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Female Captives

10 “When you go out to war against your enemies and the Lord your God hands them over to you and you take them captive, 11 suppose you see among the captives a beautiful woman whom you desire and want to marry, 12 and so you bring her home to your house: she shall shave her head, pare her nails,(A) 13 discard her captive’s garb, and remain in your house a full month mourning for her father and mother; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 But if you are not satisfied with her, you shall let her go free and certainly not sell her for money. You must not treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.

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10 “When you go out for battle against your enemies, and Yahweh your God gives them into your hand, and you lead the captives[a] away, 11 and you see among the captives[b] a woman beautiful in appearance, and you become attached to her and you want to take her as a wife, 12 then you shall bring her into your household, and she shall shave her head, and she shall trim her nails. 13 And she shall remove the clothing of her captivity from her, and she shall remain in your house, and she shall mourn her father and her mother a full month,[c] and after this you may have sex with her,[d] and you may marry her, and she may become your wife.[e] 14 And then if you do not take delight in her, then you shall let her go to do whatever she wants,[f] but you shall not treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored[g] her.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 21:10 Hebrew “his captive” but singular pronoun refers to the many captives taken with plural sense
  2. Deuteronomy 21:11 Hebrew “captive”
  3. Deuteronomy 21:13 Literally “a month of days”
  4. Deuteronomy 21:13 Literally “you may go into her”
  5. Deuteronomy 21:13 Literally “become for you as wife”
  6. Deuteronomy 21:14 Literally “according to her desire/soul”
  7. Deuteronomy 21:14 Or “humbled”