Deuteronomy 23:16

King James Version (1611 Edition)

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.

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.

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

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;

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 Thou shalt not deliuer vnto his master, the seruant which is escaped from his master vnto thee. ¹⁶ 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. ¹⁷ There shalbe no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a Sodomite of the sonnes of Israel. ¹⁸ Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dogge into the house of the Lord thy God for any vow: for euen both these are abomination vnto the Lord thy God. ¹⁹ Thou shalt not lend vpon vsury to thy brother; vsury of money, vsury of victuals, vsury of any thing that is lent vpon vsury. ²⁰ Unto a stranger thou maiest lend vpon vsury, but vnto thy brother thou shalt not lend vpon vsury: that the Lord thy God may blesse thee, in all that thou settest thine hand to, in the land whither thou goest to possesse it. ²¹ When thou shalt vow a vow vnto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not slacke to pay it: for the Lord thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sinne in thee. ²² But if thou shalt forbeare to vow, it shall be no sinne in thee. ²³ That which is gone out of thy lippes, thou shalt keepe and performe; euen a freewill offering according as thou hast vowed vnto the Lord thy God, which thou hast promised with thy mouth. ²⁴ When thou commest into thy neighbors Uineyard, then thou mayest eate grapes thy fill, at thine owne pleasure, but thou shalt not put any in thy vessell.

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, hearken vnto mee: the land is worth foure hundred shekels of siluer: what is that betwixt mee and thee? bury therefore thy dead.

Genesis 43:21
And it came to passe when wee came to the Inne, that wee opened our sackes, and behold, euery mans money was in the mouth of his sacke, our money in ful weight: and we haue brought it againe in our hand.

Exodus 30:13
This they shall giue, euery one that passeth among them that are numbred: halfe a shekel after the shekel of the Sanctuary: A shekel is twenty gerahs: an halfe shekel shall be the offering of the Lord.

Job 28:15
It cannot be gotten for golde, neither shall siluer be weighed for the price thereof.

Jeremiah 32:9
And I bought the field of Hanameel my vncles sonne, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, euen seuenteene shekels of siluer.

Ezekiel 45:12
And the shekell shall be twentie Gerahs: twenty shekels, fiue and twentie shekels, fifteene shekels shall be your Maneh.

Zechariah 11:12
And I said vnto them, If yee thinke good, giue me my price: and if not, forbeare: so they weighed for my price thirtie pieces of siluer.

Matthew 7:12
Therefore all things whatsoeuer ye would that men should doe to you, doe ye euen so to them: for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Romans 13:8
Owe no man any thing, but to loue one another: for hee that loueth another hath fulfilled the Law.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatsoeuer things are true, whatsoeuer things are honest, whatsoeuer things are iust, whatsoeuer things are pure, whatsoeuer things are louely, whatsoeuer things are of good report: if there bee any vertue, and if there bee any praise, thinke on these things:

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.