Deuteronomy 20:15

Deuteronomy 20:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
• New International Version (NIV)This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.
• New Living Translation (NLT)“But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of the nations in the land you will enter.

Context of Deuteronomy 20:15

13And when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword, 14but the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves. And you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you. Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here. 16But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, 17but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded,

Deuteronomy 20:15 word by word

כֵּ֤ן תַּעֲשֶׂה֙ לְכָל־הֶ֣עָרִ֔ים הָרְחֹקֹ֥ת מִמְּךָ֖ מְאֹ֑ד אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹא־מֵעָרֵ֥י הַגּֽוֹיִם־הָאֵ֖לֶּה הֵֽנָּה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thus shalt thou doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• unto all the citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• veryמְאֹדme'ôd · muchH3966
• far offרָחֹקrâchôq râchôq · distantH7350
• from thee, whichהֵנָּהhênnâh · they(fem.)H2007
• of these nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 20:15

• 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. 15cities that are far away: These were outside the borders of the promised land.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 20:15

• War

In the dictionaries

• Faint
• Fearful
• Atonement, Day of
• Criticism
• Deuteronomy
• Exodus, the Book of
• Genesis
• Give
• Leviticus

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