God’s Word Translation
Numbers 31:17
17So kill all the Midianite boys and every Midianite woman who has gone to bed with a man.
Numbers 31:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.
- New International Version (NIV)Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,
- English Standard Version (ESV)Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.
Context of Numbers 31:17
15“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. So kill all the Midianite boys and every Midianite woman who has gone to bed with a man. 18But save for yourselves every girl who has never gone to bed with a man. 19“Everyone who killed a person or touched a dead body must stay outside the camp seven days. You and your prisoners of war must use the ritual water on the third and seventh days in order to take away your sin.
Read all of Numbers 31Numbers 31:17 word by word
וְעַתָּ֕ה הִרְג֥וּ כָל־זָכָ֖ר בַּטָּ֑ף וְכָל־אִשָּׁ֗ה יֹדַ֥עַת אִ֛ישׁ לְמִשְׁכַּ֥ב זָכָ֖ר הֲרֹֽגוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Numbers 31:17
Commentaries on Numbers 31:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Kill every male among the little ones - For this action I account simply on the principle that God, who is the author and supporter of life, has a right to dispose of it when and how he thinks proper; and the Judge of all the earth can do nothing but what is right. Of the women killed on this occasion it may be safely said, their lives were forfeited by their personal transgressions; and yet even in this case there can be little doubt that God showed…Read the comment
- 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. 17-18Only young, virgin women were to be spared. They were allowed to live because they had not taken part in the 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 31:17
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
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