Deuteronomy 17:16

17:16 Moreover, he must not accumulate horses for himself or allow the people to return to Egypt to do so, ¹  for the Lord has said you must never again return that way.

Deuteronomy 17:2

17:2 Suppose a man or woman is discovered among you – in one of your villages ²  that the Lord your God is giving you – who sins before the Lord your God ³  and breaks his covenant

Deuteronomy 15:1

Release for Debt Slaves

15:1 At the end of every seven years you must declare a cancellation ⁴  of debts.

Isaiah 2:7

2:7 Their land is full of gold and silver;

there is no end to their wealth. ⁵ 

Their land is full of horses;

there is no end to their chariots. ⁶ 

¹ tn Heb “in order to multiply horses.” The translation uses “do so” in place of “multiply horses” to avoid redundancy (cf. NAB, NIV).

² tn Heb “gates.”

³ tn Heb “does the evil in the eyes of the Lord your God.”

⁴ tn The Hebrew term שְׁמִטָּת (shÿmittat), a derivative of the verb שָׁמַט (shamat, “to release; to relinquish”), refers to the cancellation of the debt and even pledges for the debt of a borrower by his creditor. This could be a full and final remission or, more likely, one for the seventh year only. See R. Wakely, NIDOTTE 4:155-60. Here the words “of debts” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied. Cf. NAB “a relaxation of debts”; NASB, NRSV “a remission of debts.”

⁵ tn Or “treasuries”; KJV “treasures.”

⁶ sn Judah’s royal bureaucracy had accumulated great wealth and military might, in violation of Deut 17:16-17.