Deuteronomy 20:16 meaning and explanation
However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.
Deuteronomy 20:16, Berean Standard Bible
Explanation preview
Moses is instructing Israel as they prepare to enter Canaan, and this verse sets the nearby Canaanite cities apart from distant ones, which could be offered peace. The Hebrew verb here is haram, to devote to destruction, meaning the whole population was placed under a ban given to God.
Read and study this verse. Three complete study layers are included with Premium.