Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, April 9th, 2026
Thursday in Easter Week
Attention!
StudyLight.org has pledged to help build churches in Uganda. Help us with that pledge and support pastors in the heart of Africa.
Click here to join the effort!

Read the Bible

Young's Literal Translation

Judges 21:11

And this [is] the thing which ye do; every male, and every woman knowing the lying of a male, ye devote.'

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.”
Hebrew Names Version
This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain by 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.
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 And the men of Israel have sworn in Mizpeh, saying, `None of us doth give his daughter to Benjamin for a wife.' 2 And the people come in to Beth-El, and sit there till the evening before God, and lift up their voice, and weep -- a great weeping, 3 and say, `Why, O Jehovah, God of Israel, hath this been in Israel -- to be lacking to-day, from Israel, one tribe?' 4 And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that the people rise early, and build there an altar, and cause to ascend burnt-offerings and peace-offerings. 5 And the sons of Israel say, `Who [is] he that hath not come up in the assembly out of all the tribes of Israel unto Jehovah?' for the great oath hath been concerning him who hath not come up unto Jehovah to Mizpeh, saying, `He is surely put to death.' 6 And the sons of Israel repent concerning Benjamin their brother, and say, `There hath been to-day cut off one tribe from Israel, 7 what do we do for them -- for those who are left -- for wives, and we -- we have sworn by Jehovah not to give to them of our daughters for wives?' 8 And they say, `Who is [that] one out of the tribes of Israel who hath not come up unto Jehovah to Mizpeh?' and lo, none hath come in unto the camp from Jabesh-Gilead -- unto the assembly. 9 And the people numbered themselves, and lo, there is not there a man of the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead. 10 And the company send there twelve thousand men of the sons of valour, and command them, saying, `Go -- and ye have smitten the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead by the mouth of the sword, even the women and the infants.

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
And Abraham saith unto God, `O that Ishmael may live before Thee;'
Genesis 21:1
And Jehovah hath looked after Sarah as He hath said, and Jehovah doth to Sarah as He hath spoken;
Genesis 21:2
and Sarah conceiveth, and beareth a son to Abraham, to his old age, at the appointed time that God hath spoken of with him;
2 Samuel 18:33
And the king trembleth, and goeth up on the upper chamber of the gate, and weepeth, and thus he hath said in his going, `My son! Absalom my son; my son Absalom; oh that I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my son.'
Matthew 10:37
`He who is loving father or mother above me, is not worthy of me, and he who is loving son or daughter above me, is not worthy of me,
Hebrews 12:11
and all chastening for the present, indeed, doth not seem to be of joy, but of sorrow, yet afterward the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those exercised through it -- it doth yield.

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).


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile