Deuteronomy 19:14

You must not move your neighbor’s boundary marker, which was set up by your ancestors to mark the inheritance you shall receive in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab, preparing them for entry into the promised land. He places this command immediately after the penalty for innocent bloodshed and directly before the legal requirement for multiple witnesses.

The words — The Hebrew תַסִּיג (ta.Sig) translates to "you will displace," acting on גְּב֣וּל (ge.Vul), "boundary." The text explicitly forbids removing a neighbor’s ancestral marker that designates their allotted inheritance.

The thread — This prohibition appears in Proverbs 22:28 and Deuteronomy 27:17, where moving boundary stones is condemned as a cursed practice. Job 24:2 also lists the moving of boundary stones as a defining act of the wicked.

Why it lands — The passage demands strict adherence to established property lines and ancestral land allocations. It requires readers to uphold legal boundaries and reject opportunistic land grabs.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

לֹ֤אlo'not תַסִּיג֙ta.Sigyou will displace גְּב֣וּלge.Vul[the] boundary of רֵֽעֲךָ֔re.'a./Khaneighbor/ your אֲשֶׁ֥ר'a.Sherwhich גָּבְל֖וּga.ve.Luthey set bounds רִאשֹׁנִ֑יםri.sho.Nimancestors בְּנַחֲלָֽתְךָ֙be./na.cha.la.te./Khain/ inheritance/ your אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sherwhich תִּנְחַ֔לtin.Chalyou will inherit בָּאָ֕רֶץba./'A.retzin the/ land אֲשֶׁר֙'a.Sherwhich יְהוָ֣הYah.wehYahweh אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your נֹתֵ֥ןno.Ten[is] about to giveלְךָ֖le./Khato <the>/ youלְרִשְׁתָּֽהּ׃ סle./rish.Ta/hto/ take possession of/ it

King James Version

Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.

Cross-references

Proverbs 22:28 Do not move an ancient boundary stone which your fathers have placed.
Deuteronomy 27:17 ‘Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary stone.’ And let all the people say, ‘Amen!’
Job 24:2 Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
Proverbs 23:10 Do not move an ancient boundary stone or encroach on the fields of the fatherless,
Hosea 5:10 The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary stones; I will pour out My fury upon them like water.