Deuteronomy 14:24
in Deuteronomy 14But if the distance is too great for you to carry that with which the LORD your God has blessed you, because the place where the LORD your God will choose to put His Name is too far away,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it, because the place is too far from thee, which Jehovah thy God shall choose, to set his name there, when Jehovah thy God shall bless thee;
KJV
And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 14
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
You must be sure to set aside a tenth
on Deuteronomy 14:22-27
The tithe here is eaten by the man who brings it at the chosen place. The meal's stated reason is “so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always”, which makes the feast itself the lesson.
This site's exposition
if the distance is too great
The same allowance for distance stands at 12:21, where a man too far from the place may slaughter at home. Here the distance turns the tenth into money, and the man still goes to the place the LORD will choose. John Gill calls money the lighter and easier carriage.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), and that money must be laid out in something to feast upon before the Lord. The comfortable cheerful using of what God has given us, with temperance and sobriety, is really the honouring of God with it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And if the way be too long for thee,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed--The dedication of a tenth part of the year's produce in everything was then a religious duty. It was to be brought as an offering to the sanctuary; and, where distance prevented its being taken in kind, it was by this statute convertible into money.
How the passage was read
On Deuteronomy 14:22-29On Deuteronomy 14:22-29
The tithe system behind the mint and cumin
The Torah's tithe was agricultural: a tenth of grain, wine, and oil, eaten before the LORD or given, in the third year, to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. The oral tradition extended the duty far beyond the named crops. The Mishnah's tractate on tithes opens with the general rule: “whatever is food, and is looked after, and grows from the land, is liable for tithes” (Maasrot 1:1). Under that rule even kitchen herbs were tithed, a scruple carried out leaf by leaf.
That is the practice behind Jesus' words about tithing “mint and dill and cumin” (Matthew 23:23). Read His sentence whole: “these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” He affirms the scruple and indicts the inversion of weight, the tithed herb beside the neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The woe is about proportion, not about tithing.
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.
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִֽי־ | vekhi- | and if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִרְבֶּ֨ה | yirbeh | it will be [too] great | H7235 → | 227 times |
| מִמְּךָ֜ | mimekha | for you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַדֶּ֗רֶךְ | haderekh | the journey | H1870 → | 707 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תוּכַ֘ל | tukhal | you will be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| שְׂאֵתוֹ֒ | seeto | to carry it | H5375 → | 656 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִרְחַ֤ק | yirchak | it will be [too] far | H7368 → | |
| מִמְּךָ֙ | mimekha | for you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַמָּק֔וֹם | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִבְחַר֙ | yivchar | he will choose | H977 → | 171 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לָשׂ֥וּם | lasum | to put | H7760 → | 584 times |
| שְׁמ֖וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| שָׁ֑ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְבָרֶכְךָ֖ | yevarekha | he will bless you | H1288 → | 330 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
וְכִֽי־and if
vekhi-H3588 →4482 times
יִרְבֶּ֨הit will be [too] great
yirbehH7235 →227 times
מִמְּךָ֜for you
mimekhaH4480 →1188 times
הַדֶּ֗רֶךְthe journey
haderekhH1870 →707 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תוּכַ֘לyou will be able
tukhalH3201 →194 times
שְׂאֵתוֹ֒to carry it
seetoH5375 →656 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יִרְחַ֤קit will be [too] far
yirchakH7368 →
מִמְּךָ֙for you
mimekhaH4480 →1188 times
הַמָּק֔וֹםthe place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִבְחַר֙he will choose
yivcharH977 →171 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
לָשׂ֥וּםto put
lasumH7760 →584 times
שְׁמ֖וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
שָׁ֑םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְבָרֶכְךָ֖he will bless you
yevarekhaH1288 →330 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃God your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 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
Deuteronomy 12:5Instead, you must seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to establish as a dwelling for His Name, and there you must go.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 26:2
you are to take some of the firstfruits of all your produce from the soil of the land that the LORD your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 12:11
then the LORD your God will choose a dwelling for His Name. And there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all…
- 2 Chronicles 7:12
the LORD appeared to him at night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.
- Deuteronomy 16:2
You are to offer to the LORD your God the Passover sacrifice from the herd or flock in the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for His Name.
- Deuteronomy 26:2
Through
Deuteronomy 11:24Every place where the sole of your foot treads will be yours. Your territory will extend from the wilderness to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the Western Sea.
it leads to
- Joshua 14:9
On that day Moses swore to me, saying, ‘Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD…
- Exodus 23:31
And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you…
- Genesis 15:18–21
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Joshua 14:9
Through
Exodus 23:31And I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the Euphrates. For I will deliver the inhabitants into your hand, and you…
it leads to
- Genesis 15:18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Genesis 15:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
On this verse
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.