New King James Version
Deuteronomy 20:17
17but 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,
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 Living Translation (NLT)You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the Lord your God has commanded you.
Context of Deuteronomy 20:17
15Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations. 16“But of the cities of these peoples which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, 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, 18lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the Lord your God. 19“When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food.
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 34:5“For My sword shall be bathed in heaven; Indeed it shall come down on Edom, And on the people of My curse, for judgment.
- Jeremiah 48:10Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord deceitfully, And cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood.
- Jeremiah 50:35“A sword is against the Chaldeans,” says the Lord, “Against the inhabitants of Babylon, And against her princes and her wise men.
- Ezekiel 38:21I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother.
- Revelation 19:18that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.”
- Deuteronomy 7:1“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier 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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries