God’s Word Translation
Numbers 31:15
15“Why did you let all the women 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 outside the camp to meet them. 14Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of the companies and battalions, who were returning from battle. “Why did you let all the women live?” he asked them. 16“Remember, they were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and caused the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the incident that took place at Peor. The Lord’s community experienced a plague at that time. 17So kill all the Midianite boys and every Midianite 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 claimed them for God by destroying men, women, and children. There were no survivors.
- Deuteronomy 20:13When the Lord your God hands the city over to you, kill every man in that city with your swords.
- Joshua 6:21They claimed everything in it for the Lord. With their swords they killed men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys.
- Joshua 8:25Twelve thousand men and women from Ai died that day.
- Joshua 10:40So Joshua captured the whole land—the mountains, the Negev, the foothills, and the slopes. There were no survivors. He claimed every living creature for the Lord by destroying it, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded.
- Joshua 11:14The people of Israel took all the loot and livestock from these cities. But they put everyone to death until they were all destroyed. Not one person survived.
- 1 Samuel 15:3Now go and attack Amalek. Claim everything they have for God by destroying it. Don’t spare them, but kill men and women, infants and children, cows and sheep, camels and donkeys.”
- Psalms 137:8You destructive people of Babylon, blessed is the one who pays you back with the same treatment you gave us.
- Jeremiah 48:10Cursed are those who neglect doing the Lord’s work. Cursed are those who keep their swords from killing.
- Ezekiel 9:6Kill old men, young men, old women, young women, and children. But don’t come near anyone who has a mark on him. Start with my holy place.” So they started with the old men 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries