Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 23:6
You are not to seek peace or prosperity from them as long as you live.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelite assembly on the plains of Moab, delivering final camp regulations before the conquest begins.
The words — תִדְרֹשׁ (tid.Rosh) translates literally as "you will seek" and שְׁלֹמָם (she.lo.Ma/m) means "their peace."
The thread — The text's prohibition against pursuing alliances with hostile nations appears in Ezra 9:12 and parallels the military subjugation described in 2 Samuel 8:2 and 2 Samuel 12:31.
Why it lands — The verse commands a permanent refusal to negotiate security or prosperity with designated enemies. It requires the reader to maintain strict communal boundaries rather than pursue mutual benefit.
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
King James Version
Thou shalt not seek their peace nor their prosperity all thy days for ever.
Cross-references
- Ezra 9:12 Now, 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 Samuel 8:2 David 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.
- 2 Samuel 12:31 David 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.
- Nehemiah 13:23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.