Deuteronomy 23:21

KJV1611 – Modern English

When you shall vow a vow to the LORD your God, you shall not delay to pay it: for the LORD your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

לַנָּכְרִ֣י תַשִּׁ֔יךְ וּלְאָחִ֖יךָ לֹ֣א תַשִּׁ֑יךְ לְמַ֨עַן יְבָרֶכְךָ֜ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ בְּכֹל֙ מִשְׁלַ֣ח יָדֶ֔ךָ עַל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה בָא־שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ ס

Transliteration

To-the-nākrî taššîk and-to-ʾāḥîkā not taššîk so-that yəbārekəkā YHWH ʾĕlōheykā in-all mišlaḥ yādekā on-the-ʾāreṣ which-you bāʾ-there to-rištāh

Grammar Details

• *la*: preposition with definite article - to the
• *nākrî*: adjective, masculine singular - foreigner
• *taššîk*: hiphil imperfect, 2nd masculine singular - you shall lend at interest
• *û*: conjunction - and
• *lə*: preposition - to
• *ʾāḥîkā*: masculine singular noun with 2nd masculine singular suffix - your brother
• *lōʾ*: negative particle - not
• *ləmaʿan*: conjunction - so that/in order that
• *yəbārekəkā*: piel imperfect, 3rd masculine singular with 2nd masculine singular suffix - he will bless you
• *YHWH*: divine name - Yahweh/the LORD
• *ʾĕlōheykā*: masculine plural noun with 2nd masculine singular suffix - your God
• *bə*: preposition - in
• *kōl*: masculine singular construct - all/every
• *mišlaḥ*: masculine singular construct - undertaking/sending forth of
• *yādekā*: feminine singular noun with 2nd masculine singular suffix - your hand
• *ʿal*: preposition - on/upon
• *ha*: definite article - the
• *ʾāreṣ*: feminine singular noun - land
• *ʾăšer*: relative pronoun - which/that
• *ʾattâ*: 2nd masculine singular independent pronoun - you
• *bāʾ*: qal participle, masculine singular - entering/going
• *šāmmâ*: adverb - there/to there
• *rištāh*: qal infinitive construct with 3rd feminine singular suffix - possess it

Word Meanings

• *nākrî*: foreigner/stranger/non-Israelite
• *taššîk*: lend at interest/charge interest
• *ʾāḥîkā*: your brother/fellow Israelite/compatriot
• *yəbārekəkā*: bless you/favor you/prosper you
• *mišlaḥ* *yādekā*: undertaking of your hand/enterprise/venture
• *rištāh*: possess it/take possession of it/inherit it

Other Translations

• Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

  You may charge interest to a foreigner, but not to a fellow Israelite, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all your undertakings in the land you are about to enter and possess.

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  When thou shalt vow{H5087} a vow{H5088} unto Jehovah{H3068} thy God,{H430} thou shalt not be slack{H309} to pay{H7999} it: for Jehovah{H3068} thy God{H430} will surely{H1875} require{H1875} it of thee; and it would be sin{H2399} in thee.

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  When thou shalt vow{H5087}{(H8799)} a vow{H5088} unto the LORD{H3068} thy God{H430}, thou shalt not slack{H309}{(H8762)} to pay{H7999}{(H8763)} it: for the LORD{H3068} thy God{H430} will surely{H1875}{(H8800)} require{H1875}{(H8799)} it of thee; and it would be sin{H2399} in thee.

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  When thou hast vowed a vowe vnto the Lorde thy God, se thou be not slacke to paye it. For he will surely requyre it of the, and it shalbe synne vnto the.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Whan thou makest a vowe vnto ye LORDE yi God, to shalt not be slacke to perfourme it: for the LORDE thy God shal requyre it of the, and it shal be synne vnto the.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  When thou shalt vowe a vowe vnto the Lord thy God, thou shalt not be slacke to paye it: for the Lorde thy God will surely require it of thee, and so it should be sinne vnto thee.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  When thou hast vowed a vowe vnto the Lorde thy God, thou shalt not flacke to pay it: For the Lorde thy God wyll surely require it of thee, and it shalbe sinne in thee.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  When you shall vow a vow to Yahweh your God, you shall not be slack to pay it: for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  `When thou vowest a vow to Jehovah thy God, thou dost not delay to complete it; for Jehovah thy God doth certainly require it from thee, and it hath been in thee -- sin.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  When thou shalt vow a vow unto Jehovah thy God, thou shalt not be slack to pay it: for Jehovah thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  When you take an oath to the Lord, do not be slow to give effect to it: for without doubt the Lord your God will make you responsible, and will put it to your account as sin.

• World English Bible (2000)

  When you shall vow a vow to Yahweh your God, you shall not be slack to pay it: for Yahweh your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  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.

Referenced Verses

• Eccl 5:4-5 : 4 When you vow a vow to God, do not delay to pay it, for He has no pleasure in fools; pay what you have vowed. 5 It is better not to vow than to vow and not pay.
• Deut 23:18 : 18 You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD your God for any vow: for even both these are an abomination to the LORD your God.
• Ps 66:13-14 : 13 I will go into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows, 14 Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth has spoken, when I was in trouble.
• Ps 76:11 : 11 Vow and pay to the LORD your God; let all around Him bring presents to Him who is to be feared.
• Ps 116:18 : 18 I will pay my vows to the LORD now in the presence of all His people,
• Ps 56:12 : 12 Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render praises to you.
• Gen 28:20 : 20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and clothes to wear,
• Gen 35:1-3 : 1 And God said to Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and live there: and make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother. 2 Then Jacob said to his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your clothes: 3 And let us arise, and go up to Bethel; and I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went.
• Lev 27:2-9 : 2 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, When a man makes a special vow, the persons shall be for the LORD by your estimation. 3 And your estimation shall be for the male from twenty years old even to sixty years old, your estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, according to the shekel of the sanctuary. 4 And if it is a female, then your estimation shall be thirty shekels. 5 And if it is from five years old even to twenty years old, then your estimation shall be for the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 6 And if it is from a month old even to five years old, then your estimation shall be for the male five shekels of silver, and for the female your estimation shall be three shekels of silver. 7 And if it is from sixty years old and above; if it is a male, then your estimation shall be fifteen shekels, and for the female ten shekels. 8 But if he is poorer than your estimation, then he shall present himself before the priest, and the priest shall value him; according to his ability that vowed shall the priest value him. 9 And if it is a beast, of which men bring an offering to the LORD, all that any man gives of such to the LORD shall be holy. 10 He shall not alter it, nor change it, a good for a bad, or a bad for a good: and if he changes beast for beast, then both it and the exchange thereof shall be holy. 11 And if it is any unclean beast, of which they do not offer a sacrifice to the LORD, then he shall present the beast before the priest: 12 And the priest shall value it, whether it is good or bad: as you value it, who are the priest, so shall it be. 13 But if he will at all redeem it, then he shall add a fifth part of it to your estimation. 14 And when a man sanctifies his house to be holy to the LORD, then the priest shall estimate it, whether it is good or bad: as the priest shall estimate it, so shall it stand. 15 And if he who sanctified it will redeem his house, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your estimation to it, and it shall be his. 16 And if a man sanctifies to the LORD some part of a field of his possession, then your estimation shall be according to the seed thereof: a homer of barley seed shall be valued at fifty shekels of silver. 17 If he sanctifies his field from the year of Jubilee, according to your estimation it shall stand. 18 But if he sanctifies his field after the Jubilee, then the priest shall reckon to him the money according to the years that remain, to the year of the Jubilee, and it shall be abated from your estimation. 19 And if he who sanctified the field will in any way redeem it, then he shall add the fifth part of the money of your estimation to it, and it shall be assured to him. 20 And if he will not redeem the field, or if he has sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more. 21 But the field, when it goes out in the Jubilee, shall be holy to the LORD, as a field devoted; the possession thereof shall be the priest's. 22 And if a man sanctifies to the LORD a field which he has bought, which is not of the fields of his possession; 23 Then the priest shall reckon to him the worth of your estimation, even to the year of the Jubilee: and he shall give your estimation in that day, as a holy thing to the LORD. 24 In the year of the Jubilee the field shall return to him from whom it was bought, even to him to whom the possession of the land belonged. 25 And all your estimations shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary: twenty gerahs shall be the shekel. 26 Only the firstling of the beasts, which should be the LORD'S firstling, no man shall sanctify it; whether it be ox, or sheep: it is the LORD'S. 27 And if it is of an unclean beast, then he shall redeem it according to your estimation, and shall add a fifth part of it thereto: or if it is not redeemed, then it shall be sold according to your estimation. 28 Nevertheless no devoted thing that a man shall devote to the LORD of all that he has, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy to the LORD. 29 None devoted, which shall be devoted by men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death. 30 And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy to the LORD. 31 And if a man will at all redeem anything of his tithes, he shall add to it the fifth part thereof. 32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the LORD. 33 He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it: and if he changes it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. 34 These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.
• Num 30:1-9 : 1 And Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD has commanded. 2 If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 If a woman also makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by a bond, being in her father's house in her youth, 4 And her father hears her vow, and her bond with which she has bound her soul, and her father holds his peace at her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she has bound her soul shall stand. 5 But if her father disallows her on the day that he hears, none of her vows, or of her bonds with which she has bound her soul, shall stand, and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her. 6 And if she had a husband when she vowed, or uttered anything out of her lips with which she bound her soul, 7 And her husband heard it and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it, then her vows shall stand, and her bonds with which she bound her soul shall stand. 8 But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it, then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, with which she bound her soul, of no effect, and the LORD shall forgive her. 9 But every vow of a widow, and of her who is divorced, by which they have bound their souls, shall stand against her. 10 And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound her soul by a bond with an oath, 11 And her husband heard it and held his peace at her and did not disallow her, then all her vows shall stand, and every bond with which she bound her soul shall stand. 12 But if her husband has utterly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD shall forgive her. 13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void. 14 But if her husband altogether holds his peace at her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her bonds which are upon her; he confirms them, because he held his peace at her on the day that he heard them. 15 But if he makes them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her iniquity. 16 These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father's house.
• Jonah 1:16 : 16 Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice to the LORD, and made vows.
• Jonah 2:9 : 9 But I will sacrifice to You with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.
• Nah 1:15 : 15 Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace! O Judah, keep your solemn feasts, perform your vows; for the wicked shall no longer pass through you; he is utterly cut off.
• Matt 5:33 : 33 Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord:'