Deuteronomy 20:13

Deuteronomy 20:13 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
• New International Version (NIV)When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.
• English Standard Version (ESV)And when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And when the Lord your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword.

Context of Deuteronomy 20:13

11If that city accepts your terms of peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you. 12However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall lay siege to it. When the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike down all the men in it with the edge of the sword. 14Only the women and the children and the animals and everything that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you. 15That is what you shall do to all the cities that are very far away from you, which are not among the cities of these nations nearby [which you are to dispossess].

Deuteronomy 20:13 word by word

וּנְתָנָ֛הּ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וְהִכִּיתָ֥ אֶת־כָּל־זְכוּרָ֖הּ לְפִי־חָֽרֶב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And when the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• hath deliveredנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• it into thine handsיָדyâd · hand: powerH3027
• thou shalt smiteנָכָהnâkâh · to smiteH5221
• every maleזָכוּרzâkûr · maleH2138
• thereof with the edgeפֶּהpeh · lip: edgeH6310
• of the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 20:13

• Numbers 31:7They made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male.
• 1 Kings 11:15For it came about, when David was in Edom, and Joab the commander of the army had gone up to bury those killed [in battle] and had struck down every male in Edom
• Psalms 2:6“Yet as for Me, I have anointed and firmly installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
• Psalms 21:8Your hand will reach out and defeat all your enemies; Your right hand will reach those who hate you.
• Psalms 110:1The Lord (Father) says to my Lord (the Messiah, His Son), “Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet [subjugating them into complete submission].”
• Luke 19:27[The king ended by saying,] ‘But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in my presence.’ ”
• 2 Thessalonians 1:7and to give relief to you who are so distressed and to us as well when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in a flame of fire,

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 20:13

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 10-20Verses 10-20 Directions intended to prevent wanton destruction of life and property in sieges. Deuteronomy 20:16 Forbearance, however, was not to be shown toward the Canaanite nations, which were to be utterly exterminated (compare Deuteronomy 7:1-4). The command did not apply to beasts as well as men (compare Joshua 11:11, Joshua 11:14). Deuteronomy 20:19 The parenthesis may he more literally rendered “for man is a tree of the field,” i. e., has his life…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-15The people living in the land of Canaan had already been placed under the ban (7:1–6). This means they were set apart for complete destruction as part of God’s judgment. So this command refers to other nations. It applies to people whom Israel would fight outside the land (20:15).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 10-2010-20. When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it--An important principle is here introduced into the war law of Israel regarding the people they fought against and the cities they besieged. With "the cities of those people which God doth give thee" in Canaan, it was to be a war of utter extermination (De 20:17, 18). But when on a just occasion, they went against other nations, they were first to make a proclamation…Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 20:13

• Captive
• Massacre
• War

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Faint
• Fearful
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism
• Deuteronomy
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Give

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings