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Legacy Standard Bible

Deuteronomy 17:17

And he shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - King;   Polygamy;   Rulers;   Solomon;   Thompson Chain Reference - David;   Foes of the Home;   Home;   Polygamy;   The Topic Concordance - Government;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Gold;   Kings;   Tribute;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Concubine;   King;   Solomon;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Animals;   King, Christ as;   King, Kingship;   Land (of Israel);   Law;   Leadership;   Samuel, First and Second, Theology of;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - David;   King;   Law;   Solomon;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Capital Punishment;   Concubine;   King, Kingship;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   Family;   King;   Marriage;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Concubines;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Hebrew Monarchy, the;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Gold;   King;   Law in the Old Testament;   Law, Judicial;   Marriage;   Nathan (1);   Relationships, Family;   Theocracy;   Woman;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Agrippa Ii;   Exodus, Book of;   Government;   Law, Reading from the;   Marriage;   Monogamy;   Nomism;   Sanhedrin;   Solomon;   Theocracy;   Torah;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He must not acquire many wives for himself so that his heart won’t go astray. He must not acquire very large amounts of silver and gold for himself.
Hebrew Names Version
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
King James Version
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Lexham English Bible
And he must not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart would turn aside; and he must not accumulate silver and gold for himself excessively.
English Standard Version
And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.
New Century Version
The king must not have many wives, or his heart will be led away from God. He must not have too much silver and gold.
New English Translation
Furthermore, he must not marry many wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold.
Amplified Bible
"He shall not acquire multiple wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away [from God]; nor [for the same reason] shall he acquire great amounts of silver and gold.
New American Standard Bible
"And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Neither shall hee take him many wiues, lest his heart turne away, neither shal he gather him much siluer and golde.
Contemporary English Version
And the king must not have a lot of wives—they might tempt him to be unfaithful to the Lord . Finally, the king must not try to get huge amounts of silver and gold.
Complete Jewish Bible
Likewise, he is not to acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart will not turn away; and he is not to acquire excessive quantities of silver and gold.
Darby Translation
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Easy-to-Read Version
Also, the king must not have too many wives, because that will make him turn away from the Lord. And he must not make himself rich with silver and gold.
George Lamsa Translation
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that they may not cause his heart to turn away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Good News Translation
The king is not to have many wives, because this would make him turn away from the Lord ; and he is not to make himself rich with silver and gold.
Literal Translation
And he shall not multiply wives to himself, and his heart shall not turn aside. And he shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
He shall not haue many wyues also, that his hert be not turned awaye. Nether shal he gather him syluer and golde to moch.
American Standard Version
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Bible in Basic English
And he is not to have a great number of wives, for fear that his heart may be turned away; or great wealth of silver and gold.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Also he ought not to multiplie wyues to him selfe, lest his heart turne away, neither shall he gather hym siluer and golde to much.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
King James Version (1611)
Neither shall he multiply wiues to himselfe, that his heart turne not away: neither shall hee greatly multiply to himselfe siluer and gold.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he shall not multiply to himself wives, lest his heart turn away; and he shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
English Revised Version
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Berean Standard Bible
He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself great amounts of silver and gold.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
The kyng schal not haue ful many wyues, that drawen his soule `to ouer myche fleischlynesse, nether `he schal haue grete burthuns of siluer and of gold.
Young's Literal Translation
And he doth not multiply to himself wives, and his heart doth not turn aside, and silver and gold he doth not multiply to himself -- exceedingly.
Update Bible Version
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart shall not turn away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
Webster's Bible Translation
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart may turn not away: neither shall he greatly accumulate to himself silver and gold.
World English Bible
Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.
New King James Version
Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself.
New Living Translation
The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord . And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.
New Life Bible
He must not take many wives for himself or his heart may turn away. And he must not gather much silver and gold for himself.
New Revised Standard
And he must not acquire many wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; also silver and gold he must not acquire in great quantity for himself.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Neither shall he multiply to himself wives, that his heart turn not aside, - nor silver and gold, shall he multiply to himself greatly.
Douay-Rheims Bible
He shall not have many wives, that may allure his mind, nor immense sums of silver and gold.
Revised Standard Version
And he shall not multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply for himself silver and gold.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"He shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

Contextual Overview

14"When you enter the land which Yahweh your God gives you, and you possess it and live in it, and you say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations who are around me,' 15you shall surely set a king over you whom Yahweh your God chooses, one from among your brothers you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your brother. 16Moreover, he shall not multiply horses for himself, nor shall he cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses. Yahweh has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.' 17And he shall not multiply wives for himself, or else his heart will turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. 18"Now it will be when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear Yahweh his God, to carefully observe all the words of this law and these statutes, 20that his heart may not be lifted up above his brothers and that he may not turn aside from the commandment, to the right or the left, so that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his sons in the midst of Israel.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

multiply wives: Genesis 2:24, 2 Samuel 3:2-5, 1 Kings 11:1-4, Nehemiah 13:26, Malachi 2:15, Matthew 19:5

neither shall he: 1 Kings 10:21, Psalms 62:10, Proverbs 30:8, Proverbs 30:9, Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20, Matthew 13:22, Matthew 19:23, Matthew 19:24, Luke 12:15, 1 Timothy 6:9, 1 Timothy 6:17

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 30:17 - heart Judges 8:30 - many wives 2 Samuel 5:13 - General 1 Kings 11:4 - his wives 1 Chronicles 14:3 - took 2 Chronicles 11:21 - eighteen wives Proverbs 31:3 - to that Isaiah 2:7 - land

Cross-References

Genesis 17:3
Then Abram fell on his face, and God spoke with him, saying,
Genesis 17:19
But God said, "No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed after him.
Genesis 17:20
As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.
Genesis 18:12
And Sarah laughed to herself, saying, "After I am worn out, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"
Genesis 21:6
And Sarah said, "God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me."
Leviticus 9:24
Then fire came out from before Yahweh and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar. And all the people saw it and shouted and fell on their faces.
Numbers 14:5
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.
Numbers 16:22
But they fell on their faces and said, "O God, God of the spirits of all flesh, when one man sins, will You be angry with the entire congregation?"
Numbers 16:45
"Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly." Then they fell on their faces.
Deuteronomy 9:18
And I fell down before Yahweh, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of Yahweh to provoke Him to anger.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away,.... From attending to the duty of his office, the care and government of his people, and from serious religion; and particularly from the worship of the true God, as the heart of Solomon was turned away from it by his numerous idolatrous wives, 1 Kings 11:3, it is a common notion of the Jews that a king might have eighteen wives, and no more k: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold; he might increase his wealth, but not greatly, lest his heart should be lifted up with pride by it, and lest his subjects should be oppressed and burdened with taxes for that purpose; or he, being possessed of so much, should make use of it to enslave them, and especially should be so elated with it as to deny God, and despise his providence, and disobey his laws; see Proverbs 30:9. The Jews generally say l, that he ought not to multiply more than what will pay the stipends or wages of his servants, and only for the treasury of the house of the Lord, and for the necessity of the congregation (or commonwealth), and for their wars; but not for himself, and his own treasury.

k Maimon. Issure Biah, c. 1. sect. 2. Misn. ut supra. (Sanhedrin, c. 10. sect. 4.). T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 1. Targum Jon. & Jarchi in loc. l Maimon. ib. sect. 4. Misn. ut supra. (k)

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Multiplication of wives would lead to sensuality, and so to an apostasy no less fatal in effect than downright idolatry (compare Exodus 34:16). This rule, like the others, abridges to the ruler of Israel liberties usually enjoyed without stint by the kings of the East. The restriction was in the days of Moses unprecedented; and demanded a higher standard in the king of Israel than was looked for among his equals in other nations.

Neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold - In this third prohibition, as in the other two, excess is forbidden. Vast accumulation of treasure could hardly be effected without oppression; nor when effected fail to produce pride and a “trust in uncertain riches” 1 Timothy 6:17.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 17:17. Neither shall he multiply wives — For this would necessarily lead to foreign alliances, and be the means of introducing the manners and customs of other nations, and their idolatry also. Solomon sinned against this precept, and brought ruin on himself and on the land by it; see 1 Kings 11:4.


 
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