Christian Standard Bible
Numbers 31:15
15“Have you let every female live?” he asked them.
Numbers 31:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
- New International Version (NIV)“Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Moses said to them, "Have you let all the women live?
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive?
Context of Numbers 31:15
13Moses, the priest Eleazar, and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14But Moses became furious with the officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds, who were returning from the military campaign. “Have you let every female live?” he asked them. 16“Yet they are the ones who, at Balaam’s advice, incited the Israelites to unfaithfulness against the Lord in the Peor incident, so that the plague came against the Lord’s community. 17So now, kill every male among the dependents and kill every woman who has gone to bed with a man,
Read all of Numbers 31Numbers 31:15 word by word
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מֹשֶׁ֑ה הַֽחִיִּיתֶ֖ם כָּל־נְקֵבָֽה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 31:15
- Deuteronomy 2:34At that time we captured all his cities and completely destroyed the people of every city, including the women and children. We left no survivors.
- Deuteronomy 20:13When the Lord your God hands it over to you, strike down all its males with the sword.
- Joshua 6:21They completely destroyed everything in the city with the sword — every man and woman, both young and old, and every ox, sheep, and donkey.
- Joshua 8:25The total of those who fell that day, both men and women, was twelve thousand — all the people of Ai.
- Joshua 10:40So Joshua conquered the whole region — the hill country, the Negev, the Judean foothills, and the slopes — with all their kings, leaving no survivors. He completely destroyed every living being, as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded.
- Joshua 11:14The Israelites plundered all the spoils and cattle of these cities for themselves. But they struck down every person with the sword until they had annihilated them, leaving no one alive.
- 1 Samuel 15:3Now go and attack the Amalekites and completely destroy everything they have. Do not spare them. Kill men and women, infants and nursing babies, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”
- Psalms 137:8Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who pays you back what you have done to us.
- Jeremiah 48:10The one who does the Lord’s business deceitfully is cursed, and the one who withholds his sword from bloodshed is cursed.
- Ezekiel 9:6Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the children and older women, but do not come near anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.
Commentaries on Numbers 31:15
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 13-18Verses 13-18 The sword of war should spare women and children; but the sword of justice should know no distinction, but that of guilty or not guilty. This war was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the worst criminals. The female children were spared, who, being brought up among the Israelites, would not tempt them to idolatry. The whole history shows the hatefulness of sin, and the guilt of tempting…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-16Moses was angry: God had commanded the Israelites to destroy everything. But the Midianite women who had followed Balaam’s advice were allowed to live. These women had played a major role in leading Israel into sin at Baal Peor.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 14-1814-18. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host--The displeasure of the great leader, though it appears the ebullition of a fierce and sanguinary temper, arose in reality from a pious and enlightened regard to the best interests of Israel. No order had been given for the slaughter of the women, and in ancient war they were commonly reserved for slaves. By their antecedent conduct, however, the Midianitish women had forfeited all claims to mild or…Read the comment
Topics related to Numbers 31:15
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Numbers 31
- 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
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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