Numbers 31 · Verse 15

Numbers 31:15

And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
Numbers 31:15, King James Version

Numbers 31:15 in other translations

BSB“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them.
WEBMoses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive?
ASVAnd Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
YLTAnd Moses saith unto them, ‘Have ye kept alive every female?
DARBYand Moses said to them, Have ye saved all the women alive?
BBEAnd Moses said to them, Why have you kept all the women safe?
WebsterAnd Moses said to them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

What does Numbers 31:15 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 31:14-18

14-18. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host--The displeasure of the great leader, though it appears the ebullition of a fierce and sanguinary temper, arose in reality from a pious and enlightened regard to the best interests of Israel. No order had been given for the slaughter of the women, and in ancient war they were commonly reserved for slaves. By their antecedent conduct, however, the Midianitish…

Read the full comment on Numbers 31:14-18 →

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 31:13-18

The sword of war should spare women and children; but the sword of justice should know no distinction, but that of guilty or not guilty. This war was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the worst criminals. The female children were spared, who, being brought up among the Israelites, would not tempt them to idolatry. The whole history shows the hatefulness of sin, and…

Read the full comment on Numbers 31:13-18 →

Numbers 31:15 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֥אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם'a.lei.Hemto themH413
מֹשֶׁ֑הmo.ShehMosesH4872
הַֽחִיִּיתֶ֖םha.chi.yi.Tem¿ have you let liveH2421
כָּל\־kol-everyH3605
נְקֵבָֽה\׃ne.ke.VahfemaleH5347

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 31:15

  • 1 Samuel 15:3

    Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.

  • Deuteronomy 2:34

    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:

  • Jeremiah 48:10

    Cursed be he that doeth the work of the Lord deceitfully, and cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood.

  • Psalms 137:8-9

    O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

  • Joshua 10:40

    So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the Lord God of Israel commanded.

  • Ezekiel 9:6

    Slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.

  • Joshua 11:14

    And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe.

  • Joshua 8:25

    And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of Ai.

  • Deuteronomy 20:16-18

    But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee: That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the Lord your God.

  • Deuteronomy 20:13

    And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

  • Joshua 6:21

    And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
De 2:34; 20:13,16-18; Jos 6:21; 8:25; 10:40; 11:14; 1Sa 15:3
Ps 137:8,9; Jer 48:10; Eze 9:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Numbers 31:14

    And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.

  • Numbers 31:15

    And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

  • Numbers 31:16

    Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.

Read all of Numbers 31

Numbers 31:15 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y díjoles Moisés: ¿Todas las mujeres habéis reservado?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et Moïse leur dit: Avez-vous laissé en vie toutes les femmes?
German
Elberfelder 1871
und Mose sprach zu ihnen: Habt ihr alle Weiber am Leben gelassen?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
ait: Cur feminas reservastis?