Deuteronomy 22:30
New International Version
A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not dishonor his father’s bed.

New Living Translation
“A man must not marry his father’s former wife, for this would violate his father.

English Standard Version
“A man shall not take his father’s wife, so that he does not uncover his father’s nakedness.

Berean Standard Bible
A man is not to marry his father’s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father’s marriage bed.

King James Bible
A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt.

New King James Version
“A man shall not take his father’s wife, nor uncover his father’s bed.

New American Standard Bible
“A man shall not take his father’s wife in marriage, so that he does not uncover his father’s garment.

NASB 1995
“A man shall not take his father’s wife so that he will not uncover his father’s skirt.

NASB 1977
“A man shall not take his father’s wife so that he shall not uncover his father’s skirt.

Legacy Standard Bible
“A man shall not take his father’s wife so that he will not uncover his father’s skirt.

Amplified Bible
“A man shall not take his father’s [former] wife, so that he will not expose his father’s wife.

Christian Standard Bible
“A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not violate his father’s marriage bed.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
A man is not to marry his father’s wife; he must not violate his father’s marriage bed.”

American Standard Version
A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.

Contemporary English Version
A man must not marry a woman who was married to his father. This would be a disgrace to his father.

English Revised Version
A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
A man must never marry his father's wife because this would disgrace his father.

Good News Translation
"No man is to disgrace his father by having intercourse with any of his father's wives.

International Standard Version
"A man must not marry his father's wife, so that he will not dishonor his father's memory."

Majority Standard Bible
A man is not to marry his father?s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father?s marriage bed.

NET Bible
A man may not marry his father's former wife and in this way dishonor his father.

New Heart English Bible
A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.

Webster's Bible Translation
A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt.

World English Bible
A man shall not take his father’s wife, and shall not uncover his father’s skirt.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
A man does not take his father’s wife, nor uncover his father’s skirt.”

Young's Literal Translation
'A man doth not take his father's wife, nor uncover his father's skirt.

Smith's Literal Translation
A man shall not take his father's wife and shall not uncover his father's wing.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
No man shall take his father's wife, nor remove his covering.

Catholic Public Domain Version
No man shall take his father’s wife, nor remove her covering.”

New American Bible
A man shall not marry his father’s wife, nor shall he dishonor his father’s bed.

New Revised Standard Version
A man shall not marry his father’s wife, thereby violating his father’s rights.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
A man shall not take his father's wife, nor uncover the skirt of his father's wife.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
A man shall not take the wife of his father and shall not lay open the skirt of his father.”
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Marriage Violations
29then the man who lay with her must pay the young woman’s father fifty shekels of silver, and she must become his wife because he has violated her. He must not divorce her as long as he lives. 30A man is not to marry his father’s wife, so that he will not dishonor his father’s marriage bed.

Cross References
Leviticus 18:8
You must not have sexual relations with your father’s wife; it would dishonor your father.

Leviticus 20:11
If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

1 Corinthians 5:1
It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that is intolerable even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.

Ezekiel 22:10
In you they have uncovered the nakedness of their fathers; in you they violate women during their menstrual impurity.

Genesis 35:22
While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:

2 Samuel 16:21-22
Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to take care of the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.” / So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.

1 Chronicles 5:1
These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So he is not reckoned according to birthright.

Genesis 49:4
Uncontrolled as the waters, you will no longer excel, because you went up to your father’s bed, onto my couch, and defiled it.

2 Samuel 20:3
When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace, and he placed them in a house under guard. He provided for them, but he no longer slept with them. They were confined until the day of their death, living as widows.

1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a man can commit is outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; / each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, / not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Matthew 5:27-28
You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ / But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

1 Corinthians 7:2
But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.

Romans 13:13
Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy.

Galatians 5:19
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;


Treasury of Scripture

A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt.

Leviticus 27:20
And if he will not redeem the field, or if he have sold the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed any more.

Leviticus 18:8
The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.

Leviticus 20:11
And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

discover

Ruth 3:9
And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.

Ezekiel 16:8
Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.

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Deuteronomy 22
1. Of humanity toward brothers
5. The sex is to be distinguished by apparel
6. The bird is not to be taken with her young ones
8. The house must have battlements
9. Confusion is to be avoided
12. Tassels upon the vesture
13. The punishment of him who slanders his wife
22. of adultery
23. of rape
28. of fornication
30. of incest














A man is not to marry
This phrase sets a clear prohibition, emphasizing the sanctity and boundaries of familial relationships. The Hebrew root for "marry" here is "laqach," which means to take or to seize. This indicates not just a legal union but an act of taking possession, which in this context is forbidden. The command underscores the importance of respecting family structures and the divine order established by God. Historically, this prohibition would have been crucial in maintaining the integrity and purity of the Israelite community, preventing confusion and conflict within family lines.

his father’s wife
This phrase refers specifically to a stepmother, not the man's biological mother. The Hebrew term "’ishah" is used for "wife," which can denote a woman or a wife, depending on the context. The specificity here is crucial, as it delineates the boundaries of sexual morality and respect within the family. In ancient Near Eastern cultures, such relationships were often fraught with power dynamics and inheritance issues. By prohibiting this union, the law protects the dignity of the father and the sanctity of the family unit.

so that he will not dishonor
The word "dishonor" comes from the Hebrew "galah," which means to uncover or expose. This term is often used in the context of shame or disgrace. The act of marrying a father's wife would bring shame not only to the individuals involved but also to the family and community. It reflects a deep understanding of honor and shame cultures prevalent in ancient Israel, where family reputation was paramount.

his father’s marriage bed
The "marriage bed" is a euphemism for the intimate relationship between a husband and wife. The Hebrew "mishkav" is used here, which can mean a bed or a place of lying down. This phrase highlights the sacredness of the marital relationship, which is not to be violated or disrespected. In the broader scriptural context, the marriage bed is often seen as a symbol of covenantal faithfulness and purity. By protecting this space, the law upholds the sanctity of marriage as ordained by God.

Verse 30. - To these is appended a general prohibition of incestuous connections, the first provision in the earlier law being cited as a sort of index to the whole (Leviticus 18:7, etc.).



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
A man
אִ֖ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person

is not
לֹא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

to marry
יִקַּ֥ח (yiq·qaḥ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

his father’s
אָבִ֑יו (’ā·ḇîw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1: Father

wife,
אֵ֣שֶׁת (’ê·šeṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

so that he will not
וְלֹ֥א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

dishonor
יְגַלֶּ֖ה (yə·ḡal·leh)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1540: To denude, to exile, to reveal

his father’s
אָבִֽיו׃ (’ā·ḇîw)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1: Father

marriage bed.
כְּנַ֥ף (kə·nap̄)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3671: An edge, extremity, a wing, a flap, a quarter, a pinnacle


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 22:30 A man shall not take his father's (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 22:29
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