Deuteronomy 20:13

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible

and Yahweh thy God will deliver it into thy hand, - and thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword;

Parallel Translations

Geneva Bible (1587)
And the Lord thy God shall deliuer it into thine handes, and thou shalt smite all the males thereof with the edge of the sworde.

Hebrew Names Version
and when the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, you shall strike every male of it with the edge of the sword:

Easy-to-Read Version
And when the Lord your God lets you take the city, you must kill all the men in it.

English Standard Version
And when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword,

American Standard Version
and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

Bible in Basic English
And when the Lord your God has given it into your hands, let every male in it be put to death without mercy.

Complete Jewish Bible
When Adonai your God hands it over to you, you are to put every male to the sword.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And when the LORD thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword;

King James Version (1611)
And when the Lord thy God hath deliuered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite euery male thereof with the edge of the sword.

Amplified Bible
"When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike down all the men in it with the edge of the sword.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
until the Lord thy God shall deliver it into thy hands, and thou shalt smite every male of it with the edge of the sword:

English Revised Version
and when the LORD thy God delivereth it into thine hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

Berean Standard Bible
When the LORD your God has delivered it into your hands, you must strike down every male with the sword.

Lexham English Bible
And Yahweh your God will give it into your hand, and you shall kill all its males with the edge of the sword.

Literal Translation
And Jehovah your God shall give it into your hand; and you shall strike every male of it by the mouth of the sword.

New Century Version
The Lord your God will give it to you. Then kill all the men with your swords,

New English Translation
The Lord your God will deliver it over to you and you must kill every single male by the sword.

New King James Version
And when the LORD your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword.

New Living Translation
When the Lord your God hands the town over to you, use your swords to kill every man in the town.

New Life Bible
When the Lord your God gives the city to you, you must kill all the men in it with the sword.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And when the Lord thy God shall deliver it into thy hands, thou shalt slay all that are therein of the male sex, with the edge of the sword,

George Lamsa Translation
And when the LORD your God has delivered it into your hands, you shall slay all its males with the edge of the sword;

Good News Translation
Then, when the Lord your God lets you capture the city, kill every man in it.

New American Standard Bible
"When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword.

King James Version
And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

Darby Translation
and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne thi Lord God hath bitake it in thin hond, thou schalt smyte bi the scharpnesse of swerd al thing of male kynde which is ther ynne,

Young's Literal Translation
and Jehovah thy God hath given it into thy hand, and thou hast smitten every male of it by the mouth of the sword.

World English Bible
and when Yahweh your God delivers it into your hand, you shall strike every male of it with the edge of the sword:

Revised Standard Version
and when the LORD your God gives it into your hand you shall put all its males to the sword,

Update Bible Version
and when Yahweh your God delivers it into your hand, you shall smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

Webster's Bible Translation
And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thy hands, thou shalt smite every male of it with the edge of the sword:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And when the Lorde thy God hath deliuered it into thine handes, thou shalt smyte all the males therof with the edge of the sworde:

Christian Standard Bible®
When the Lord your God hands it over to you, strike down all its males with the sword.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and whan the LORDE thy God delyuereth it in to thy hande, thou shalt smyte all the males that are therin, with the edge of the swerde:

New Revised Standard
and when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword.

Legacy Standard Bible
And Yahweh your God shall give it into your hand, and you shall strike all the males in it with the edge of the sword.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ When thou shalt come nigh unto a city, to fight against it, - then shalt thou proclaim unto it - peace, ¹¹ and it shall be if peace, be the answer it giveth thee, and it open unto thee, then shall it be, that, all the people that are found therein, shall become thy tributaries and shall serve thee. ¹² But if it will not make peace with thee, but will make war with thee, then shalt thou lay siege to it; ¹³ and Yahweh thy God will deliver it into thy hand, - and 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 shall be in the city - all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take as thy prey, - so shalt thou eat the spoil of thine enemies, whom Yahweh thy God hath delivered unto thee. ¹⁵ Thus, shalt thou do unto all the cities that are very far away from thee, - which are not of the cities of those nations. ¹⁶ But of the cities of these peoples which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee as an inheritance, shalt thou not save alive, any breathing thing. ¹⁷ But thou shalt devote them to destruction - the Hittites and the Amorites the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, - as Yahweh thy God hath commanded thee: ¹⁸ lest they teach you to do, according to all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods, - and so ye sin against Yahweh your God. ¹⁹ When thou shalt besiege a city for many days to fight against it, to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding against them an axe, when of them, thou mightest eat, them, there-fore shalt thou not cut down, - for, Is the tree of the field, a man, that it should enter, because of thee into the siege?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thou shalt smite: Numbers 31:7-9, Numbers 31:17, Numbers 31:18, 1 Kings 11:15, 1 Kings 11:16, Psalms 2:6-12, Psalms 21:8, Psalms 21:9, Psalms 110:1, Luke 19:27, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

Reciprocal: Numbers 31:15 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 12:1
And Yahweh said unto Abram: Come thou on thy way, Out of thy land and out of the place of thy birth and out of the house of thy father, - Unto the land that I will show thee;

Genesis 12:9
Thus Abram brake up, again and again, towards the South.

Genesis 20:3
Then God went in unto Abimelech, in a dream of the night, - and said to him, Behold thee dead! because of the woman whom thou hast taken, seeing that, she, is a married woman.

Genesis 20:5
Had not, he himself, said to me, My sister, is she? and even she herself, said, My brother, is he? In the integrity of my heart and in the pureness of my hand, have I done this!

Genesis 20:11
And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely there is no fear of God, in this place, - therefore will they slay me for the sake of my wife.

1 Samuel 23:21
Then said Saul, Blessed, be ye, of Yahweh, - because ye have taken pity upon me.

Psalms 64:5
They strengthen for them a wicked word, They talk of hiding snares, They have said, Who can see them?

Acts 5:9
And, Peter, said unto her - Why was it agreed by you to put to the proof the Spirit of the Lord? Lo! the feet of them that have buried thy husband, are at the door, and they shall bear thee forth.

Hebrews 11:8
By faith, being called, Abraham obeyed - to come forth into a place he was destined to receive for an inheritance; and he came forth, not well knowing whither he was coming.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands,.... When, what with pressures without, and calamities within, the city is obliged to surrender: this is not to be imputed to the methods and arts of war used in besieging, or to the courage and skill of the besiegers; but to the power and providence of God succeeding means used, and sending famine or pestilence among the besieged, and inclining their hearts to deliver up their city:

thou shall smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword; the men in it, grown persons, as distinguished from little ones in the next verse; because it was owing to these it was not surrendered at once, when terms of peace were offered.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 from the tree of the field, is supported in life by it (compare Deuteronomy 24:6). The Egyptians seem invariably to have cut down the fruit-trees in war.