Deuteronomy 13:15

Deu 13:15. The inhabitants — Namely, all that were guilty, not the innocent part, such as disowned this apostacy, who doubtless by choice, at least upon warning, would come out of so wicked a place. Utterly — The very same punishment which was inflicted upon the cities of the cursed Canaanites, to whom, having made themselves equal in sin, it was but just God should equal them in punishment.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 15. Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants] If one city were permitted to practise idolatry, the evil would soon spread, therefore the contagion must be destroyed in its birth.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(15) And the cattle thereof.—So in Jdg_20:48 : “The men of every city, the beast, and all that were found.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword,.... This could not be the work of a single person, nor of the whole sanhedrim, but was what the whole nation was to join in, according to the above note:

destroying it utterly; pulling down the houses, and demolishing its walls and fortifications, or burning it, as afterwards explained:

and all that is therein; men, women, and children:

and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword; this severity was used to show the Lord's indignation against the sin of idolatry, and to deter persons from it, both individuals and bodies of men.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Even the cattle. Nothing at all must be spared. Yet the Rabbins and some who argue that penal laws must be restrained as much as possible, exempt the women, and boys under thirteen years of age, and understand this law only of the central cities, ver. 13. If the city was seduced by one man, or by women, or by people of a different tribe, the culprit was only to be stoned, and the Sanhedrim had to take cognizance of the whole affair. If many cities joined in the idolatry, or if any of them were cities of refuge, &c., they were not included. (Selden, Syned. iii. 5.; Grotius) --- But these limitations seem visibly to contradict the law. The goods of the innocent were involved in the common ruin, that they might learn to make all possible resistance to the introduction of so abominable a crime; and those of the guilty were destroyed wherever they were found. (Calmet) --- But the persons of those who fled away, to shew their disapprobation, and denounce the attempt of their brethren, (Haydock) would no doubt be saved. (Calmet) --- If they continued among them, their indolence or connivance deserved punishment. (Haydock) --- Grotius (Jur. ii. 15) maintains, that the magistrate is authorized by the law of nature to punish those who deny the existence of God or his Providence, as these errors strike at the root of all society. --- [Ver. 16.] For the Lord, as a victim of expiation, and to manifest your zeal for the honour of the only true God. --- No more. Septuagint, "it shall be uninhabited." The Rabbins are so exact, as to entertain a doubt whether the place might even be used as a garden. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

The inhabitants of that city, to wit, all that are guilty, not the innocent part, such as disowned this apostacy, who doubtless by choice and interest, at least upon warning, would come out of so wicked and cursed a place.

Destroying it utterly; the very same punishment which was inflicted upon the cities of the cursed Canaanites, to whom having made themselves equal in sin, it is but fit and just that God should equal them in punishment.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The inhabitants - Namely, all that are guilty, not the innocent part, such as disowned this apostacy, who doubtless by choice, at least upon warning, would come out of so wicked a place. Utterly - The very same punishment which was, inflicted upon the cities of the cursed Canaanites, to whom having made themselves equal in sin, it is but just God should equal them in punishment.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Upon this report the people as a whole, of course through their rulers, were to examine closely into the affair (היטב, an adverb, as in Deu 9:21), whether the word was established as truth, i.e., the thing was founded in truth (cf. Deu 17:4; Deu 22:20); and if it really were so, they were to smite the inhabitants of that town with the edge of the sword (cf. Gen 34:26), putting the town and all that was in it under the ban. "All that is in it" relates to men, cattle, and the material property of the town, and not to men alone (Schultz). The clause from "destroying" to "therein" is a more minute definition of the punishment introduced as a parenthesis; for "the cattle thereof," which follows, is also governed by "thou shalt smite." The ban was to be executed in all its severity as upon an idolatrous city: man and beast were to be put to death without reserves; and its booty, i.e., whatever was to be found in it as booty-all material goods, therefore - were to be heaped together in the market, and burned along with the city itself. ליהוה כּליל (Eng. Ver. "every whit, for the Lord thy God") signifies "as a whole offering for the Lord" (see Lev 6:15-16), i.e., it was to be sanctified to Him entirely by being destroyed. The town was to continue an eternal hill (or heap of ruins), never to be built up again.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

with the edge of the sword

Here "edge" represents the whole sword. AT: "with your swords" (See: Synecdoche)

all the spoil

"all the plunder." This refers to the possessions and treasures that an army collects after winning a battle.

heap of ruins

"pile of ruins"

it must never be built again

This can be stated in active form. AT: "no one must ever rebuild the city" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

sword

livestock

ruin

eternity

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ודרשת וחקרת ושאלת היטב THEN SHALT THOU INQUIRE, AND MAKE SEARCH, AND ASK DILIGENTLY — From here — from the variety of expressions denoting inquiry in this verse — they (the Rabbis) derived the law of investigating capital cases by means of seven investigations” (referring to date, time and place). in the following manner: here (in our verse) there occur three expressions relating to inquiry, viz., ודרשת, וחקרת and היטב — the expression ושאלת does not come into account, because from it they derived בדיקות, the examination referring to accompanying circumstances, — and in another passage (Deuteronomy 19:18) it states, “and the judges shall enquire diligently (ודרשו השופטים היטב)”, and still in another passage (Deuteronomy 17:40) it states, “and thou shalt inquire diligently (ודרשת היטב)" — thus altogether seven expressions. — And although they are used in connection with different cases they learned by way of analogy (ג"ש) of the term היטב used here and in the passages quoted that it is intended to apply what is stated in one case to the others also (Sanhedrin 40a; cf. Sifrei Devarim 93:6).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND THOU SHALT INQUIRE, AND MAKE SEARCH, AND ASK DILIGENTLY. The nature of “inquiry” and “making search” [with which the judges are to test witnesses] are explained in the words of our Rabbis. Now Scripture mentions these investigations [here] in the case of an apostate city, and also in the case of an idol-worshipper, but it does not mention them in the case of the false prophet or the inciter, because the prophet publicizes himself with his signs and wonders, and in the case of the inciter Scripture addresses itself to the incited party: but thou shalt surely kill him, and he [the incited party, is the one] who knows and bears witness, just as is stated, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him., Verse 9. Thus, Scripture need not enjoin diligent inquiry and testing of witnesses because the facts are well known to those charged with administering the penalty; the public in the case of a false prophet, and the victim in the case of the inciter. But in the case of an apostate city and of an idol worshipper, which are deeds that reach us by means of report, Scripture mentions, with reference to them, inquiry and investigation [of the witnesses]. It was unnecessary to state this about the others liable to death because it is known by means of a kal vachomer. He states in the case of plotting witnesses, and the judges shall inquire diligently, because it cannot be determined which of the two conflicting groups of witnesses is telling the truth except after considerable investigation. Concerning the law, all cases are deduced from each other by means of a similarity of Scriptural expressions. And from all the combined expressions we derive the principle that we are to test the witnesses with seven inquiries, and examinations. ).

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.