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Tuesday, July 29th, 2025
the Week of Proper 12 / Ordinary 17
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Hebrew Names Version

Judges 21:11

This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain by man.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Armies;   Captive;   Discipline;   Jabesh-Gilead;   Rashness;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Armies of Israel, the;   Benjamin, Tribe of;  

Dictionaries:

- Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Gibeah;   Gilead;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Jabesh-Gilead;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Jabesh (1);   Holman Bible Dictionary - Accursed;   Jabesh-Gilead;   Judges, Book of;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ban;   Benjamin;   Jabesh, Jabesh-Gilead;   Marriage;   Priests and Levites;   Samson;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Excommunication (2);   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Gibeah;   Jabesh;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Ja'besh;  

Encyclopedias:

- The Jewish Encyclopedia - Ban;   Jabesh;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
This is what you should do: Completely destroy every male, as well as every woman who has gone to bed with a man.”
King James Version
And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
Lexham English Bible
This is the thing you will do: you will destroy every man and every woman who had sex with a man."
English Standard Version
This is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction."
New Century Version
"This is what you must do: Kill every man in Jabesh Gilead and every married woman."
New English Translation
Do this: exterminate every male, as well as every woman who has had sexual relations with a male. But spare the lives of any virgins." So they did as instructed.
Amplified Bible
"And this is the thing that you shall do; you shall utterly destroy every male and every woman who is not a virgin."
New American Standard Bible
"And this is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has slept with a male."
Geneva Bible (1587)
And this is it that ye shall do: ye shall vtterly destroye all the males and all the women that haue lien by men.
Legacy Standard Bible
En dit is die ding wat julle moet doen: Alles wat manlik is, en al die vroue wat die gemeenskap met die man ken, moet julle met die banvloek tref.
Complete Jewish Bible
Completely destroy every man and every woman who has had sex with a man."
Darby Translation
And this is the thing which ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain with man.
Easy-to-Read Version
You must do this! You must kill every man in Jabesh Gilead and every woman who has had sexual relations with a man. But do not kill any woman who has never had sex with a man." So the soldiers did these things.
George Lamsa Translation
And this is the thing that you must do, You must utterly destroy every male and every woman that has lain with a man.
Good News Translation
Kill all the males, and also every woman who is not a virgin."
Literal Translation
And this is the thing which you shall do. You shall destroy every male and every woman who has been known by lying with a male.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
but so that ye do after this maner: Se that ye damne all them that are males, and all the wemen that haue lyen with men.
American Standard Version
And this is the thing that ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
Bible in Basic English
And this is what you are to do: every male, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man, you are to put to the curse, but you are to keep safe the virgins. And they did so.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And this is it that ye shall do: ye shall vtterly destroy all the males, and al the women that haue lyen by men.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And this is the thing that ye shall do: ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.'
King James Version (1611)
And this is the thing that yee shall doe, Yee shall vtterly destroy euery male, and euery woman that hath lien by man.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And this shall ye do: every male and every woman that has known the lying with man ye shall devote to destruction, but the virgins ye shall save alive: and they did so.
English Revised Version
And this is the thing that ye shall do; ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
Berean Standard Bible
This is what you are to do: Devote to destruction every male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man."
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And this thing schal be, which ye `owen to kepe, sle ye alle of male kynde, and the wymmen, that knewen men fleischli; reserue ye the virgyns.
Young's Literal Translation
And this [is] the thing which ye do; every male, and every woman knowing the lying of a male, ye devote.'
Update Bible Version
And this is the thing that you shall do: you shall completely destroy every male, and every woman that has had sex with a man.
Webster's Bible Translation
And this [is] the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
World English Bible
This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain by man.
New King James Version
And this is the thing that you shall do: You shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has known a man intimately."
New Living Translation
"This is what you are to do," they said. "Completely destroy all the males and every woman who is not a virgin."
New Life Bible
This is what you must do. Destroy every man and every woman who has had a man."
New Revised Standard
This is what you shall do; every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction."
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And, this, is the thing that ye shall do, - Every male, and every woman that hath cohabited with man, shall ye devote to destruction.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And this is what you shall observe: Every male, and all women that have known men, you shall kill, but the virgins you shall save.
Revised Standard Version
This is what you shall do; every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall utterly destroy."
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every man and every woman who has lain with a man."

Contextual Overview

1 Now the men of Yisra'el had sworn in Mitzpah, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter to Binyamin as wife. 2 The people came to Beit-El, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore. 3 They said, the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, why has this happened in Yisra'el, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Yisra'el? 4 It happened on the next day that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace-offerings. 5 The children of Yisra'el said, Who is there among all the tribes of Yisra'el who didn't come up in the assembly to the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him who didn't come up to the LORD to Mitzpah, saying, He shall surely be put to death. 6 The children of Yisra'el repented them for Binyamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Yisra'el this day. 7 How shall we do for wives for those who remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives? 8 They said, What one is there of the tribes of Yisra'el who didn't come up to the LORD to Mitzpah? Behold, there came none to the camp from Yavesh-Gil`ad to the assembly. 9 For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Yavesh-Gil`ad there. 10 The congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, Go and strike the inhabitants of Yavesh-Gil`ad with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

every male: Numbers 31:17, Numbers 31:18, Deuteronomy 2:34

hath lain by man: Heb. knoweth the lying with man

Reciprocal: Leviticus 27:28 - no devoted Numbers 31:7 - all Jeremiah 44:7 - to cut

Cross-References

Genesis 17:18
Avraham said to God, "Oh that Yishma'el might live before you!"
Genesis 21:1
The LORD visited Sarah as he had said, and the LORD did to Sarah as he had spoken.
Genesis 21:2
Sarah conceived, and bore Avraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.
2 Samuel 18:33
The king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, my son Avshalom, my son, my son Avshalom! would I had died for you, Avshalom, my son, my son!
Matthew 10:37
He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn't worthy of me.
Hebrews 12:11
All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been exercised thereby.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And this is the thing that ye shall do,.... Which they gave them in charge to execute:

ye shall utterly destroy every male; without any reserve, young or old, married or unmarried:

and every woman that hath lain by man; whether lawfully or unlawfully, in a married or unmarried state.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Ye shall utterly destroy - More exactly, “Ye shall devote to utter destruction,” or “cherem” (Leviticus 27:28 note).


 
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