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Deuteronomy 1:39

in Deuteronomy 1

And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Moreover your little ones, that ye said should be a prey, and your children, that this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

KJV

Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children, which in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

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This verse in Deuteronomy 1

Commentary

4 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

the little ones you said would become captives

on Deuteronomy 1:39-40

The children said to become plunder at Numbers 14:3 are handed the land at Numbers 14:31 and here. The phrase "did not know good from evil" marks an age beneath responsibility, as at Isaiah 7:15-16, though where that line falls has long been argued. Verse 40 then turns them back toward the Red Sea, away from a border they stood on.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

Moreover, your little ones, which ye said should be a prey,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

As they had been chosen for their fathers' sakes, so their children might justly have been rejected for their sakes. But mercy rejoiceth against judgement. He reminds them of their foolish and fruitless attempt to get this sentence reversed when it was too late.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

proposed

your children . . . who in that day had no knowledge between good and evil--All ancient versions read "to-day" instead of "that day"; and the sense is--"your children who now know," or "who know not as yet good or evil." As the children had not been partakers of the sinful outbreak, they were spared to obtain the privilege which their unbelieving parents had forfeited.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

The words behind it

19 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וְטַפְּכֶם֩and little one[s] your

    vetapekhemH2945 →42 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֨רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • אֲמַרְתֶּ֜םyou said

    ʾamartemH559 →5305 times

  • לָבַ֣ז<into> plunder

    lavazH957 →

  • יִהְיֶ֗הhe will become

    yihyehH1961 →3559 times

  • וּ֠בְנֵיכֶםand children your

    uveneikhemH1121 →4930 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֨רwho

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • לֹא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • יָדְע֤וּthey know

    yadeuH3045 →945 times

  • הַיּוֹם֙this day

    haiyomH3117 →2304 times

  • ט֣וֹבgood

    tovH2896 →538 times

  • וָרָ֔עand evil

    vara'H7451 →662 times

  • הֵ֖מָּהthey

    hemahH1992 →553 times

  • יָבֹ֣אוּthey will go

    yavouH935 →2568 times

  • שָׁ֑מָּהthere towards

    shamahH8033 →834 times

  • וְלָהֶ֣םand to them

    velahem

  • אֶתְּנֶ֔נָּהI will give it

    ʾettenenahH5414 →2011 times

  • וְהֵ֖םand they

    vehemH1992 →553 times

  • יִירָשֽׁוּהָ׃they will take possession of it

    yirashuhaH3423 →231 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

11 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Isaiah 7:15–16By the time He knows enough to reject evil and choose good, He will be eating curds and honey.9 worksJonah 4:11So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?”8 worksNumbers 14:3Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”6 worksNumbers 14:31But I will bring your children, whom you said would become plunder, into the land you have rejected—and they will enjoy it.5 worksRomans 9:11Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,4 worksIsaiah 7:16For before the boy knows enough to reject evil and choose good, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.4 works
The other 5 cross-references, with their words ▾
Isaiah 8:4For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”3 worksAmos 2:10And I brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, that you might take possession of the land of the Amorite.3 worksJoshua 5:7And Joshua raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones he circumcised. Until this time they were still uncircumcised, since they had not been circumcised along the way.3 worksPsalms 90:16May Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your splendor to their children.3 worksEphesians 2:3All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Romans 9:11

    Yet before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad, in order that God’s plan of election might stand,

    it leads to

    • 2 Timothy 1:9

      He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

    • Ephesians 1:4–5

      For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love

    • 2 Peter 1:10

      Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,

  • Through

    Jonah 4:11

    So should I not care about the great city of Nineveh, which has more than 120,000 people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well?”

    it leads to

    • Matthew 18:33

      Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’

    • Luke 15:28–32

      The older son became angry and refused to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him.

    • Jonah 1:2

      “Get up! Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.”

    • Psalms 36:6

      Your righteousness is like the highest mountains; Your judgments are like the deepest sea. O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

    • Psalms 145:8–9

      The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion.

Where this verse is studied

About Deuteronomy

Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.
Moses Viewing the Promised Land, Frederic Edwin Church, 1846. Public domain.
Deuteronomy: the study guide →Read Deuteronomy 1 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Deuteronomy 1 →