Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, September 13th, 2025
the Week of Proper 18 / Ordinary 23
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Chinese NCV (Simplified)

申命记 20:10

攻城的策略“你臨近一座城,要攻打那城的時候,要先向那城提和議。

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Siege;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ethics;   War;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Kill, Killing;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Alms;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Anathema;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ban;   Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Wisdom of Solomon;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Peculiarities of the Law of Moses;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Cruel;   Siege;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Army;   Captives;   Commandments, the 613;   Debarim Rabbah;   War;  

Parallel Translations

Chinese Union (Simplified)
你 临 近 一 座 城 、 要 攻 打 的 时 候 , 先 要 对 城 里 的 民 宣 告 和 睦 的 话 。

Contextual Overview

10 When you march up to attack a city, first make them an offer of peace. 11 If they accept your offer and open their gates to you, all the people of that city will become your slaves and work for you. 12 But if they do not make peace with you and fight you in battle, you should surround that city. 13 The Lord your God will give it to you. Then kill all the men with your swords, 14 and you may take everything else in the city for yourselves. Take the women, children, and animals, and you may use these things the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. 15 Do this to all the cities that are far away, that do not belong to the nations nearby. 16 But leave nothing alive in the cities of the land the Lord your God is giving you. 17 Completely destroy these people: the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded. 18 Otherwise, they will teach you what they do for their gods, and if you do these hateful things, you will sin against the Lord your God. 19 If you surround and attack a city for a long time, trying to capture it, do not destroy its trees with an ax. You can eat the fruit from the trees, but do not cut them down. These trees are not the enemy, so don't make war against them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

then proclaim: 2 Samuel 20:18-22, Isaiah 57:19, Zechariah 9:10, Luke 10:5, Luke 10:6, Acts 10:36, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, 2 Corinthians 6:1, Ephesians 2:17

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 2:26 - with words Deuteronomy 7:2 - make no Deuteronomy 21:10 - thou goest Joshua 9:15 - made peace Judges 11:12 - sent messengers Judges 20:12 - sent men Judges 21:13 - call peaceably

Gill's Notes on the Bible

When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it,.... This is to be understood of an arbitrary war, as Jarchi observes; which they engaged in of themselves, or were provoked to by their enemies; which was their own choice, and according to their own will and pleasure; and their conduct towards their enemies in it was different from that in a war with the seven nations, commanded by the Lord, and distinguished from it, Deuteronomy 20:15.

then proclaim peace unto it; that is, offer them terms of peace; which were, that the inhabitants of it should renounce idolatry, and become their tributaries and servants.

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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Deuteronomy 20:10. Proclaim peace unto it. — Interpreters are greatly divided concerning the objects of this law. The text, taken in connection with the context, (see Deuteronomy 20:15-18), appears to state that this proclamation or offer of peace to a city is only to be understood of those cities which were situated beyond the limits of the seven anathematized nations, because these latter are commanded to be totally destroyed. Nothing can be clearer than this from the bare letter of the text, unless some of the words, taken separately, can be shown to have a different meaning. For the common interpretation, the following reasons are given.

God, who knows all things, saw that they were incurable in their idolatry; that the cup of their iniquity was full; and as their Creator, Sovereign, and Judge, he determined to destroy them from off the face of the earth, "lest they should teach the Israelites to do after all their abominations," Deuteronomy 20:18. After all, many plausible arguments have been brought to prove that even these seven Canaanitish nations might be received into mercy, provided they,

1. Renounced their idolatry;

2. Became subject to the Jews; and,

3. Paid annual tribute: and that it was only in case these terms were rejected, that they were not to leave alive in such a city any thing that breathed, Deuteronomy 20:16.


 
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