If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, hates her,
Parallel translations
- KJV If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,
- BSB Suppose a man marries a woman, has relations with her, and comes to hate her,
- NKJV “If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and detests her,
- NASB “If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then turns against her,
- NLT “Suppose a man marries a woman, but after sleeping with her, he turns against her
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
This introduces a case where a husband turns against his new wife and falsely impugns her purity. The law will protect a woman from slander.
Overview
The scenario (vv. 13-19) addresses a husband who, having grown to hate his wife, publicly accuses her of premarital unchastity. In a culture where a woman's reputation was vital, such slander could be devastating. God's law steps in to protect the vulnerable wife and to demand truthful, evidence-based judgment, reflecting His concern for justice and the dignity of women.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Gen 29:21Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.”
- Eph 5:28–29Even so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.
- Deut 24:1When a man takes a wife and marries her, then it shall be, if she finds no favor in his eyes, because he has found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
- Gen 29:31Yahweh saw that Leah was hated, and he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.
- Gen 29:23In the evening, he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him. He went in to her.
- Judg 15:1–2But after a while, in the time of wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a young goat. He said, “I will go in to my wife’s room.” But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in.
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 22:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.