God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 20:17
17You must claim the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites for the Lord and completely destroy them, as the Lord your God has commanded you.
Deuteronomy 20:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee:
- New International Version (NIV)Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you.
- English Standard Version (ESV)but 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,
- New King James Version (NKJV)but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you,
Context of Deuteronomy 20:17
15This is what you must do to all the cities that are far away which don’t belong to the nations nearby. 16However, you must not spare anyone’s life in the cities of these nations that the Lord your God is giving you as your property. You must claim the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites for the Lord and completely destroy them, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 18Otherwise, they will teach you to do all the disgusting things they do for their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God. 19This is what you must do whenever you blockade a city for a long time in order to capture it in war. Don’t harm any of its fruit trees with an ax. You can eat the fruit. Never cut those trees down, because the trees of the field are not people you have come to blockade.
Read all of Deuteronomy 20Deuteronomy 20:17 word by word
כִּֽי־הַחֲרֵ֣ם תַּחֲרִימֵ֗ם הַחִתִּ֤י וְהָאֱמֹרִי֙ הַכְּנַעֲנִ֣י וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔י הַחִוִּ֖י וְהַיְבוּסִ֑י כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוְּךָ֖ יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- But thou shalt utterlyחָרַםchâram · to devote/destroyH2763
- the Hittitesחִתִּיchittîy · HittiteH2850
- and the Amoritesאֱמֹרִי'ĕmôrîy · AmoriteH567
- the Canaanitesכְּנַעֲנִיkena‛anîy · CanaaniteH3669
- and the Perizzitesפְּרִזִּיperizzîy · PerizziteH6522
- the Hivitesחִוִּיchivvîy · HiviteH2340
- and the Jebusitesיְבוּסִיyebûsîy · JebusiteH2983
- as the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- hath commandedצָוָהtsâvâh · to commandH6680
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 20:17
- Isaiah 34:5When my sword is covered ⌞with blood⌟ in the heavens, it will fall on Edom and on the people I’ve claimed for destruction.
- Jeremiah 48:10Cursed are those who neglect doing the Lord’s work. Cursed are those who keep their swords from killing.
- Jeremiah 50:35“A sword will kill the Babylonians and everyone who lives in Babylon,” declares the Lord. “A sword will kill their officials and their wise men.
- Ezekiel 38:21I will declare war against Gog on all my mountains, declares the Almighty Lord. Each person will use his sword against his relative.
- Revelation 19:18Eat the flesh of kings, generals, warriors, horses and their riders, and all free people and slaves, both important or insignificant people.”
- Deuteronomy 7:1The Lord your God will bring you to the land you’re about to enter and take possession of. He will force many nations out of your way: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—seven nations larger and more powerful than you.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 20:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17But thou shalt utterly destroy them - The above reasoning will gain considerable strength, provided we could translate תחרימם החרם כי ki hacharem tacharimem, thou shalt utterly subdue them - slaying them if they resist, and thus leaving nothing alive that breathed; or totally expel them from the land, or reduce them to a state of slavery in it, that they might no longer exist as a people. This certainly made them an anathema as a nation, wholly destroying…Read the comment
- 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
- 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 20:17
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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