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Thursday, April 23rd, 2026
the Third Week after Easter
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Read the Bible

Bishop's Bible

Numbers 31:18

But all the women children that haue not lien with men carnally, kepe alyue for your selues.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Captive;   Sanitation;   Women;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Desert, Journey of Israel through the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Midianites;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Moab;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Concubine;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Midian, Mtdianites;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Eleazar ;   Midian, Midianites ;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - On to Canaan;   Moses, the Man of God;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Slave;   Stranger and Sojourner (in the Old Testament);   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Hafá¹­arah;   Midian and Midianites;   Sidra;  

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
King James Version
But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Lexham English Bible
But all the females who have not had sexual intercourse with a man, keep alive for yourselves.
English Standard Version
But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.
New Century Version
But save for yourselves the girls who have not had sexual relations with a man.
New English Translation
But all the young women who have not had sexual intercourse with a man will be yours.
Amplified Bible
"But all the young girls who have not known a man intimately, keep alive for yourselves [to marry].
New American Standard Bible
"However, all the girls who have not known a man intimately, keep alive for yourselves.
Geneva Bible (1587)
But all the women children that haue not knowen carnall copulation, keepe aliue for your selues.
Legacy Standard Bible
But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves.
Contemporary English Version
But do not kill the young women who have never had sex. You may keep them for yourselves."
Complete Jewish Bible
But the young girls who have never slept with a man, keep alive for yourselves.
Darby Translation
but all the children among the women that have not known lying with a man, keep alive for yourselves.
Easy-to-Read Version
You can let all the young girls live—but only if they never had sexual relations with any man.
George Lamsa Translation
But all the female children, who have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Good News Translation
but keep alive for yourselves all the girls and all the women who are virgins.
Christian Standard Bible®
but keep alive for yourselves all the young females who have not gone to bed with a man.
Literal Translation
And you shall keep alive for yourselves all the female children who have not known a man by lying with a male.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But all the wemen chidren yt haue knowne no me ner lien wt them, kepe those alyue for youre selues.
American Standard Version
But all the women-children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Bible in Basic English
But all the female children who have had no sex relations with men, you may keep for yourselves.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
King James Version (1611)
But all the women children that haue not knowen a man by lying with him, keepe aliue for your selues.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And as for all the captivity of women, who have not known the lying with man, save ye them alive.
English Revised Version
But all the women children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
Berean Standard Bible
but spare for yourselves every girl who has never had relations with a man.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
forsothe reserue ye to you damesels, and alle wymmen virgyns,
Young's Literal Translation
and all the infants among the women, who have not known the lying of a male, ye have kept alive for yourselves.
Update Bible Version
But all the women-children, that haven't had sex with a man, keep alive for yourselves.
Webster's Bible Translation
But all the female children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
World English Bible
But all the girls, who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
New King James Version
But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately.
New Living Translation
Only the young girls who are virgins may live; you may keep them for yourselves.
New Life Bible
But keep alive for yourselves all the girls who have not had a man.
New Revised Standard
But all the young girls who have not known a man by sleeping with him, keep alive for yourselves.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
But all the young of womankind that hay, not cohabited with man, preserve alive for yourselves.
Douay-Rheims Bible
But the girls, and all the women that are virgins save for yourselves:
Revised Standard Version
But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But all the girls who have not known man intimately, spare for yourselves.

Contextual Overview

13 And Moyses and Eleazar the priest, and all the lordes of the congregation, went out of the hoast to meete them. 14 And Moyses was angrie with the officers of the hoast, with the captaynes ouer thousandes, and ouer hundredes, which came from the warre & battayle. 15 And Moyses sayde vnto them: Haue ye saued all the women alyue? 16 Beholde, these caused the children of Israel through the councel of Balaam, to commit trespasse agaynst the Lorde in the businesse of Peor, and there folowed a plague among the congregation of the Lorde. 17 Nowe therfore, slay all the men children, and kyl the women that haue lien with men fleshly. 18 But all the women children that haue not lien with men carnally, kepe alyue for your selues. 19 And ye shall remayne without the hoast seuen dayes, all that haue kylled any person, and all that haue touched any dead body, and purifie both your selues and your prisoners the thirde day and the seuenth. 20 And purifie all your raymentes, and that is made of skinnes, and all worke of goates heere, and all thinges made of wood. 21 And Eleazar the priest sayde vnto the men of warre which went to the battayle: This is the ordinauce of the lawe which the Lorde comaunded Moyses: 22 As for golde, siluer, brasse, and iron, tinne, and lead,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

keep alive for yourselves: It has been groundlessly asserted, that Moses here authorised the Israelites to make concubines of the whole number of female children; and an insidious objection against his writings has been grounded upon this monstrous supposition. But the whole tenor of the law, and especially a statute recorded in Deuteronomy 21:10-14, proves most decisively to the contrary. They were merely permitted to possess them as female slaves, educating them in their families, and employing them as domestics; for the laws concerning fornication, concubinage, and marriage, were in full force, and prohibited an Israelite even from marrying a captive, without delays and previous formalities; and if he afterwards divorced her, he was to set here at liberty, "because he had humbled her." Leviticus 25:44, Deuteronomy 20:14, Deuteronomy 21:10-14, 2 Chronicles 28:8-10, Isaiah 14:2

Reciprocal: Genesis 24:16 - known Deuteronomy 20:13 - thou shalt smite Deuteronomy 21:11 - that Judges 21:11 - every male

Cross-References

Genesis 27:41
And Esau hated Iacob, because of the blessyng that his father blessed hym withall. And Esau sayde in his heart: The dayes of sorowyng for my father are at hande, then wyll I slaye my brother Iacob.
Genesis 28:21
So that I come agayne vnto my fathers house in saftie: then shal the Lord be my God.
Genesis 31:1
And he heard the wordes of Labans sonnes saying, Iacob hath take away all that was our fathers, and of our fathers [goodes] hath he gotten all his glorie.
Genesis 31:2
And Iacob behelde the countenaunce of Laban, and beholde, it was not towardes hym as it was wont to be.
Genesis 31:27
Wherfore wentest thou away secretly vnknowen to me, and dyddest not tell me, that I myght haue let thee go thy way with mirth and songues, with tymbrell and harpe?
Genesis 31:29
For it is in my hand through God to do you hurt: But the God of your father spake vnto me yesternight, saying: Take heede that thou speake not to Iacob ought saue good.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But all the women children,.... The females among the little ones:

that have not known a man by lying with him; which might be pretty clear, and easily concluded, from their age:

keep for yourselves; either to be handmaids to them, or to be married among them when grown up, and become proselytes, and initiated into their religion.


 
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