Deuteronomy 20:4
in Deuteronomy 20For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
for Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
KJV
For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 20
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
When thou goest out to battle
on Deuteronomy 20:1-4
Hear, O Israel opens the priest's charge at verse 3, the fourth and last time the phrase falls in this book after 5:1, 6:4 and 9:1, and the other three open teaching rather than a battle. Horses and chariots are named as the thing not to fear, and 17:16 forbids a king to gather them, so the same arms are denied to the throne and discounted in the field. The ground given for courage is a past event, that God brought them up out of the land of Egypt, which is how this book argues everywhere. Jewish tradition gave the priest of verse 2 a title of his own, the anointed of the war, and Matthew Henry takes up the name.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you,.... To battle, and therefore they had no reason to fear and be dismayed, to be fainthearted, terrified, and tremble: fear not, I am with thee,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people--Jewish writers say that there was a war priest appointed by a special ceremonial to attend the army. It was natural that the solemn objects and motives of religion should have been applied to animate patriotism, and so give additional impulse to valor; other people have done this.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you--According to Jewish writers, the ark was always taken into the field of combat. But there is no evidence of this in the sacred history; and it must have been a sufficient ground of encouragement to be assured that God was on their side.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַהֹלֵ֖ךְ | haholekh | [is] the [one who] goes | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| עִמָּכֶ֑ם | ʾimakhem | with you | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| לְהִלָּחֵ֥ם | lehilachem | to fight | H3898 → | 177 times |
| לָכֶ֛ם | lakhem | for <the> you | ||
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אֹיְבֵיכֶ֖ם | ʾoyeveikhem | enemies your | H341 → | 282 times |
| לְהוֹשִׁ֥יעַ | lehoshia' | to give victory | H3467 → | 206 times |
| אֶתְכֶֽם׃ | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶ֔םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
הַהֹלֵ֖ךְ[is] the [one who] goes
haholekhH1980 →1546 times
עִמָּכֶ֑םwith you
ʾimakhemH5973 →1050 times
לְהִלָּחֵ֥םto fight
lehilachemH3898 →177 times
לָכֶ֛םfor <the> you
lakhem
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
אֹיְבֵיכֶ֖םenemies your
ʾoyeveikhemH341 →282 times
לְהוֹשִׁ֥יעַto give victory
lehoshia'H3467 →206 times
אֶתְכֶֽם׃<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Joshua 23:10One of you can put a thousand to flight, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as He promised.
it leads to
- Exodus 14:14
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 3:22
Do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God Himself will fight for you.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 32:30
How could one man pursue a thousand, or two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, unless the LORD had given them up?
- Leviticus 26:8
Five of you will pursue a hundred, and a hundred of you will pursue ten thousand, and your enemies will fall by the sword before you.
- Psalms 35:1
Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
- Exodus 14:14
Through
Exodus 14:14The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
You need not fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 1:30
The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 23:3
“and you have seen everything that the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake, because it was the LORD your God who fought for you.
- 2 Chronicles 20:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.