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the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

Deuteronomy 17:17

Neither shall he multiply to himself wives, that his heart turn not aside, - nor silver and gold, shall he multiply to himself greatly.

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.
Legacy Standard Bible
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.
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.
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 thou shalt enter into the land which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee, and shalt possess it and dwell therein, - and shalt say - I will set over me a king, like all the nations that are round about me, 15 thou shalt, set, over thee as king, him whom Yahweh thy God shall choose, - out of the midst of thy brethren, shalt thou set over thee a king, thou mayest not appoint over thee a man that is a foreigner, who is not thy brother. 16 Moreover he shall not multiply to himself horses, neither shall he cause the people to return to Egypt that he may multiply horses, - when, Yahweh, hath said unto you, Ye shall not again return this way any more. 17 Neither shall he multiply to himself wives, that his heart turn not aside, - nor silver and gold, shall he multiply to himself greatly. 18 But it shall be when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, then shall he write for himself a copy of this law upon a scroll, out of that which is before the priests the Levites: 19 so shall it be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life, - that he may learn to revere Yahweh his God, to observe all the words of this law and these statutes to do them: 20 that his heart may not be lifted up above his brethren, and he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, - that he may prolong his days over 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
And Abram fell on his face, - and God spake with him, saying:
Genesis 17:19
And God said - Truly, Sarah thy wife, is about to bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name, Isaac, - and I will establish my covenant with him as an age-abiding covenant, to his seed after him.
Genesis 17:20
Yet as for Ishmael, I have heard thee; o! I have blessed trim and will make him fruitful, and multiply him, exceedingly, - twelve princes, shall he beget, and I will grant him to be a great nation;
Genesis 18:12
So then Sarah laughed within herself, saying: After I am past age, hath there come to me pleasure, my lord, also being old?
Genesis 21:6
And Sarah said, A laughing, hath God made for me, - Everyone that heareth will laugh with me.
Leviticus 9:24
yea, there came forth fire from before Yahweh, and consumed upon the altar, the ascending-sacrifice and the portions of fat, - and all the people beheld and shouted, and fell down upon their faces.
Numbers 14:5
Then did Moses and Aaron fall upon their faces, - before all the convocation of the assembly of the sons of Israel.
Numbers 16:22
And they fell upon their faces and said, O GOD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, - shall, one man, sin, and against all the assembly, wilt thou he wroth.
Numbers 16:45
Lift yourselves up out of the midst o this assembly, that I may consume them, as in a moment, - And they fell upon their faces.
Deuteronomy 9:18
Then lay I prostrate before Yahweh as at the first, forty days and forty nights, food, did I not eat, and water, did I not drink, - because of all your sin which ye had sinned, in doing the thing that was wicked, in the eyes 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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