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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”

Marrying a Captive Woman

10 When you go to war against your enemies and the Lord your God delivers them into your hands(A) and you take captives,(B) 11 if you notice among the captives a beautiful(C) woman and are attracted to her,(D) you may take her as your wife. 12 Bring her into your home and have her shave her head,(E) trim her nails 13 and put aside the clothes she was wearing when captured. After she has lived in your house and mourned her father and mother for a full month,(F) then you may go to her and be her husband and she shall be your wife. 14 If you are not pleased with her, let her go wherever she wishes. You must not sell her or treat her as a slave, since you have dishonored her.(G)

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