Deuteronomy 13:15
Ver. 15. Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword,.... This could not be the work of a single person, nor of the whole sanhedrim, but was what the whole nation was to join in, according to the above note:
destroying it utterly; pulling down the houses, and demolishing its walls and fortifications, or burning it, as afterwards explained:and all that is therein; men, women, and children:and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword; this severity was used to show the Lord's indignation against the sin of idolatry, and to deter persons from it, both individuals and bodies of men. Deuteronomy 13:16Ver. 16. And thou shall gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof,.... All the wealth and substance of the inhabitants, their household goods, shop goods, merchandise, utensils in trade and business, and everything that can be named. The Jews say {p}, if there is no street, they make one (or a marketplace); if that is without it, they bring them into the midst of it:and shall burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit; be it what it may, or let it be whose property it will; and all this shall be done for the Lord thy God; as by his appointment and command, and in obedience to him, so for his honour and glory, and the vindication of his righteous law;and it shall be an heap for ever, it shall not be built again; but lie a waste as Jericho, though not an entire waste; for according to the Jewish writers, though it might not be built as it was before, it might be made into gardens and orchards {q}.{p} Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 11. sect. 6. {q} lbid. Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. Deuteronomy 13:17Ver. 17. And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand,.... That is, they might not take anything whatever to their own use; for all being devoted to destruction, was cursed, and brought a curse upon the man that should make it his own property, as Achan did, when Jericho was destroyed:that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger; stirred up by the idolatry of the city:and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee; who, seeing wrath gone forth, might dread the consequences, lest it should spread itself further:and multiply thee, as he hath sworn to thy fathers; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; this is observed to encourage them to execute his orders punctually in the destruction of the idolatrous city; since God could and would multiply them, as he had promised their fathers, with an oath, so that they should not be the fewer by such an instance of his severity. Deuteronomy 13:18Ver. 18. When thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God,.... Not only in this case, but in all others:to keep all his commandments which I command thee this day: the repetition of which he made unto them, and enjoined the observance of them in the name of the Lord:to do that which is right in the eyes of the Lord thy God; which they would do, if they kept the commandments of the Lord, which are holy, just, and good, and must be right in his sight because commanded by him.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.