Deuteronomy 2 34

Deuteronomy 2:34 kjv

And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain:

Deuteronomy 2:34 nkjv

We took all his cities at that time, and we utterly destroyed the men, women, and little ones of every city; we left none remaining.

Deuteronomy 2:34 niv

At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed them?men, women and children. We left no survivors.

Deuteronomy 2:34 esv

And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction every city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors.

Deuteronomy 2:34 nlt

We conquered all his towns and completely destroyed everyone ? men, women, and children. Not a single person was spared.

Deuteronomy 2 verses

Deuteronomy 2 34 Meaning

Deuteronomy 2:34 describes Israel's absolute obedience to God's command regarding the conquest of Sihon, king of Heshbon. The verse details the complete and utter destruction (cherem) of the inhabitants—men, women, and little ones—from every city taken. This act was not a conventional war tactic but a divinely ordained judgment and an act of purification, intended to cleanse the land of its severe wickedness and to protect the Israelites from moral and spiritual defilement by the practices of the Canaanite nations. It underscores God's sovereignty, justice, and unwavering demand for holiness among His covenant people.

Deuteronomy 2 34 Context

Deuteronomy 2:34 is situated within Moses' final addresses to the generation of Israelites poised to enter the Promised Land. This chapter recounts Israel's wilderness wanderings and the beginning of their conquest east of the Jordan River. Notably, earlier in the chapter, God commanded Israel not to provoke or attack the Edomites, Moabites, and Ammonites, as He had already allotted those lands to them. This provides crucial context for Sihon's defeat: it was a specific, divinely authorized military engagement.

Sihon, an Amorite king, refused Israel peaceful passage through his territory and came out to fight. Verse 30 explicitly states that the LORD God had "hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that He might deliver him into your hand." This demonstrates that the conquest of Sihon was a divinely orchestrated event, part of God's overarching plan to give Israel the promised inheritance. The historical context for the original audience understood the deep-seated idolatry, pervasive sexual immorality (including cultic prostitution), and child sacrifice common among the Canaanite and Amorite peoples, rendering them targets of God's righteous judgment, as stated in Gen 15:16 regarding the "iniquity of the Amorite."

Deuteronomy 2 34 Word analysis

• "And we took": Indicates the successful military action undertaken by the Israelites. This action was not their own initiative, but a consequence of Sihon's divinely hardened resistance, showing God enabling their conquest.

• "all his cities": Emphasizes the comprehensive scope of the conquest; no urban center under Sihon's control was excluded from this action.

• "at that time": Specifies the immediacy and directness of the obedience, highlighting that the conquest and destruction occurred without delay following the defeat.

• "and utterly destroyed" (חָרַם - ḥāram): This is the most significant term. It means "to devote to destruction," "to consecrate," or "to ban." It describes more than mere killing in war; it is a cultic act of setting aside something irrevocably for God. In this context, it signifies divine judgment through annihilation, specifically implemented to cleanse the land and protect Israel from pagan contamination. It sets God's standard of holiness for His land and His people.

• "the men, and the women, and the little ones" (טַף - ṭap̄): This complete enumeration, spanning all age and gender groups (males, females, and children/infants), underscores the totality of the cherem. "Little ones" emphasizes the radical extent of the judgment, ensuring that no potential perpetuators of the condemned culture or its defiling practices remained. It conveys the complete removal necessary for spiritual purification.

• "of every city": Reiteration for emphasis, ensuring that the command of complete destruction applied universally across all captured settlements, leaving no exception.

• "we left none to remain" (לֹא הִשְׁאַרְנוּ לוֹ שָׂרִיד - lo hish'arnu lo sarid): This phrase powerfully reiterates and confirms the absolute completeness of the "utterly destroyed" command. It highlights that Israel executed the cherem precisely as commanded, leaving no survivors, demonstrating rigorous adherence to the divine mandate and the severity of the judgment against those nations.

• Words-group by words-group analysis:

  • "took all his cities... and utterly destroyed": These phrases connect Israel's military success with a specific, divinely ordained method of cleansing the conquered territory. The taking of the cities was God's enabling, and the destruction was His prescribed method for purification.
  • "the men, and the women, and the little ones": This specific grouping denotes a societal totality targeted by the divine judgment. It emphasizes the collective nature of the condemnation, reflecting a widespread corruption that warranted a complete excision from the land.
  • "utterly destroyed... we left none to remain": The repetitive language serves for powerful rhetorical emphasis. It underlines the finality and the unwavering, comprehensive execution of the cherem command by Israel, highlighting the sacred obligation of God's covenant people to eliminate threats to holiness.

Deuteronomy 2 34 Bonus section

• Divine Initiative and Purpose: The cherem implemented in Deut 2:34 was not born of Israelite aggression but was a direct divine command, rooted in God's judgment of the pervasive and deep-seated sinfulness of the Amorite nations. It represented God exercising His sovereign right as the judge of all the earth to remove unrepentant wickedness.
• A Unique, Context-Specific Command: It is critical to understand that the cherem warfare command, particularly the comprehensive annihilation of people, was explicitly limited to specific Canaanite nations during the conquest of the Promised Land. This divine decree served a unique theological purpose within the Old Covenant narrative—to cleanse a holy land for a holy people and was not a general template for warfare for Israel or any nation thereafter. God’s instructions always distinguished between nations and contexts, for example, permitting other forms of conquest for cities outside Canaan.
• Theological Meaning, Not Human Precedent: The account underlines God's severe hatred for sin and His demand for holiness, demonstrating His readiness to employ extreme measures to protect His covenant community from defilement. It highlights God's justice in executing judgment upon societies whose iniquity had reached its fullness, preventing the perpetuation of cultic abominations.

Deuteronomy 2 34 Commentary

Deuteronomy 2:34 records Israel's faithful and thorough execution of God's command regarding Sihon, king of Heshbon, which involved the radical application of the cherem or "devotion to destruction." This was a unique aspect of Old Covenant warfare, specifically directed by God against certain extremely wicked nations residing in the Promised Land whose depravity (including idolatry, sexual abominations, and child sacrifice) had filled up their cup of iniquity. This act was primarily an expression of divine justice, not random cruelty. It served multiple, critical purposes: to exact God's judgment upon deep-seated evil, to purify the land for God's covenant people, and crucially, to prevent Israel from being spiritually and morally corrupted by the practices and beliefs of these societies.

The mention of destroying "men, women, and little ones" emphasizes the comprehensive nature of this divine judgment, designed to eradicate entirely any vestige or influence of these cultures that could pollute Israel's nascent faith and covenant relationship with God. This form of warfare was highly specific to the context of the conquest of Canaan and its corrupting influences, standing distinct from Israel's interactions with other nations. It demonstrates the seriousness of God's holiness and His unyielding stance against sin, highlighting that rebellion against divine commands carries the ultimate consequences. For believers today, while the physical command of cherem is not applicable, the principle of absolute separation from sin and worldly corruption (spiritually "utterly destroying" them from our lives) finds its New Covenant parallel.