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Monday, July 21st, 2025
the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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Read the Bible

American Standard Version

Deuteronomy 20:11

And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.

Bible Study Resources

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Ethics;   War;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Kill, Killing;   War, Holy War;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Alms;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Issachar;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Anathema;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Crimes and Punishments;   Deuteronomy;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Peculiarities of the Law of Moses;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Adoniram;   Tax;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Captives;   War;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
If it accepts your offer of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people found in it will become forced laborers for you and serve you.
Hebrew Names Version
It shall be, if it make you answer of shalom, and open to you, then it shall be, that all the people who are found therein shall become tributary to you, and shall serve you.
King James Version
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
Lexham English Bible
And then if they accept your terms of peace and they surrender to you, and then all the people inhabiting it shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you.
English Standard Version
And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you.
New Century Version
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.
New English Translation
If it accepts your terms and submits to you, all the people found in it will become your slaves.
Amplified Bible
"If that city accepts your terms of peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.
New American Standard Bible
"And if it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and serve you.
Geneva Bible (1587)
And if it answere thee againe peaceably, and open vnto thee, then let all the people that is founde therein, be tributaries vnto thee, and serue thee.
Legacy Standard Bible
Now it will be that if it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.
Complete Jewish Bible
If it accepts the terms for peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people there are to be put to forced labor and work for you.
Darby Translation
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then all the people that are found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
Easy-to-Read Version
If they accept your offer and open their gates, all the people in that city will become your slaves and be forced to work for you.
George Lamsa Translation
And if the city give you answer of peace, and it open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be servants and tributaries to you, and they shall serve you.
Good News Translation
If they open the gates and surrender, they are all to become your slaves and do forced labor for you.
Literal Translation
And it shall be, if it answers peace to you, and shall open to you, then it shall be that all the people found in it shall be forced laborers for you, and shall serve you.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf they answere the peaceably, and open vnto the, then shal all ye people yt is founde therin, be tributaries vnto the, and serue ye.
Bible in Basic English
And if it gives you back an answer of peace, opening its doors to you, then all the people in it may be put to forced work as your servants.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And if they aunswere thee agayne peaceably, and open vnto thee, then let all the people that is founde therin, be tributaries vnto thee, and serue thee.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.
King James Version (1611)
And it shall be, if it make thee answere of peace, and open vnto thee, then it shalbe that all the people that is found therein, shall be tributaries vnto thee, and they shall serue thee.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
If then they should answer peaceably to thee, and open to thee, it shall be that all the people found in it shall be tributary and subject to thee.
English Revised Version
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.
Berean Standard Bible
If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
If the citee resseyueth, and openeth to thee the yatis, al the puple that is ther ynne schal be saued, and schal serue thee vndur tribut.
Young's Literal Translation
and it hath been, if Peace it answer thee, and hath opened to thee, then it hath come to pass -- all the people who are found in it are to thee for tributaries, and have served thee.
Update Bible Version
And it shall be, if it answers peace to you, and opens to you, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become slave labor to you, and shall serve you.
Webster's Bible Translation
And it shall be, if it shall make thee answer of peace, and open to thee, then it shall be, [that] all the people [that are] found therein, shall be tributaries to thee, and they shall serve thee.
World English Bible
It shall be, if it make you answer of peace, and open to you, then it shall be, that all the people who are found therein shall become tributary to you, and shall serve you.
New King James Version
And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you.
New Living Translation
If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor.
New Life Bible
If they agree to make peace with you and open their gates to you, all the people who are found there will be made to work for you and serve you.
New Revised Standard
If it accepts your terms of peace and surrenders to you, then all the people in it shall serve you at forced labor.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and it shall be if peace, be the answer it giveth thee, and it open unto thee, then shall it be, that, all the people that are found therein, shall become thy tributaries and shall serve thee.
Douay-Rheims Bible
If they receive it, and open the gates to thee, all the people that are therein, shall be saved, and shall serve thee paying tribute.
Revised Standard Version
And if its answer to you is peace and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.

Contextual Overview

10 When thou drawest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. 11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee. 12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it: 13 and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: 14 but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take for a prey unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee. 15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. 16 But of the cities of these peoples, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth; 17 but thou shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; 18 that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so would ye sin against Jehovah your God. 19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

tributaries: Leviticus 25:42-46, Joshua 9:22, Joshua 9:23, Joshua 9:27, Joshua 11:19, Joshua 11:20, Joshua 16:10, Judges 1:28, Judges 1:30-35, 1 Kings 9:21, 1 Kings 9:22, Psalms 120:7, Luke 19:14

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 2:26 - with words Deuteronomy 7:2 - make no Joshua 9:6 - We be Joshua 9:8 - General Joshua 9:15 - made peace Joshua 17:13 - put the Judges 11:12 - sent messengers 2 Samuel 20:18 - They were wont 2 Kings 6:22 - wouldest

Cross-References

Genesis 12:12
and it will come to pass, when the Egyptians shall see thee, that they will say, This is his wife: and they will kill me, but they will save thee alive.
Genesis 20:1
And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land of the South, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar.
Genesis 20:4
Now Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay even a righteous nation?
Genesis 22:12
And he said, Lay not thy hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.
Genesis 26:7
and the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, My wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
Genesis 42:18
And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear God:
Nehemiah 5:15
But the former governors that were before me were chargeable unto the people, and took of them bread and wine, besides forty shekels of silver; yea, even their servants bare rule over the people: but so did not I, because of the fear of God.
Job 1:1
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and turned away from evil.
Job 28:28
And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.
Psalms 14:4
Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, Who eat up my people as they eat bread, And call not upon Jehovah?

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace,.... Comply with the terms of peace offered:

and open unto thee; the gates of the city and its garrisons, and deliver all into their hands:

then it shall be that all the people that is found therein; some having made their escape before the surrender of the city:

shall be tributaries unto thee: pay a yearly tax imposed upon them, as the Moabites sometimes did, and which was paid in lambs and rams with the wool, 2 Kings 3:4

and they shall serve thee; not as slaves, or be in continual bondage and servitude; but upon occasion be called out to any public service, as joining them against their enemies, rebuilding palaces and cities, or repairing walls of cities, and the like; and in general acknowledge their dominion over them, and their own subjection to them, by paying an annual tribute, or sending gifts unto them; thus the Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites, became the servants of David, 2 Samuel 8:2.

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.


 
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