You are not to seek peace or prosperity from them as long as you live.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.
- KJV Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
- NKJV You shall not seek their peace nor their prosperity all your days forever.
- NASB You shall never seek their peace or their prosperity all your days.
- NLT As long as you live, you must never promote the welfare and prosperity of the Ammonites or Moabites.
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
Israel must not seek the welfare of Ammon and Moab because of their persistent enmity. God's people were to maintain separation from determined opposition.
Overview
This command not to pursue peace or prosperity with these hostile nations reflects the seriousness of their opposition to God's redemptive plan. It is not a license for personal vengeance but a policy guarding the covenant community from corrupting alliances. Even so, individual converts like Ruth show that the door of grace remained open to those who turned to the LORD in faith.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Ezra 9:12Now, therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Never seek their peace or prosperity, so that you may be strong and may eat the good things of the land, leaving it as an inheritance to your sons forever.’
- 2 Sam 12:31David brought out the people who were there and put them to work with saws, iron picks, and axes, and he made them work at the brick kilns. He did the same to all the Ammonite cities. Then David and all his troops returned to Jerusalem.
- 2 Sam 8:2David also defeated the Moabites, made them lie down on the ground, and measured them off with a cord. He measured off with two lengths those to be put to death, and with one length those to be spared. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute.
- Neh 13:23–25In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 23:6 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.