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 they agree, they will open the city's gates to let you go in. Then all the people in the city will become your slaves, to do hard work for you. 12But they may refuse to agree. They may start to fight against you. If they do that, you must put your soldiers all around the city. The Lord your God will give the city to you. Then you must kill all the men there. 14But you can take for yourselves the women, the children, the animals and other valuable things in the city. You can take all these things from your enemies that God gives to you. 15You must do this to all the cities that are far away from you. But it is different for the cities that belong to the nations of Canaan where you will live.

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 attacked the Midianites as the Lord had told them. They killed all the men.
• 1 Kings 11:15When David was king, he had fought against Edom's people. Joab, the leader of David's army, had gone to Edom to bury the dead Israelite soldiers. At that time, Joab killed all the men in Edom.
• Psalms 2:6‘I have put my king on his throne in Zion. I have put him on my holy mountain.’
• Psalms 21:8You will use your strong power to take hold of your enemies. You will catch everybody that hates you.
• Psalms 110:1The Lord God said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right side until I win against your enemies. Then you will be able to put your feet on them.’
• Luke 19:27Now I must punish these other people that did not want me to rule over them. Bring them here and kill them in front of me.” ’
• 2 Thessalonians 1:7God will also do what is right and fair for you. You have troubles now. But one day God will cause you to have rest, together with us. That will happen when the Lord Jesus comes down from heaven. He will come with his powerful angels,

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