and he was gathered to his people.

Genesis 25:9
Yitz'chak and Yishma‘el his sons buried him in the cave of Makhpelah, in the field of ‘Efron the son of Tzochar the Hitti, by Mamre,

Genesis 25:17
This is how long Yishma‘el lived: 137 years. Then he breathed his last, died and was gathered to his people.

Genesis 25:28
Yitz'chak favored ‘Esav, because he had a taste for game; Rivkah favored Ya‘akov.

Genesis 25:29
One day when Ya‘akov had cooked some stew, ‘Esav came in from the open country, exhausted,

Genesis 35:18
But she died in childbirth. As she was dying she named her son Ben-Oni [son of my grief], but his father called him Binyamin [son of the right hand, son of the south].

Genesis 49:29
Then he charged them as follows: "I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave that is in the field of ‘Efron the Hitti,

Numbers 20:24
"Aharon is about to be gathered to his people, because he is not to enter the land I have given to the people of Isra'el, inasmuch as you rebelled against what I said at the M'rivah Spring.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then the elders of his city shall call him,.... Require him to come, before them, and declare his resolution, and the reasons for it; recite this law to him, and explain the nature of it, and exhort him to comply with it, or show reason why he does not, at least to have his final resolution upon it:

and speak unto him; talk with him upon this subject, and give him their best advice; and what that was Maimonides o more particularly informs us; if it is good and advisable to marry, they advise him to marry; but if it is better advice to pluck off the shoe, they give it; as when she is young and he is old, or she is old and he young, they advise him to allow the shoe to be plucked off:

and [if] he stand [to it]: and say, I like not to take her; if, after all the conversation, debate, and counsel between them, he is resolute, and abides by his first determination, that he will not marry her, then the following method was to be taken.

o Yebum Vechalitzab, c. 4. sect. 1.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The law of levirate marriage. The law on this subject is not unique to the Jews, but is found (see Genesis 38:8) in all essential respects the same among various Oriental nations, ancient and modern. The rules in these verses, like those upon divorce, do but incorporate existing immemorial usages, and introduce various wise and politic limitations and mitigations of them. The root of the obligation here imposed upon the brother of the deceased husband lies in the primitive idea of childlessness being a great calamity (compare Genesis 16:4; and note), and extinction of name and family one of the greatest that could happen (compare Deuteronomy 9:14; Psalms 109:12-15). To avert this the ordinary rules as to intermarriage are in the case in question (compare Leviticus 18:16) set aside. The obligation was onerous (compare Ruth 4:6), and might be repugnant; and it is accordingly considerably reduced and restricted by Moses. The duty is recognized as one of affection for the memory of the deceased; it is not one which could be enforced at law. That it continued down to the Christian era is apparent from the question on this point put to Jesus by the Sadducees (see the marginal references).

Deuteronomy 25:5

No child - literally, “no son.” The existence of a daughter would clearly suffice. The daughter would inherit the name and property of the father; compare Numbers 27:1-11.

Deuteronomy 25:9

Loose his shoe from off his foot - In token of taking from the unwilling brother all right over the wife and property of the deceased. Planting the foot on a thing was an usual symbol of lordship and of taking possession (compare Genesis 13:17; Joshua 10:24), and loosing the shoe and handing it to another in like manner signified a renunciation and transfer of right and title (compare Ruth 4:7-8; Psalms 60:8, and Psalms 108:9). The widow here is directed herself, as the party slighted and injured, to deprive her brother-law of his shoe, and spit in his face (compare Numbers 12:14). The action was intended to aggravate the disgrace conceived to attach to the conduct of the man.

Deuteronomy 25:10

The house ... - Equivalent to “the house of the barefooted one.” To go barefoot was a sign of the most abject condition; compare 2 Samuel 15:30.