^14:1You are children¹ of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald² for the sake of the dead. ^14:2For you are a people holy³ to the Lord your God. He⁴ has chosen you to be his people, prized⁵ above all others on the face of the earth.

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Footnotes

1 Heb “sons” (so ); , “people.”
2 Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald. These were pagan practices associated with mourning the dead; they were not be imitated by God’s people (though they frequently were; cf. 1 Kgs 18:28; Jer 16:6; 41:5; 47:5; Hos 7:14 []; Mic 5:1). For other warnings against such practices see Lev 21:5; Jer 16:5.
3 Or “set apart.”
4 Heb “The Lord.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
5 Or “treasured.” The Hebrew term סְגֻלָּה (ségullah) describes Israel as God’s choice people, those whom he elected and who are most precious to him (cf. Exod 19:4–6; Deut 14:2; 26:18; 1 Chr 29:3; Ps 135:4; Eccl 2:8 Mal 3:17). See E. Carpenter, 3:. The Hebrew term translated “select” (and the whole verse) is reminiscent of the classic covenant text (Exod 19:4–6) which describes Israel’s entry into covenant relationship with the Lord. Israel must resist paganism and its trappings precisely because she is a holy people elected by the Lord from among the nations to be his instrument of world redemption (cf. Deut 7:6; 26:18; Ps 135:4; Mal 3:17; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet 2:9).

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“You are the sons of the Lord your God. You shall not cut yourselves or make any baldness on your foreheads for the dead. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

You are the children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead, for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“You are sons of the Lord your God; do not cut yourselves or make a bald spot on your head on behalf of the dead, for you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.

NLTNew Living Translation

“Since you are the people of the Lord your God, never cut yourselves or shave the hair above your foreheads in mourning for the dead. You have been set apart as holy to the Lord your God, and he has chosen you from all the nations of the earth to be his own special treasure.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

“You are children of Yahweh your God; therefore you must not gash yourself, and you must not make your forehead bald for the dead. For you are a people holy to Yahweh your God, and you Yahweh has chosen to be a treasured possession from among all of the peoples that are on the surface of the earth.

KJV 1900King James Version

Ye are the children of the Lord your God: ye shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God, and the Lord hath chosen thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that are upon the earth.

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