Deuteronomy 13:16
in Deuteronomy 13And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, unto Jehovah thy God: and it shall be a heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
KJV
And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 13
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword
on Deuteronomy 13:15-16
The sentence is the ban that 7:2 and 20:16-17 lay on the cities of Canaan, now turned on an Israelite city. Clarke gives the older commentators' reason, that one city left in idolatry would carry the rest. The historical books record no city condemned under this statute.
This site's exposition
never to be rebuilt
All the plunder lies in the public square, in full view. Clarke draws the consequence at verse 17: with no plunder to gain, war on such a city could be waged only to obey the LORD. The city must stay a ruin, and Joshua 6:26 curses whoever rebuilds Jericho.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
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 Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Certain men, the children of Belial--lawless, designing demagogues (Jud 19:22; 25:25), who abused their influence to withdraw the inhabitants of the city to idol-worship.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Every whit, for the Lord thy God - Some prefer: “as a whole offering to the Lord thy God.”
The words behind it
23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שְׁלָלָ֗הּ | shelalah | plunder its | H7998 → | 73 times |
| תִּקְבֹּץ֮ | tikbotz | you will gather | H6908 → | 127 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תּ֣וֹךְ | tokh | [the] middle of | H8432 → | 418 times |
| רְחֹבָהּ֒ | rechovah | open place its | H7339 → | |
| וְשָׂרַפְתָּ֨ | vesarafta | and you will burn | H8313 → | 117 times |
| בָאֵ֜שׁ | vaesh | with <the> fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָעִ֤יר | hair | the city | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| שְׁלָלָהּ֙ | shelalah | plunder its | H7998 → | 73 times |
| כָּלִ֔יל | kalil | a whole offering | H3632 → | |
| לַיהוָ֖ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְהָיְתָה֙ | vehayetah | and it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| תֵּ֣ל | tel | a mound of | H8510 → | |
| עוֹלָ֔ם | olam | perpetuity | H5769 → | 438 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִבָּנֶ֖ה | tibaneh | it will be built | H1129 → | 376 times |
| עֽוֹד׃ | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
שְׁלָלָ֗הּplunder its
shelalahH7998 →73 times
תִּקְבֹּץ֮you will gather
tikbotzH6908 →127 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
תּ֣וֹךְ[the] middle of
tokhH8432 →418 times
רְחֹבָהּ֒open place its
rechovahH7339 →
וְשָׂרַפְתָּ֨and you will burn
vesaraftaH8313 →117 times
בָאֵ֜שׁwith <the> fire
vaeshH784 →378 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָעִ֤ירthe city
hairH5892 →1090 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
שְׁלָלָהּ֙plunder its
shelalahH7998 →73 times
כָּלִ֔ילa whole offering
kalilH3632 →
לַיהוָ֖הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
וְהָיְתָה֙and it will be
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
תֵּ֣לa mound of
telH8510 →
עוֹלָ֔םperpetuity
olamH5769 →438 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִבָּנֶ֖הit will be built
tibanehH1129 →376 times
עֽוֹד׃again
odH5750 →490 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
Isaiah 17:1This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.
it leads to
- Isaiah 25:2
Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Amos 1:3–5
This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they threshed Gilead with sledges of iron.
- Zechariah 9:1
This is the burden of the word of the LORD against the land of Hadrach and Damascus its resting place—for the eyes of men and of all the tribes of Israel are upon the…
- Isaiah 25:2
Through
Isaiah 25:2Indeed, You have made the city a heap of rubble, the fortified town a ruin. The fortress of strangers is a city no more; it will never be rebuilt.
it leads to
- Isaiah 17:1
This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 17:1
Through
Jeremiah 49:2Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned.…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:19
My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm…
- Ezekiel 21:20
Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of the Ammonites, and another against Judah into fortified Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 4:19
Through
Joshua 6:24Then the Israelites burned up the city and everything in it. However, they put the silver and gold and articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the LORD’s house.
it leads to
- Joshua 8:28
So Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanent heap of ruins, a desolation to this day.
- Revelation 17:16
And the ten horns and the beast that you saw will hate the prostitute. They will leave her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
- Joshua 8:28
Where this verse is studied
About Deuteronomy

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.
