Deuteronomy 25:8

THE MESSAGE

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,

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,'

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

⁵When brothers are living together and one of them dies without having had a son, the widow of the dead brother shall not marry a stranger from outside the family; her husband's brother is to come to her and marry her and do the brother-in-law's duty by her. The first son that she bears shall be named after her dead husband so his name won't die out in Israel. ⁷But if the brother doesn't want to marry his sister-in-law, she is to go to the leaders at the city gate and say, "My brother-in-law refuses to keep his brother's name alive in Israel; he won't agree to do the brother-in-law's duty by me." Then the leaders will call for the brother and confront him. If he stands there defiant and says, "I don't want her," his sister-in-law is to pull his sandal off his foot, spit in his face, and say, "This is what happens to the man who refuses to build up the family of his brother—his name in Israel will be Family-No-Sandal." ¹¹When two men are in a fight and the wife of the one man, trying to rescue her husband, grabs the genitals of the man hitting him, 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 25:7
Abraham lived 175 years. Then he took his final breath. He died happy at a ripe old age, full of years, and was buried with his family. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, next to Mamre. It was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. Abraham was buried next to his wife Sarah. After Abraham's death, God blessed his son Isaac. Isaac lived at Beer Lahai Roi.

Genesis 25:17
Ishmael lived 137 years. When he breathed his last and died he was buried with his family. His children settled down all the way from Havilah near Egypt eastward to Shur in the direction of Assyria. The Ishmaelites didn't get along with any of their kin.

Genesis 25:29
One day Jacob was cooking a stew. Esau came in from the field, starved. Esau said to Jacob, "Give me some of that red stew—I'm starved!" That's how he came to be called Edom (Red).

Genesis 35:18
With her last breath, for she was now dying, she named him Ben-oni (Son-of-My-Pain), but his father named him Ben-jamin (Son-of-Good-Fortune).

Genesis 49:29
Then he instructed them: "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah facing Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial plot. Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried there; Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried there; I also buried Leah there. The field and the cave were bought from the Hittites."

Judges 2:10
Eventually that entire generation died and was buried. Then another generation grew up that didn't know anything of God or the work he had done for Israel.

Judges 8:32
Gideon son of Joash died at a good old age. He was buried in the tomb of his father Joash at Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Proverbs 20:29
Youth may be admired for vigor, but gray hair gives prestige to old age.

Acts 5:5
Ananias, when he heard those words, fell down dead. That put the fear of God into everyone who heard of it. The younger men went right to work and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.

Acts 12:23
That was the last straw. God had had enough of Herod's arrogance and sent an angel to strike him down. Herod had given God no credit for anything. Down he went. Rotten to the core, a maggoty old man if there ever was one, he died.

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.