Deuteronomy 22:9
in Deuteronomy 22Do not plant your vineyard with two types of seed; if you do, the entire harvest will be defiled—both the crop you plant and the fruit of your vineyard.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which thou hast sown, and the increase of the vineyard.
KJV
Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 22
Commentary
5 notes on this verseNow this and the following precepts, tho' in themselves small and trivial, are given, according to that time and state of the church, for instructions in greater matters, and particularly to commend to them simplicity in all their carriage towards God and man, and to forbid all mixture of their inventions with God's institutions in doctrine or worship.
This site's exposition
Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds
on Deuteronomy 22:9-12
Divers seeds in a vineyard, an ox and an ass under one yoke, wool and linen in one garment, and then fringes on the four quarters of the vesture. The first three keep kinds distinct and the text gives no reason for any of them, which is also how Leviticus 19:19 leaves them. Numbers 15:38-40 does explain the fringes, as a reminder of the commandments, and Matthew 9:20 and 14:36 have people reaching for the hem of Jesus' garment.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Thou shall not sow thy vineyards with divers seeds,....
There appears not any thing at all of moral evil in these things, and therefore we now make no conscience of sowing wheat and rye together, ploughing with horses and oxen together, and of wearing linsey-woolsey garments; but hereby is forbidden either, 1. A conformity to some idolatrous customs of the heathen. That which is contrary to the plainness and purity of an Israelite.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Divers seeds - See the note on Lev 19:19.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
He states, Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together. 187 Verse. The same law applies to all diverse species of animals. It is an explanatory commandment of the prohibitions, Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind, 182 Leviticus:19.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִזְרַ֥ע | tizra' | you will sow | H2232 → | 56 times |
| כַּרְמְךָ֖ | karmekha | vineyard your | H3754 → | 92 times |
| כִּלְאָ֑יִם | kilayim | two kinds | H3610 → | |
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| תִּקְדַּ֗שׁ | tikdash | it should be set apart | H6942 → | 171 times |
| הַֽמְלֵאָ֤ה | hamleah | the full produce | H4395 → | |
| הַזֶּ֙רַע֙ | hazera' | the seed | H2233 → | 229 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּזְרָ֔ע | tizra' | you will sow | H2232 → | 56 times |
| וּתְבוּאַ֖ת | utevuat | and [the] produce of | H8393 → | 42 times |
| הַכָּֽרֶם׃ ס | hakarem | the vineyard | H3754 → | 92 times |
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִזְרַ֥עyou will sow
tizra'H2232 →56 times
כַּרְמְךָ֖vineyard your
karmekhaH3754 →92 times
כִּלְאָ֑יִםtwo kinds
kilayimH3610 →
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
תִּקְדַּ֗שׁit should be set apart
tikdashH6942 →171 times
הַֽמְלֵאָ֤הthe full produce
hamleahH4395 →
הַזֶּ֙רַע֙the seed
hazera'H2233 →229 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תִּזְרָ֔עyou will sow
tizra'H2232 →56 times
וּתְבוּאַ֖תand [the] produce of
utevuatH8393 →42 times
הַכָּֽרֶם׃ סthe vineyard
hakaremH3754 →92 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 6:24No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and…
it leads to
- 1 John 2:15–16
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and…
- James 4:4
You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
- 1 Timothy 6:9–10
Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.
- Joshua 24:15
But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods…
- 1 John 2:15–16
Through
Leviticus 19:19You are to keep My statutes. You shall not crossbreed two different kinds of livestock; you shall not sow your fields with two kinds of seed; and you shall not wear clothing made of…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:14–17
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- 2 Corinthians 6:14–17
Through
2 Corinthians 11:3I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
it leads to
- Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
- Galatians 1:6
I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
- Colossians 2:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.