Numbers 31:17

Easy-to-Read Version

Now, kill all the Midianite boys, and kill all the Midianite women who have had sexual relations with a man.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

King James Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

Lexham English Bible
Now kill every male among the little children, and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man.

English Standard Version
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

New Century Version
Kill all the Midianite boys, and kill all the Midianite women who have had sexual relations.

New English Translation
Now therefore kill every boy, and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse with a man.

Amplified Bible
"Now therefore, kill every male among the children, and kill every woman who is not a virgin.

New American Standard Bible
"Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Now therefore, slay all the males among the children, and kill all the women that haue knowen man by carnall copulation.

Legacy Standard Bible
So now, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately.

Contemporary English Version
You must put to death every boy and all the women who have ever had sex.

Complete Jewish Bible
Now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has ever slept with a man.

Darby Translation
And now slay every male among the little ones, and slay every woman that hath known man by lying with him,

George Lamsa Translation
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

Good News Translation
So now kill every boy and kill every woman who has had sexual intercourse,

Christian Standard Bible®
So now, kill every male among the dependents and kill every woman who has gone to bed with a man,

Literal Translation
And now kill every male among the infants; yea, you shall kill every woman having known a man by lying with a male.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Now therfore slaie all the males amoge ye childre, & kyll all ye wemen yt haue knowne men & lyen wt them.

American Standard Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

Bible in Basic English
So now put every male child to death, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Nowe therfore, slay all the men children, and kyl the women that haue lien with men fleshly.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

King James Version (1611)
Now therefore kill euery male among the little ones, and kill euery woman that hath knowen man, by lying with him.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Now then slay every male in all the spoil, slay every woman, who has known the lying with man.

English Revised Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

Berean Standard Bible
So now, kill all the boys, and kill every woman who has had relations with a man,

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And therfor sle ye alle men, what euer thing is of male kynde, and litle children; and strangle ye the wymmen that knew men fleischli;

Young's Literal Translation
`And now, slay ye every male among the infants, yea, every woman known of man by the lying of a male ye have slain;

Update Bible Version
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that has had sex with a man.

Webster's Bible Translation
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

World English Bible
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

New King James Version
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.

New Living Translation
So kill all the boys and all the women who have had intercourse with a man.

New Life Bible
Now kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has had a man.

New Revised Standard
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man by sleeping with him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Now, therefore, slay ye every male among the young, - every woman also that hath cohabited with man, slay ye.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Therefore kill all that are of the male sex, even of the children: and put to death the women, that have carnally known men.

Revised Standard Version
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately.

Contextual Overview

¹³ Then Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the people went out of the camp to meet with the soldiers. ¹⁴ Moses was very angry with the leaders of the army, the commanders of 1000 men, and the commanders of 100 men, who came back from the war. ¹⁵ Moses said to them, "Why did you let the women live? ¹⁶ These are the women who listened to Balaam and caused the men of Israel to turn away from the Lord that time at Peor. The disease will come to the Lord 's people again. ¹⁷ Now, kill all the Midianite boys, and kill all the Midianite women who have had sexual relations with a man. ¹⁸ You can let all the young girls live—but only if they never had sexual relations with any man. ¹⁹ And then, all you men who killed other people must stay outside the camp for seven days. You must stay outside the camp even if you just touched a dead body. On the third day you and your prisoners must make yourselves pure. You must do the same thing again on the seventh day. ²⁰ You must wash all of your clothes. You must wash anything made with leather, wool, or wood. You must purify yourselves." ²¹ Then Eleazar the priest spoke to the soldiers. He said, "These are the rules that the Lord gave to Moses for soldiers coming back from war. ²²You must put gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, or lead into the fire and then wash these things with the special water to make them pure. If something can be put in the fire, you must put it in fire to purify it. If things cannot be put in fire, you must still wash them with the special water.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

kill every male: The sword of war should spare women and children, as incapable of resisting; but the sword of justice knows no distinction, except that of guilty or not guilty, or more or less guilty. This was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the greatest criminals; and it may safely be said, that their lives were forfeited by their personal transgressions. With respect to the execution of the male infants, who cannot be supposed to have been guilty, God, the author and supporter of life, who has a right to dispose of it when and how he thinks proper, commanded it; and "shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Judges 21:11, Judges 21:12

him: Heb. a male

Reciprocal: Genesis 4:1 - knew Genesis 24:16 - known Genesis 34:25 - Simeon Genesis 34:28 - General Numbers 31:32 - the booty Deuteronomy 20:13 - thou shalt smite 1 Samuel 15:3 - slay 1 Kings 11:15 - every male

Cross-References

Genesis 24:10
The servant took ten of Abraham's camels and left that place. The servant carried with him many different kinds of beautiful gifts. He went to Mesopotamia, to Nahor's city.

Genesis 24:61
Then Rebekah and her nurse got on the camels and followed the servant and his men. So the servant took Rebekah and left.

1 Samuel 30:17
David attacked them and killed them. They fought from sunrise until the evening of the next day. None of the Amalekites escaped, except for 400 young men who jumped onto their camels and rode away.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Now therefore kill every male among the little ones,.... Which they had taken and brought captives, Numbers 31:9

and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him; who might be such, at least many of them, who had lain with Israelitish men; and as the adulterers had been put to death, so now the adulteresses; or they were ordered to, be slain, even all of them, lest they should entice the children of Israel to uncleanness, and so to idolatry again: now these were known to be such, either by conjecture at their age, or rather, through the examination of matrons, unless it can be thought, as it is by some, that it was by divine revelation.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Numbers 31:17. Kill every male among the little ones — For this action I account simply on the principle that God, who is the author and supporter of life, has a right to dispose of it when and how he thinks proper; and the Judge of all the earth can do nothing but what is right. Of the women killed on this occasion it may be safely said, their lives were forfeited by their personal transgressions; and yet even in this case there can be little doubt that God showed mercy to their souls. The little ones were safely lodged; they were taken to heaven and saved from the evil to come.