Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.
Parallel translations
- WEB neither shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son.
- BSB Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
- NKJV Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son.
- NASB Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them: you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.
- NLT You must not intermarry with them. Do not let your daughters and sons marry their sons and daughters,
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 intermarry with the Canaanite nations. The prohibition guards against being led astray spiritually.
Overview
The ban on intermarriage is not racial but religious, as the next verse explains: the danger is being turned to false gods. Marriage to idolaters threatened the covenant faithfulness of God's people. The New Testament likewise warns believers against being unequally yoked with unbelievers, for the sake of undivided devotion to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- 1 Kgs 11:2Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.
- Josh 23:12–13Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you:
- Exod 34:15–16Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice;
- Judg 3:6–7And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
- 2 Cor 6:14–17Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
- Neh 13:23–27In those days also saw I Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:
- Ezra 9:1–2Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.
- Gen 6:2–3That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 7:3 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.