Deuteronomy 23 · Verse 15

Deuteronomy 23:15

Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:

Deuteronomy 23:15, King James Version

Deuteronomy 23:15 in other translations

BSB	Do not return a slave to his master if he has taken refuge with you.
WEB	You shall not deliver to his master a servant who has escaped from his master to you.
ASV	Thou shalt not deliver unto his master a servant that is escaped from his master unto thee:
YLT	‘Thou dost not shut up a servant unto his lord, who is delivered unto thee from his lord;
DARBY	Thou shalt not hand over to his master a bondman that hath escaped from his master unto thee:
BBE	Do not give back to his master a servant who has gone in flight from his master and come to you:
Webster	Thou shalt not deliver to his master the servant who hath escaped from his master to thee:

What does Deuteronomy 23:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 23:15-16

15-16. Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which has escaped from his master unto thee--evidently a servant of the Canaanites or some of the neighboring people, who was driven by tyrannical oppression, or induced, with a view of embracing the true religion, to take refuge in Israel.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 15 Thou shalt not deliver - the servant which is escaped - unto thee - That is, a servant who left an idolatrous master that he might join himself to God and to his people. In any other case, it would have been injustice to have harboured the runaway.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Deuteronomy 23:15-25

It is honourable to shelter and protect the weak, provided they are not wicked. Proselytes and converts to the truth, should be treated with particular tenderness, that they may have no temptation to return to the world. We cannot honour God with our substance, unless it be honestly and honourably come by. It must not only be considered what we give, but how we got it. Where the borrower gets, or hopes to get, it is just that the lender should share the gain; but to him that borrows for necessary food, pity must be showed. That which is gone out of thy lips, as a solemn and deliberate vow, must not be recalled, but thou shalt keep and perform it punctually and fully. They were allowed to pluck and eat of the corn or grapes that grew by the road side; only they must not carry any away. This law intimated what great plenty of corn and wine they should have in Canaan. It provided for the support of poor travellers, and teaches us to be kind to such, teaches us to be ready to distribute, and not to think every thing lost that is given away. Yet it forbids us to abuse the kindness of friends, or to take advantage of what is allowed. Faithfulness to their engagements should mark the people of God; and they should never encroach upon others.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Deuteronomy 23:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

לֹא\־lo'-notH3808

תַסְגִּ֥ירtas.Giryou will deliver upH5462

עֶ֖בֶד'E.veda slaveH5650

אֶל\־'el-toH413

אֲדֹנָ֑יו'a.do.Navmaster<s> hisH113

אֲשֶׁר\־'a.Sher-whoH834

יִנָּצֵ֥לyi.na.Tzelhe will deliver himselfH5337

אֵלֶ֖יךָ'e.Lei.khato youH413

מֵעִ֥םme.'Imfrom withH5973

אֲדֹנָֽיו\׃'a.do.Navmaster<s> hisH113

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Deuteronomy 23:15

1 Samuel 30:15
And David said to him, Canst thou bring me down to this company? And he said, Swear unto me by God, that thou wilt neither kill me, nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring thee down to this company.
Obadiah 1:14
Neither shouldest thou have stood in the crossway, to cut off those of his that did escape; neither shouldest thou have delivered up those of his that did remain in the day of distress.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

We cannot suppose that this law required the Israelites to entertain slaves who had robbed their masters, or left their service without cause; but such only as were cruelly treated, and fled to them for protection, especially from the neighbouring nations. To such they were commanded to afford shelter, and shew great kindness.
1Sa 30:15; Ob 1:14; Phm 10:19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Deuteronomy 23:14
For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy: that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.
Deuteronomy 23:15
Thou shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master unto thee:
Deuteronomy 23:16
He shall dwell with thee, even among you, in that place which he shall choose in one of thy gates, where it liketh him best: thou shalt not oppress him.

Read all of Deuteronomy 23

Deuteronomy 23:15 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	No entregarás á su señor el siervo que se huyere á ti de su amo:
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Car l’ Éternel, ton Dieu, marche au milieu de ton camp pour te délivrer et pour livrer tes ennemis devant toi; et ton camp sera saint, afin qu’il ne voie parmi toi rien de malséant, et qu’il ne se détourne d’avec toi.
German Elberfelder 1871	Einen Knecht, der sich vor seinem Herrn zu dir rettet, sollst du seinem Herrn nicht ausliefern.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Non trades servum domino suo, qui ad te confugerit.