Deuteronomy 19:14

Summary

Deuteronomy 19:14 prohibits moving a neighbor's boundary marker, one that earlier generations established when dividing the land. This landmark defines the inherited plot within the territory that Yehovah is giving for possession.

Key words

• ta.Sig ("you will displace", H5253) — Hiphil imperfect, causative form: the subject causes the boundary to move, framed as an ongoing prohibition (with lo', H3808) rather than a single act.
• ge.Vul ("[the] boundary of", H1366G) — masculine singular construct, linking directly to re.'a.kha ("your neighbor"), forming the phrase "boundary of your neighbor."
• ga.ve.Lu ("they set bounds", H1379) — Qal perfect, third person plural: a completed past action performed by the ri.sho.Nim ("ancestors", H7223H), establishing the marker as something already fixed before the addressee's time.
• tin.Chal ("you will inherit", H5157) — Qal imperfect: describes the future/ongoing act of inheriting, distinct from na.cha.la.te.kha ("your inheritance"), the noun for the portion itself.
• no.Ten ("[is] about to give", H5414G) — Qal participle: presents the giving by Yehovah ("Yehovah", H3068G) as an action in continuous or imminent process, not a completed past event.

What the text says

The verse opens with a negated imperfect verb, lo' ta.Sig ("you will not displace"), which grammatically frames the prohibition as durative — a standing rule rather than a one-time command. The object is ge.Vul re.'a.kha ("boundary of your neighbor"), a construct chain identifying whose marker is protected.

The relative clause 'a.sher ga.ve.Lu ri.sho.Nim ("which the ancestors set bounds") uses a Qal perfect, marking this boundary-setting as a completed action in the past, prior to the addressee's own possession of the land. This contrasts with the imperfect tin.Chal ("you will inherit"), which places the addressee's inheritance in future or ongoing time — the boundary was fixed before, but the inheriting continues into the present situation of the audience.

The final clause repeats the relative 'a.sher three times across the verse, chaining descriptions: the neighbor's field, the inheritance, and the land itself, each modified by a subordinate clause. The participle no.Ten ("giving") describes Yehovah's action as ongoing/imminent rather than a finished past grant, and the sentence closes with the infinitive le.rish.Tah ("to possess it"), expressing the purpose of the land-giving.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders ri.sho.Nim ("ancestors", H7223H) as "οἱ πατέρες σου" ("your fathers"), adding the possessive "your" not explicit in the Hebrew construct-less plural noun. The Vulgate's priores ("the former ones") matches the Hebrew's general sense of "earlier people" without specifying "fathers." The LXX also adds "ἐν κλήρῳ" ("by lot/inheritance") at the end, an addition not present in the Hebrew infinitive clause le.rish.Tah ("to possess it").