Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. 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. 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. Berean Standard Bible He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold. King James Bible Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not 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 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. NASB 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. NASB 1977 “Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself. 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. 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. 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. Holman 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. 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. 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. 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. GOD'S WORD® Translation The king must never have a large number of wives, or he will turn away [from God]. And he must never own a lot of gold and silver. 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. International Standard Version Also, he must not accumulate wives for himself (otherwise, his affection will become diverted), nor accumulate for himself excessive quantities of silver and gold. Majority Standard Bible He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold. NET Bible Furthermore, he must not marry many wives lest his affections turn aside, and he must not accumulate much silver and gold. New Heart 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. 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 He shall not multiply wives to himself, that his heart not turn away. He shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. Literal Translations Literal Standard VersionAnd he does not multiply wives for himself, and his heart does not turn aside, and he does not exceedingly multiply silver and gold for himself. 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. Smith's Literal Translation And he shall not multiply to him wives, and his heart shall not turn away: and silver and gold he shall not greatly multiply to himself. Catholic Translations Douay-Rheims BibleHe shall not have many wives, that may allure his mind, nor immense sums of silver and gold. Catholic Public Domain Version He shall not have many wives, who might allure his mind, and he shall not have immense weights of silver and gold. New American Bible Neither shall he have a great number of wives, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he accumulate a vast amount of silver and gold. New Revised Standard Version 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. Translations from Aramaic Lamsa BibleNeither 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. Peshitta Holy Bible Translated And he shall not multiply women to himself, lest they will seduce his heart, and he shall not multiply silver and gold to himself greatly. OT Translations JPS Tanakh 1917Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. Brenton Septuagint Translation And he shall not multiply to himself wives, lest his heart turn away; and he shall not greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context Guidelines for a King…16But the king must not acquire many horses for himself or send the people back to Egypt to acquire more horses, for the LORD has said, ‘You are never to go back that way again.’ 17He must not take many wives for himself, lest his heart go astray. He must not accumulate for himself large amounts of silver and gold. 18When he is seated on his royal throne, he must write for himself a copy of this instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.… Cross References 1 Kings 11:1-4 King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love. / He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines—and his wives turned his heart away. ... 1 Kings 10:26-29 Solomon accumulated 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. / The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills. / Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. ... 2 Samuel 5:13 After he had arrived from Hebron, David took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem, and more sons and daughters were born to him. 1 Kings 3:1 Later, Solomon formed an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt by marrying his daughter. Solomon brought her to the City of David until he had finished building his palace and the house of the LORD, as well as the wall around Jerusalem. 1 Kings 11:9-11 Now the LORD grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. / Although He had warned Solomon explicitly not to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command. / Then the LORD said to Solomon, “Because you have done this and have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. 2 Chronicles 1:16-17 Solomon’s horses were imported from Egypt and Kue; the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. / A chariot could be imported from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Likewise, they exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and to the kings of Aram. 2 Chronicles 9:25-28 Solomon had 4,000 stalls for horses and chariots, and 12,000 horses, which he stationed in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. / He reigned over all the kings from the Euphrates to the land of the Philistines, as far as the border of Egypt. / The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as abundant as sycamore in the foothills. ... Nehemiah 13:26 Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in matters like this? There was not a king like him among many nations, and he was loved by his God, who made him king over all Israel—yet foreign women drew him into sin. Proverbs 31:3 Do not spend your strength on women or your vigor on those who ruin kings. Hosea 4:11 to promiscuity, wine, and new wine, which take away understanding. Matthew 6:19-21 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. / But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. / For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 19:23-24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. / Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Luke 12:15 And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Luke 16:13 No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 1 Timothy 6:9-10 Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. / For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. Treasury of Scripture Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold. multiply wives Genesis 2:24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 2 Samuel 3:2-5 And unto David were sons born in Hebron: and his firstborn was Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; … 1 Kings 11:1-4 But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; … neither shall he 1 Kings 10:21 And all king Solomon's drinking vessels were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. Psalm 62:10 Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. Proverbs 30:8,9 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: … Jump to Previous Accumulate Amounts Astray Exceedingly Heart Increase Multiply Silver Turn Turned WivesJump to Next Accumulate Amounts Astray Exceedingly Heart Increase Multiply Silver Turn Turned WivesDeuteronomy 17 1. The things sacrificed must be sound2. Idolaters must be slain 8. Hard controversies are to be determined by the priests and judges 12. The one who shows contempt for the judge must die 14. The election 16. and duty of a king He must not take many wives for himself This phrase is a direct command to the king of Israel, emphasizing the importance of monogamy and the dangers of polygamy. The Hebrew word for "wives" is "נָשִׁים" (nashim), which is the plural form of "אִשָּׁה" (ishah), meaning "woman" or "wife." In the ancient Near Eastern context, kings often took multiple wives to form political alliances and demonstrate their wealth and power. However, this command highlights a counter-cultural stance, urging the king to avoid such practices. The wisdom here is profound, as taking many wives often led to divided loyalties and idolatry, as seen in the life of Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-4). The instruction serves as a reminder that the king's heart should remain undivided and fully devoted to God. or his heart will be led astray Nor amass for himself large amounts of silver and gold Hebrew He must notוְלֹ֤א (wə·lō) Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no take many יַרְבֶּה־ (yar·beh-) Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great wives נָשִׁ֔ים (nā·šîm) Noun - feminine plural Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female for himself, לּוֹ֙ (lōw) Preposition | third person masculine singular Strong's Hebrew lest וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō) Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no his heart לְבָב֑וֹ (lə·ḇā·ḇōw) Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular Strong's 3824: Inner man, mind, will, heart go astray. יָס֖וּר (yā·sūr) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 5493: To turn aside He must not לֹ֥א (lō) Adverb - Negative particle Strong's 3808: Not, no accumulate יַרְבֶּה־ (yar·beh-) Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular Strong's 7235: To be or become much, many or great for himself לּ֖וֹ (lōw) Preposition | third person masculine singular Strong's Hebrew great amounts מְאֹֽד׃ (mə·’ōḏ) Adverb Strong's 3966: Vehemence, vehemently, wholly, speedily of silver וְכֶ֣סֶף (wə·ḵe·sep̄) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 3701: Silver, money and gold. וְזָהָ֔ב (wə·zā·hāḇ) Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular Strong's 2091: Gold, something gold-colored, as oil, a clear sky Links Deuteronomy 17:17 NIVDeuteronomy 17:17 NLT Deuteronomy 17:17 ESV Deuteronomy 17:17 NASB Deuteronomy 17:17 KJV Deuteronomy 17:17 BibleApps.com Deuteronomy 17:17 Biblia Paralela Deuteronomy 17:17 Chinese Bible Deuteronomy 17:17 French Bible Deuteronomy 17:17 Catholic Bible OT Law: Deuteronomy 17:17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself (Deut. 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