Deuteronomy 13:17

Verse

Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,

American Standard Version (1901)

And there shall cleave nought of the devoted thing to thy hand; that Jehovah may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;

Bible in Basic English

Keep not a thing of what is cursed for yourselves: so the Lord may be turned away from the heat of his wrath, and have mercy on you, and give you increase as he said in his oath to your fathers:

Douay-Rheims 1899

And there shall nothing of that anathema stick to thy hand: that the Lord may turn from the wrath of his fury, and may have mercy on thee, and multiply thee as he swore to thy fathers,

Free Bible Version

Don't take for yourselves anything that has been set apart for destruction so that the Lord won't be angry any more. He will be merciful to you, showing you compassion, and giving you many descendants as he promised to your forefathers,

Geneva Bible 1599

And there shall cleaue nothing of ye damned thing to thine hand, that the Lord may turne from the fiercenes of his wrath, and shewe thee mercie, and haue compassion on thee and multiplie thee, as he hath sworne vnto thy fathers:

King James (Authorized) Version

And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and shew thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers;

One Unity Resource Bible

Nothing of the devoted thing shall dabak ·cling to, worship· your hand, that Adonai may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show you racham ·merciful love·, and have racham ·compassionate love· on you, and multiply you, as he has sworn to your fathers;

Translation for Translators

None of you Israelis must take for yourselves [IDM] anything that Yahweh has said must be destroyed. But if you do what I say, Yahweh will stop being angry with you, and he will act mercifully toward you. And he will cause you to have many children/descendants, which is what he promised our ancestors that he would do.

Unlocked Literal Bible

None of those things set apart for destruction must stick in your hand. This must be the case, so that Yahweh will turn from the fierceness of his anger, show you mercy, have compassion on you, and make you increase in numbers, as he has sworn to your fathers.

Noah Webster Bible

And there shall cleave naught of the cursed thing to thy hand: that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn to thy fathers;

World English Bible

Nothing of the devoted thing shall cling to your hand, that Yahweh may turn from the fierceness of his anger and show you mercy, and have compassion on you and multiply you, as he has sworn to your fathers,

Young's Literal Translation

and there doth not cleave to thy hand any of the devoted thing, so that Jehovah doth turn back from the fierceness of His anger, and hath given to thee mercies, and loved thee, and multiplied thee, as He hath sworn to thy fathers,

Context

Idolatrous Cities to Be Destroyed

¹⁶And you are to gather all its plunder in the middle of the public square, and completely burn the city and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the LORD your God. The city must remain a mound of ruins forever, never to be rebuilt.¹⁷Nothing devoted to destruction shall cling to your hands, so that the LORD will turn from His fierce anger, grant you mercy, show you compassion, and multiply you as He swore to your fathers,¹⁸because you obey the LORD your God, keeping all His commandments I am giving you today and doing what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

Sermons

Let No Evil Remain

C.H. Spurgeon

Summary

In this verse, God commands the complete destruction of any city that has turned away from Him to worship other gods. This severe judgment serves as a deterrent against idolatry and emphasizes the importance of wholehearted devotion to the one true God. The harsh consequences underscore the seriousness of spiritual unfaithfulness and the need for obedience to God's commands. It also reflects God's holiness and intolerance for sin, showing His desire for His people to remain faithful and pure in their worship.

Commentary

Keil-Delitzsch
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch Old Testament Commentary

To enforce this command still more strongly, it is expressly stated, that of all that was burned, nothing whatever was to cleave or remain hanging to the hand of Israel, that the Lord might turn from His wrath and have compassion upon the nation, i.e., not punish the sin of one town upon the nation as a whole, but have mercy upon it and multiply it, - make up the diminution consequent upon the destruction of the inhabitants of that town, and so fulfil the promise given to the fathers of the multiplication of their seed.