Deuteronomy 20:15
in Deuteronomy 20This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
KJV
Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 20
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
When you approach a city to fight against it
on Deuteronomy 20:10-15
The order is peace first and siege second, and a city that accepts becomes forced labour, living under Israel rather than beside it. Moses had already done this at 2:26, sending words of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon.
This site's exposition
all the cities that are far
Adam Clarke takes this verse as the key to the chapter. The offer of peace applied only to cities beyond the seven nations, which were to be destroyed. Joshua 9:6 turns on this very distinction, when the Gibeonites claim to have come from a distant land.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), because by them they were not in so much danger of being infected with idolatry, nor was their country so directly and immediately intended in the promise; but of the cities which were given to Israel for an inheritance no remnants must be left of their inhabitants (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation
Eaten of it - Hebrew. made it common, namely, for the use of himself and family and friends, which it was not, 'till the fifth year. Make captains - Or rather, as the Hebrew hath it, they shall set or place the captains of the armies in the head or front of the people under their charge, that they may conduct them, and by their example encourage their soldiers.
Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it--An important principle is here introduced into the war law of Israel regarding the people they fought against and the cities they besieged. With "the cities of those people which God doth give thee" in Canaan, it was to be a war of utter extermination (De 20:17, 18).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
והטף AND THE LITTLE ONES [… SHALT THOU TAKE UNTO THYSELF] — the male children, too. But how am I to understand (v. 13) “and thou shalt smite every male thereof”? As referring to the male adults (Sifrei Devarim:7).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֵּ֤ן | ken | thus | H3651 → | 771 times |
| תַּעֲשֶׂה֙ | taaseh | you will do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לְכָל־ | lekhol | to all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הֶ֣עָרִ֔ים | hearim | the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הָרְחֹקֹ֥ת | harechokot | <the> distant | H7350 → | 84 times |
| מִמְּךָ֖ | mimekha | from you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| מְאֹ֑ד | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֛ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מֵעָרֵ֥י | mearei | [are] any of [the] cities of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הַגּֽוֹיִם־ | hagoyim- | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| הָאֵ֖לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| הֵֽנָּה׃ | henah | they | H2007 → |
כֵּ֤ןthus
kenH3651 →771 times
תַּעֲשֶׂה֙you will do
taasehH6213 →2628 times
לְכָל־to all
lekholH3605 →5413 times
הֶ֣עָרִ֔יםthe cities
hearimH5892 →1090 times
הָרְחֹקֹ֥ת<the> distant
harechokotH7350 →84 times
מִמְּךָ֖from you
mimekhaH4480 →1188 times
מְאֹ֑דvery
meodH3966 →300 times
אֲשֶׁ֛רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
מֵעָרֵ֥י[are] any of [the] cities of
meareiH5892 →1090 times
הַגּֽוֹיִם־the nations
hagoyim-H1471 →561 times
הָאֵ֖לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
הֵֽנָּה׃they
henahH2007 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Deuteronomy
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 (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.