Thou shalt not have in thy bag divers weights, a great and a small.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall not have in your bag diverse weights, one heavy and one light.
- BSB You shall not have two differing weights in your bag, one heavy and one light.
- NKJV “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light.
- NASB “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a large and a small.
- NLT “You must use accurate scales when you weigh out merchandise,
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
Israelites must not keep two differing weights, a heavy one and a light one, for cheating in trade. Honesty in business is required by God.
Overview
Merchants could defraud by using a heavier weight when buying and a lighter one when selling, and God forbids such deceit. Honest weights and measures are repeatedly commanded as marks of covenant integrity (Leviticus 19:35-36; Proverbs 11:1). This reflects the truthfulness of God Himself, who calls His people to deal uprightly in every transaction.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Prov 11:1A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
- Amos 8:5Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
- Prov 16:11A just weight and balance are the LORD’s: all the weights of the bag are his work.
- Lev 19:35–37Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure.
- Mic 6:11–12Shall I count them pure with the wicked balances, and with the bag of deceitful weights?
- Prov 20:10Divers weights, and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the LORD.
- Ezek 45:10–11Ye shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.
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 25:13 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.