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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”

Female Captives

10 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and the Lord your God delivers them into your hand, and you take them captive, 11 and you see among the captives a beautiful woman, and desire her and would take her for your (A)wife, 12 then you shall bring her home to your house, and she shall (B)shave her head and trim her nails. 13 She shall put off the clothes of her captivity, remain in your house, and (C)mourn her father and her mother a full month; after that you may go in to her and be her husband, and she shall be your wife. 14 And it shall be, if you have no delight in her, then you shall set her free, but you certainly shall not sell her for money; you shall not treat her brutally, because you have (D)humbled her.

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