Numbers 31:17

New King James Version

Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

King James Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

Lexham English Bible
Now kill every male among the little children, and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man.

English Standard Version
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

New Century Version
Kill all the Midianite boys, and kill all the Midianite women who have had sexual relations.

New English Translation
Now therefore kill every boy, and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man.

Amplified Bible
"Now therefore, kill every male among the children, and kill every woman who is not a virgin.

New American Standard Bible
"Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Now therefore, slay all the males among the children, and kill all the women that haue knowen man by carnall copulation.

Legacy Standard Bible
So now, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately.

Contemporary English Version
You must put to death every boy and all the women who have ever had sex.

Complete Jewish Bible
Now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has ever slept with a man.

Darby Translation
And now slay every male among the little ones, and slay every woman that hath known man by lying with him,

Easy-to-Read Version
Now, kill all the Midianite boys, and kill all the Midianite women who have had sexual relations with a man.

George Lamsa Translation
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

Good News Translation
So now kill every boy and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse,

Christian Standard Bible®
So now, kill every male among the dependents and kill every woman who has gone to bed with a man,

Literal Translation
And now kill every male among the infants; yea, you shall kill every woman having known a man by lying with a male.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now therfore slaie all the males amoge ye childre, & kyll all ye wemen yt haue knowne men & lyen wt them.

American Standard Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

Bible in Basic English
So now put every male child to death, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Nowe therfore, slay all the men children, and kyl the women that haue lien with men fleshly.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

King James Version (1611)
Now therefore kill euery male among the little ones, and kill euery woman that hath knowen man, by lying with him.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Now then slay every male in all the spoil, slay every woman, who has known the lying with man.

English Revised Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

Berean Standard Bible
So now, kill all the boys, and kill every woman who has had relations with a man,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And therfor sle ye alle men, what euer thing is of male kynde, and litle children; and strangle ye the wymmen that knew men fleischli;

Young's Literal Translation
`And now, slay ye every male among the infants, yea, every woman known of man by the lying of a male ye have slain;

Update Bible Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that has had sex with a man.

Webster's Bible Translation
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

World English Bible
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

New Living Translation
So kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man.

New Life Bible
Now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has had a man.

New Revised Standard
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, therefore, slay ye every male among the young, - every woman also that hath cohabited with man, slay ye.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Therefore kill all that are of the male sex, even of the children: and put to death the women, that have carnally known men.

Revised Standard Version
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately.

Contextual Overview

¹³ And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. ¹⁴ But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle. ¹⁵ And Moses said to them: "Have you kept all the women alive? ¹⁶ Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. ¹⁷ Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. ¹⁸ But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately. ¹⁹ And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. ²⁰ Purify every garment, everything made of leather, everything woven of goats' hair, and everything made of wood." ²¹ Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, "This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses: ²² "Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

kill every male: The sword of war should spare women and children, as incapable of resisting; but the sword of justice knows no distinction, except that of guilty or not guilty, or more or less guilty. This was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the greatest criminals; and it may safely be said, that their lives were forfeited by their personal transgressions. With respect to the execution of the male infants, who cannot be supposed to have been guilty, God, the author and supporter of life, who has a right to dispose of it when and how he thinks proper, commanded it; and "shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Judges 21:11, Judges 21:12

him: Heb. a male

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:1 - knew Genesis 24:16 - known Genesis 34:25 - Simeon Genesis 34:28 - General Numbers 31:32 - the booty Deuteronomy 20:13 - thou shalt smite 1 Samuel 15:3 - slay 1 Kings 11:15 - every male

Cross-References

Genesis 24:10
Then the servant took ten of his master's camels and departed, for all his master's goods were in his hand. And he arose and went to Mesopotamia, to the city of Nahor.

Genesis 24:61
Then Rebekah and her maids arose, and they rode on the camels and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and departed.

1 Samuel 30:17
Then David attacked them from twilight until the evening of the next day. Not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now therefore kill every male among the little ones,.... Which they had taken and brought captives, Numbers 31:9

and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him; who might be such, at least many of them, who had lain with Israelitish men; and as the adulterers had been put to death, so now the adulteresses; or they were ordered to, be slain, even all of them, lest they should entice the children of Israel to uncleanness, and so to idolatry again: now these were known to be such, either by conjecture at their age, or rather, through the examination of matrons, unless it can be thought, as it is by some, that it was by divine revelation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 31:17. Kill 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 mercy to their souls. The little ones were safely lodged; they were taken to heaven and saved from the evil to come.