What Does Deuteronomy 23:18 Mean in the King James?
Thou shalt not bring the hire of a whore, or the price of a dog, into the house of the LORD thy God for any vow: for even both these are abomination unto the LORD thy God.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
A vow cannot change the source of what it offers: money does not become acceptable simply because it is dedicated to God.
THE MEANING
This verse forbids bringing a prostitute’s fee or a dog’s price into God’s house as a vow; dedication does not alter either source. In the surrounding law, “dog” likely refers to male cult prostitution, though the Hebrew keeps the word “dog.”
WHAT THIS UNDOES
A sincere religious vow can make any money acceptable to God.
THE ROOT
אֶתְנַן
ʾetnan
GROWS FROM
נתן
give, set, place
The hire bears the same נתן seed as a gift: it is something given and received, but that transfer does not erase how it was gained. The verse blocks a vow from changing the character of the payment simply by carrying it into God’s house.
ALSO GROWS
natan: to give, set, or place
נָתַן
The root makes the fee’s movement visible: it is given, but its destination does not rewrite its source.
mattanah: gift
מַתָּנָה
This related word shows how close payment and gift sit in the language of giving; calling proceeds a gift does not alter what produced them.
מְחִיר
məḥîr
GROWS FROM
מכר
sell, exchange for a price
The word belongs to the language of selling and sale, so the verse pairs a payment with a sale price: both transactions remain visible in what is brought. A later sacred destination does not erase the exchange that produced the money.
ALSO GROWS
makhar: to sell
מָכַר
The verb makes the transaction behind a price explicit: something is transferred for value.
mimkar: a sale or thing sold
מִמְכָּר
This related noun keeps the exchange in view, even when the proceeds are later presented as a vow.
THE PATTERN
A sacred designation does not erase what an offering is or how it was obtained.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.THE THREAD
When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.Both verses use the נֶדֶר (neder, “vow”) word-family from נדר (n-d-r, “to vow”). Here a vow cannot validate the source of what is offered; Ecclesiastes shows that the vow still binds the one who makes it.
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