^20:28They asked him,⁶⁹ “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man⁷⁰ must marry⁷¹ the widow and father children⁷² for his brother.⁷³

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Footnotes

69 Grk “asked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
70 Grk “his brother”; but this would be redundant in English with the same phrase “his brother” at the end of the verse, so most modern translations render this phrase “the man” (so , ).
71 The use of ἵνα (hina) with imperatival force is unusual ( §470.1).
72 Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for procreating children (L&N 23.59).
73 A quotation from Deut 25:5. Because the OT quotation does not include “a wife” as the object of the verb, it has been left as normal type. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1–12; , Yevamot; Josephus, 4.8.23 [4.254–256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5–10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother has a wife, and dies childless, his brother should take the wife and produce offspring for his brother.

NLTNew Living Translation

They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us if someone’s brother dies having a wife, and this man is childless, that his brother should take the wife and father descendants for his brother.

KJV 1900King James Version

Saying, Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any man’s brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother.

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