Deuteronomy Chapter 16 verse 21 Holy Bible
Thou shalt not plant thee an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Jehovah thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
read chapter 16 in ASV
Let no holy tree of any sort be planted by the altar of the Lord your God which you will make.
read chapter 16 in BBE
Thou shalt not plant thyself an Asherah of any wood near unto the altar of Jehovah thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
read chapter 16 in DARBY
Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
read chapter 16 in KJV
Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near to the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make for thee.
read chapter 16 in WBT
You shall not plant you an Asherah of any kind of tree beside the altar of Yahweh your God, which you shall make you.
read chapter 16 in WEB
`Thou dost not plant for thee a shrine of any trees near the altar of Jehovah thy God, which thou makest for thyself,
read chapter 16 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerses 21, 22. - In all states, the highest crime of which the judge has to take note is that of treason against the supreme Rower; and, under the theocracy, the act most distinctly treasonable was idolatry. In proceeding, therefore, to give some practical admonitions as to the things to be observed in the administration of justice, Moses begins by denouncing and forbidding this most flagrant form of iniquity. Verse 21. - Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees; thou shalt not plant, i.e. place or set up, an asherah of any wood. The asherah was an idol of wood in the form of a pillar, usually placed by the side of the altars of Baal. It was the symbol of Astarte, the great Canaanitish goddess, the companion and revealer of Baal. The two are usually associated in the Old Testament (cf. Judges 2:13; Judges 6:28; 1 Kings 18:19; 2 Kings 23:4). The rendering "grove" has been taken from the LXX. and the Vulgate; but that it is an error is evident from 1 Kings 14:23; 2 Kings 17:10; and Jeremiah 17:2; where the asherah is said to be under a green tree; and from the use of such words as make, set up, cause to stand, build, to denote the action of producing an asherah (cf. 1 Kings 14:15; 1 Kings 16:33; 2 Kings 17:16; 2 Kings 17:10; 2 Chronicles 33:19; 1 Kings 14:23), none of which are appropriate to the planting of a grove. Here, indeed, the word "plant" is used, but this is only because, as the asherah was sunk in the earth that it might stand firm, it might be figuratively said to be planted, just as nails driven in are said to be planted (Ecclesiastes 12:11, where the same verb is used; comp. also Isaiah 51:16; Amos 9:15; Daniel 11:25).
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(21) Thou shalt not plant thee a grove.--Heb., asherah, sometimes used of images, but here evidently of the grove itself. The worship of Jehovah allowed of no secret rites; and nothing that could lead to the abominations of heathen idolatry could be permitted near Jehovah's altar.
