KJV King James Version
But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee [for] an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
VERSE STUDY • KJV
Deuteronomy 20:16
But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee [for] an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
Read it in 5 translations
BSB Berean Standard Bible
However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.
WEB World English Bible
But of the cities of these peoples, that Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes;
ASV American Standard Version
But of the cities of these peoples, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth;
YLT Young’s Literal Translation
Only, of the cities of these peoples which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee for an inheritance, thou dost not keep alive any breathing;
Surrounding context — Deuteronomy 20
13 And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, [even] all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities [which are] very far off from thee, which [are] not of the cities of these nations.
16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee [for] an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
17 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:
18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.
19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field [is] man’s [life]) to employ [them] in the siege:
Topics connected to this verse
Original-language word links
These Hebrew/Greek tokens are linked by Strong's number. Click one for its lexicon definition and other occurrences.
רַ֗קH7535 · raqexceptמֵעָרֵ֤יH5892 · irexcitementהָֽעַמִּים֙H5971 · ampeopleהָאֵ֔לֶּהH428 · el.lehtheseאֲשֶׁר֙H834 · a.sherwhichיְהוָ֣הH3068 · ye.ho.vahLORDאֱלֹהֶ֔יךָH430 · e.lo.himGodנֹתֵ֥ןH5414 · na.tanto give: giveלְךָ֖H9031 · kayouנַחֲלָ֑הH5159 · na.cha.lahinheritanceלֹ֥אH3808 · lonotתְחַיֶּ֖הH2421 · cha.yahto liveכָּל־H3605 · kolallנְשָׁמָֽה׃H5397 · ne.sha.mahbreath
Cross-references
Joshua 11:14And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.Numbers 21:2-3And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.Deuteronomy 7:1-4When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, 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 thou;Joshua 6:17-21And the city shall be accursed, [even] it, and all that [are] therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that [are] with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent.Numbers 33:52Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:Joshua 11:11-12And they smote all the souls that [were] therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying [them]: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire.Exodus 23:31-33And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.Joshua 10:28And that day Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed, them, and all the souls that [were] therein; he let none remain: and he did to the king of Makkedah as he did unto the king of Jericho.Numbers 21:35So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.Deuteronomy 7:16And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that [will be] a snare unto thee.Joshua 10:40So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded.Joshua 9:27And Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the LORD, even unto this day, in the place which he should choose.Joshua 9:24And they answered Joshua, and said, Because it was certainly told thy servants, how that the LORD thy God commanded his servant Moses to give you all the land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, therefore we were sore afraid of our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
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