Lectionary Calendar
Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

The NET Bible®

Deuteronomy 23:16

Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages he prefers; you must not oppress him.

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.
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;
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 You must not return an escaped slave to his master when he has run away to you. 16 Indeed, he may live among you in any place he chooses, in whichever of your villages he prefers; you must not oppress him. 17 There must never be a sacred prostitute among the young women of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute among the young men of Israel. 18 You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God. 19 You must not charge interest on a loan to your fellow Israelite, whether on money, food, or anything else that has been loaned with interest. 20 You may lend with interest to a foreigner, but not to your fellow Israelite; if you keep this command the Lord your God will bless you in all you undertake in the land you are about to enter to possess. 21 When you make a vow to the Lord your God you must not delay in fulfilling it, for otherwise he will surely hold you accountable as a sinner. 22 If you refrain from making a vow, it will not be sinful. 23 Whatever you vow, you must be careful to do what you have promised, such as what you have vowed to the Lord your God as a freewill offering. 24 When you enter the vineyard of your neighbor you may eat as many grapes as you please, but you must not take away any in a container.

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
"Hear me, my lord. The land is worth 400 pieces of silver, but what is that between me and you? So bury your dead."
Genesis 43:21
But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money—the full amount—in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it.
Exodus 30:13
Everyone who crosses over to those who are numbered is to pay this: a half shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (a shekel weighs twenty gerahs). The half shekel is to be an offering to the Lord .
Job 28:15
Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver.
Jeremiah 32:9
So I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel. I weighed out seven ounces of silver and gave it to him to pay for it.
Ezekiel 45:12
The shekel will be twenty gerahs. Sixty shekels will be a mina for you.
Zechariah 11:12
Then I said to them, "If it seems good to you, pay me my wages, but if not, forget it." So they weighed out my payment—thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew 7:12
In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.
Romans 13:8
Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about 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.


 
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