New English Translation
Deuteronomy 13:16
16You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plaza and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It will be an abandoned ruin forever – it must never be rebuilt again.
Deuteronomy 13:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
- New International Version (NIV)You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt,
- English Standard Version (ESV)You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again.
Context of Deuteronomy 13:16
14You must investigate thoroughly and inquire carefully. If it is indeed true that such a disgraceful thing is being done among you, 15you must by all means slaughter the inhabitants of that city with the sword; annihilate with the sword everyone in it, as well as the livestock. You must gather all of its plunder into the middle of the plaza and burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It will be an abandoned ruin forever – it must never be rebuilt again. 17You must not take for yourself anything that has been placed under judgment. Then the Lord will relent from his intense anger, show you compassion, have mercy on you, and multiply you as he promised your ancestors. 18Thus you must obey the Lord your God, keeping all his commandments that I am giving you today and doing what is right before him.
Read all of Deuteronomy 13Deuteronomy 13:16 word by word
וְאֶת־כָּל־שְׁלָלָ֗הּ תִּקְבֹּץ֮ אֶל־תּ֣וֹךְ רְחֹבָהּ֒ וְשָׂרַפְתָּ֨ בָאֵ֜שׁ אֶת־הָעִ֤יר וְאֶת־כָּל־שְׁלָלָהּ֙ כָּלִ֔יל לַיהוָ֖ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ וְהָיְתָה֙ תֵּ֣ל עוֹלָ֔ם לֹ֥א תִבָּנֶ֖ה עֽוֹד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And thou shalt gatherקָבַץqâbats · to gatherH6908
- all the spoilשָׁלָלshâlâl · spoilH7998
- of it into the midstתָּ֫וֶךְtâvek · midstH8432
- of the streetרְחוֹבrechôb rechôb · street/plazaH7339
- thereof, and shalt burnשָׂרַףώâraph · to burnH8313
- with fireאֵשׁ'êsh · fireH784
- the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · excitementH5892
- thereof every whitכָּלִילkâlîyl · entireH3632
- for the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- and it shall be an heapתֵּלtêl · moundH8510
- for everעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
- it shall not be built againבָּנָהbânâh · to buildH1129
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 13:16
- Joshua 6:24But they burned the city and all that was in it, except for the silver, gold, and bronze and iron items they put in the treasury of the Lord’s house.
- Numbers 21:2So Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into our hand, then we will utterly destroy their cities.”
- Joshua 6:26At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: “The man who attempts to rebuild this city of Jericho will stand condemned before the Lord. He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!”
- Joshua 8:28Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day).
- Isaiah 17:1Here is a message about Damascus: “Look, Damascus is no longer a city, it is a heap of ruins!
- Isaiah 25:2Indeed, you have made the city into a heap of rubble, the fortified town into a heap of ruins; the fortress of foreigners is no longer a city, it will never be rebuilt.
- Jeremiah 49:2Because you did that, I, the Lord, affirm that a time is coming when I will make Rabbah, the capital city of Ammon, hear the sound of the battle cry. It will become a mound covered with ruins. Its villages will be burned to the ground. Then Israel will take back its land from those who took their land from them. I, the Lord, affirm it!
- Micah 1:6“I will turn Samaria into a heap of ruins in an open field – vineyards will be planted there! I will tumble the rubble of her stone walls down into the valley, and tear down her fortifications to their foundations.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 13:16
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Every whit, for the Lord thy God - Some prefer: “as a whole offering to the Lord thy God.”Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-18Verses 12-18 Here is the case of a city revolting from the God of Israel, and serving other gods. The crime is supposed to be committed by one of the cities of Israel. Even when they were ordered to preserve their religion by force, yet they were not allowed to bring others to it by fire and sword. Spiritual judgments under the Christian dispensation are more terrible than the execution of criminals; we have not less cause than the Israelites had, to fear…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16Plunder or "spoils of war" were not to be kept. God had ordered them to be completely destroyed (see 2:34; Leviticus 27:28–29).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1812-18. Certain men, the children of Belial--lawless, designing demagogues (Jud 19:22; 1Sa 1:16; 25:25), who abused their influence to withdraw the inhabitants of the city to idol-worship.Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 13:16
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 13
- 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
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