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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Deuteronomy 21:10

When you go to war against your enemies and God , your God, gives you victory and you take prisoners, and then you notice among the prisoners of war a good-looking woman whom you find attractive and would like to marry, this is what you do: Take her home; have her trim her hair, cut her nails, and discard the clothes she was wearing when captured. She is then to stay in your home for a full month, mourning her father and mother. Then you may go to bed with her as husband and wife. If it turns out you don't like her, you must let her go and live wherever she wishes. But you can't sell her or use her as a slave since you've humiliated her.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Captive;   Concubinage;   Divorce;   Marriage;   Servant;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Strangers in Israel;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Concubine;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Husband;   Slave;   War;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Devote, Devoted;   War, Holy War;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Alms;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Concubine;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - War;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Concubine;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Clean and Unclean;   Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   Ethics;   Family;   Marriage;   Slave, Slavery;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Concubine;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Deuteronomy;   Law in the Old Testament;   Relationships, Family;   Slave;   Stranger and Sojourner (in the Old Testament);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Captives;   David;   Debarim Rabbah;   Intermarriage;   Law, Reading from the;   Marriage;   Sidra;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God hands them over to you and you take some of them prisoner, and
Hebrew Names Version
When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands, and you carry them away captive,
King James Version
When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,
Lexham English Bible
"When you go out for battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God gives them into your hand, and you lead the captives away,
English Standard Version
"When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God gives them into your hand and you take them captive,
New Century Version
When you go to war against your enemies, the Lord will help you defeat them so that you will take them captive.
New English Translation
When you go out to do battle with your enemies and the Lord your God allows you to prevail and you take prisoners,
Amplified Bible
"When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God hands them over to you and you lead them away captive,
New American Standard Bible
"When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God hands them over to you and you take them away captive,
Geneva Bible (1587)
Whe thou shalt go to warre against thine enemies, & the Lord thy God shal deliuer them into thine hands, & thou shalt take the captiues,
Legacy Standard Bible
"If you go out to battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God gives them over into your hands and you take them away captive,
Contemporary English Version
Moses said to Israel: From time to time, you men will serve as soldiers and go off to war. The Lord your God will help you defeat your enemies, and you will take many prisoners.
Complete Jewish Bible
Thus you will banish the shedding of innocent blood from among you, by doing what Adonai sees as right. Haftarah Shof'tim: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 51:12–52:12 [Messianic adaptation: conclude the reading at 53:12] B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Shof'tim: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:38–42; 18:15–20; Acts 3:13–26; 7:35–53; 1 Corinthians 5:9–13; 1 Timothy 5:17–22; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 10:28–31 "When you go out to war against your enemies, and Adonai your God hands them over to you, and you take prisoners,
Darby Translation
When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou hast taken captives of them,
Easy-to-Read Version
"You might fight against your enemies, and the Lord your God might let you defeat them and take them as captives.
George Lamsa Translation
When you go forth to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands, and you take them captive,
Good News Translation
"When the Lord your God gives you victory in battle and you take prisoners,
Literal Translation
When you go out to battle against your enemies, and Jehovah your God has given them into your hands, and you have taken them captive;
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Wha thou goest forth to warre against thine enemies, & the LORDE thy God delyuereth them in to thine handes, so that thou cariest awaye their presoners,
American Standard Version
When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou carriest them away captive,
Bible in Basic English
When you go out to war against other nations, and the Lord your God gives them up into your hands and you take them as prisoners;
Bishop's Bible (1568)
When thou goest to warre agaynst thine enemies, and the Lorde thy God hath deliuered them into thine handes, & thou hast taken the captiue,
JPS Old Testament (1917)
When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God delivereth them into thy hands, and thou carriest them away captive,
King James Version (1611)
When thou goest forth to warre against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath deliuered them into thine hands, & thou hast taken them captiue,
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And if when thou goest out to war against thine enemies, the Lord thy God should deliver them into thine hands, and thou shouldest take their spoil,
English Revised Version
When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and the LORD thy God delivereth them into thine hands, and thou carriest them away captive,
Berean Standard Bible
When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take them captive,
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
If thou goist out to batel ayens thin enemyes, that thi Lord God bitakith hem in thin hond, and thou ledist prisoneris,
Young's Literal Translation
`When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and Jehovah thy God hath given them into thy hand, and thou hast taken captive its captivity,
Update Bible Version
When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God delivers them into your hands, and you carry them away captive,
Webster's Bible Translation
When thou goest forth to war against thy enemies, and the LORD thy God hath delivered them into thy hands, and thou hast taken them captive,
World English Bible
When you go forth to battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God delivers them into your hands, and you carry them away captive,
New King James Version
"When you go out to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive,
New Living Translation
"Suppose you go out to war against your enemies and the Lord your God hands them over to you, and you take some of them as captives.
New Life Bible
"When you go out to battle against those who hate you, and the Lord your God gives them to you, and you make them go with you,
New Revised Standard
When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God hands them over to you and you take them captive,
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
When thou shalt go forth to war against thine enemies, - and Yahweh thy God shall deliver them into thy hand and thou shalt take them captive;
Douay-Rheims Bible
If thou go out to fight against thy enemies, and the Lord thy God deliver them into thy hand, and thou lead them away captives,
Revised Standard Version
"When you go forth to war against your enemies, and the LORD your God gives them into your hands, and you take them captive,
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"When you go out to battle against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your hands and you take them away captive,

Contextual Overview

10When you go to war against your enemies and God , your God, gives you victory and you take prisoners, and then you notice among the prisoners of war a good-looking woman whom you find attractive and would like to marry, this is what you do: Take her home; have her trim her hair, cut her nails, and discard the clothes she was wearing when captured. She is then to stay in your home for a full month, mourning her father and mother. Then you may go to bed with her as husband and wife. If it turns out you don't like her, you must let her go and live wherever she wishes. But you can't sell her or use her as a slave since you've humiliated her.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thou goest: Deuteronomy 20:10-16

Reciprocal: Numbers 31:18 - keep alive for yourselves

Cross-References

Genesis 17:19
But God said, "That's not what I mean. Your wife, Sarah, will have a baby, a son. Name him Isaac (Laughter). I'll establish my covenant with him and his descendants, a covenant that lasts forever.
Genesis 20:11
Abraham said, "I just assumed that there was no fear of God in this place and that they'd kill me to get my wife. Besides, the truth is that she is my half sister; she's my father's daughter but not my mother's. When God sent me out as a wanderer from my father's home, I told her, ‘Do me a favor; wherever we go, tell people that I'm your brother.'"
Genesis 21:7
She also said, Whoever would have suggested to Abraham that Sarah would one day nurse a baby! Yet here I am! I've given the old man a son!
Genesis 21:11
The matter gave great pain to Abraham—after all, Ishmael was his son. But God spoke to Abraham, "Don't feel badly about the boy and your maid. Do whatever Sarah tells you. Your descendants will come through Isaac. Regarding your maid's son, be assured that I'll also develop a great nation from him—he's your son, too."
Genesis 21:22
At about that same time, Abimelech and the captain of his troops, Phicol, spoke to Abraham: "No matter what you do, God is on your side. So swear to me that you won't do anything underhanded to me or any of my family. For as long as you live here, swear that you'll treat me and my land as well as I've treated you."
Genesis 21:31
That's how the place got named Beersheba (the Oath-Well), because the two of them swore a covenant oath there. After they had made the covenant at Beersheba, Abimelech and his commander, Phicol, left and went back to Philistine territory.
Genesis 25:19
This is the family tree of Isaac son of Abraham: Abraham had Isaac. Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan Aram. She was the sister of Laban the Aramean.
1 John 2:19
They left us, but they were never really with us. If they had been, they would have stuck it out with us, loyal to the end. In leaving, they showed their true colors, showed they never did belong.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies,.... This refers to an arbitrary war, as Jarchi remarks, which they entered into of themselves, of choice, or through being provoked to it by their enemies; and not a war commanded by the Lord, as that against the seven nations of Canaan, and against Amalek; since there were to be no captives in that war, but all were to be destroyed:

and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands; given them the victory over their enemies, so that they were obliged to surrender themselves to them prisoners of war:

and thou hast taken them captive, or "led his or their captivity b captive"; led them captive who used to lead others, denoting their conquest of victorious nations; see a like phrase in Psalms 68:18.

b ושבית שביו "et captivam duxerit captivitatem ejus", Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The regulations which now follow in the rest of this and throughout the next chapter bring out the sanctity of various personal rights and relations fundamental to human life and society.

Deuteronomy 21:10-14. The war supposed here is one against the neighboring nations after Israel had utterly destroyed the Canaanites (compare Deuteronomy 7:3), and taken possession of their land.


 
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