Deuteronomy 14:25

Summary

This verse instructs that produce (implied from the preceding context) is to be exchanged for money, that the money is to be secured in hand, and that one is then to travel to the place that Yehovah chooses. The verse forms a chain of sequential actions using the narrative vav.

Key words

• na.ta.Tah ("you will exchange [it]", H5414G) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the action sequence from the previous verse; literally "you will give," here rendered as exchanging produce for money.
• tzar.Ta ("you will secure", H6696A) — qal sequential perfect; conveys binding or tying up the money securely, not simply holding it.
• Ke.sef ("money", H3701G) — masculine singular noun, appearing twice (once with preposition+article as Ka.sef, once with definite article as ha.Kesef), marking the object exchanged and then the object secured.
• ha.lakh.Ta ("you will go", H1980G) — qal sequential perfect, the third verb in the chain, moving the narrative toward the destination.
• yiv.Char ("he will choose", H0977) — qal imperfect, describing an ongoing or future choice by Yehovah regarding the place, contrasting grammatically with the perfect verbs describing the addressee's actions.

What the text says

The verse is built on three sequential perfect verbs joined by the narrative vav: na.ta.Tah ("you will exchange"), tzar.Ta ("you will secure"), and ha.lakh.Ta ("you will go"). This chain structure in Biblical Hebrew indicates a series of consecutive actions following from a prior instruction, each step depending grammatically on the one before it. The sequential perfect form here functions as a future/instructional sequence rather than a simple past narration.

The word Ke.sef ("money", H3701G) appears twice, first with the preposition ba ("for the," H9003+H9009) marking what the produce is exchanged for, then with the definite article alone marking it as the now-specified object to be secured "in your hand" (be-yadkha, using the construct noun Ya.de + suffix kha). This repetition emphasizes the money as the central object passed from one clause to the next.

The final clause shifts grammatical aspect: yiv.Char ("he will choose", H0977) is an imperfect verb, denoting an action not yet completed or ongoing, describing Yehovah's choice of "the place" (ha.ma.Kom, H4725) as an act that stands apart from the addressee's own completed sequence of actions.

Differences between versions

The LXX rendering (as given) generalizes: it speaks of giving silver "for whatever your soul desires" and eating there before the Lord your God, rejoicing with one's son — content not present in the Hebrew word list here, which contains no mention of "desire," "eating," "rejoicing," or "son." The Vulgate's vendes omnia, et in pretium rediges ("you will sell everything and turn it into a price") expands the Hebrew na.ta.Tah ("you will exchange/give") into a fuller sale transaction, while portabisque manu tua ("and you will carry it in your hand") corresponds to the Hebrew tzar.Ta ... be-yadkha ("you will secure ... in your hand").