Deuteronomy 13:17

Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex)

English Translation

There shall cleave nothing of the devoted thing 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;

World English Bible · Public Domain

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מְא֖וּמָה

mᵉʼûwmâh

H3972

“anything”

Noun, Common, Feminine, Singular, Absolute

Appears 32× in the Hebrew Bible
First appears at Genesis 22:12

Full BDB Definition

Origin: apparently a form of H3971

TWOT: 1136

anything

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

19: words
18: distinct lemmas
Pentateuch: section

Shared distinctive vocabulary

מְא֖וּמָה anything H3972 occurs in 32 verses of the Hebrew Bible. Also found in:

Grammatical profile

6 verbs
8 nouns
3 prepositions
2 particles

Verb forms

יִדְבַּ֧ק Qal · Imperfect
יָשׁ֨וּב Qal · Imperfect
וְנָֽתַן Qal · Sequential Perfect
וְרִֽחַמְךָ֣ Piel · Sequential Perfect
וְהִרְבֶּ֔ךָ Hiphil · Sequential Perfect
נִשְׁבַּ֖ע Niphal · Perfect

Hebrew & Septuagint length

In English translation the verse runs 40 words from the Hebrew and 37 from the Septuagint (LXX English) — closely comparable.

A rough comparison of the two English renderings, which tokenize alike — not a word-level alignment.

Word counts can differ between the Hebrew and the Greek without any difference in meaning — e.g. the Hebrew direct-object marker אֵת has no separate Greek word, and Greek often adds the article ὁ.

In the original languages it is 19 Hebrew tokens and 36 Greek tokens — but the two are counted differently (Hebrew bundles its prefixes and suffixes into one token; the Greek is in lemma form), so that isn’t a like-for-like length.

Cross-references

Topical passages linked to Deuteronomy 13:17 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.

Genesis 26:4 I will multiply your seed as the stars of the sky, and will give to your seed all these lands. In your seed will all the nations of the earth be blessed,
Genesis 26:24 Yahweh appeared to him the same night, and said, "I am the God of Abraham your father. Don't be afraid, for I am with you, and will bless you, and multiply your seed for my servant Abraham's sake."
Deuteronomy 7:26 You shall not bring an abomination into your house, and become a devoted thing like it: you shall utterly detest it, and you shall utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.
Joshua 7:26 They raised over him a great heap of stones, to this day; and Yahweh turned from the fierceness of his anger. Therefore the name of that place was called "The valley of Achor" to this day.
Genesis 28:14 Your seed will be as the dust of the earth, and you will spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south. In you and in your seed will all the families of the earth be blessed.
Deuteronomy 30:3 that then Yahweh your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples, where Yahweh your God has scattered you.
Joshua 6:18 But as for you, only keep yourselves from the devoted thing, lest when you have devoted it, you take of the devoted thing; so would you make the camp of Israel accursed, and trouble it.
Genesis 22:16–17 and said, "I have sworn by myself, says Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son,

Exodus 20:6 and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Leviticus 27:28–29 "'Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote to Yahweh of all that he has, whether of man or animal, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy to Yahweh.
Numbers 25:4 Yahweh said to Moses, Take all the chiefs of the people, and hang them up to Yahweh before the sun, that the fierce anger of Yahweh may turn away from Israel.
Deuteronomy 7:13 and he will love you, and bless you, and multiply you; he will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock, in the land which he swore to your fathers to give you.
Joshua 6:26 Joshua charged them with an oath at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before Yahweh, that rises up and builds this city Jericho: with the loss of his firstborn shall he lay the foundation of it, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.
Joshua 7:1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the devoted thing; for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the devoted thing: and the anger of Yahweh was kindled against the children of Israel.
Joshua 22:20 Didn't Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the devoted thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man didn't perish alone in his iniquity.
Psalms 78:38 But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn't destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, And didn't stir up all his wrath.

Lamentations 3:32 For though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses.
Ezekiel 37:26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them forevermore.
1 Corinthians 16:22 If any man doesn't love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. Come, Lord!

Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).

Hebrew and Greek witnesses Masoretic Hebrew ↔ Greek Septuagint

The same verse in the two great witnesses to the Old Testament, shown verse-for-verse.

These are two independent witnesses, not word-aligned to each other, and the Septuagint is shown in lemma (dictionary) form.

Hebrew Deuteronomy 13:17 Masoretic · Westminster Leningrad Codex

וְלֹֽא יִדְבַּ֧ק בְּיָדְךָ֛ מְא֖וּמָה מִן הַחֵ֑רֶם לְמַעַן֩ יָשׁ֨וּב יְהוָ֜ה מֵחֲר֣וֹן אַפּ֗וֹ וְנָֽתַן לְךָ֤ רַחֲמִים֙ וְרִֽחַמְךָ֣ וְהִרְבֶּ֔ךָ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר נִשְׁבַּ֖ע לַאֲבֹתֶֽיךָ

There shall cleave nothing of the devoted thing 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;

World English Bible · Public Domain

Greek LXX Deuteronomy 13:17 Septuagint · lemma form

καί πᾶς ὁ σκῦλον αὐτός συνἄγω εἰς ὁ δίοδος αὐτός καί ἐνπίπρημι ὁ πόλις ἐν πῦρ καί πᾶς ὁ σκῦλον αὐτός πανδημεί ἐναντίον κύριος ὁ θεός σύ καί εἰμί ἀοίκητος εἰς ὁ αἰών οὐ ἀναοἰκοδομέω ἔτι

And there shall nothing of the cursed thing cleave to your hand, that the Lord may turn from his fierce anger, and show you mercy, and pity you, and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers;

LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) · Public Domain

Hebrew: Westminster Leningrad Codex (CC BY 4.0). Greek: Septuagint (public domain); English from LXX2012 (modern English Septuagint) (Public Domain). How the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew →

Targum (Aramaic paraphrase)

The Targum is the ancient Jewish Aramaic paraphrase of the Hebrew Scriptures — an interpretive translation, not the Hebrew text itself. Onkelos (literal) and Pseudo-Jonathan (expansive) render the Torah, and Jonathan the Prophets. Coverage is partial: where no permissively-licensed English translation exists for a verse, only the Aramaic is shown. This is verse-level text, not a word-by-word alignment to the Hebrew.

Targum Onkelos Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וְיָת כָּל עֲדָאַהּ תִּכְנוֹשׁ לְגוֹ פְתָיַהּ וְתוֹקֵד בְּנוּרָא יָת קַרְתָּא וְיָת כָּל עֲדָאַהּ גְמִיר קֳדָם יְיָ אֱלָהָךְ וּתְהֵי תֵּל חָרִיב לְעָלָם לָא תִתְבְּנֵי עוֹד

(no public-domain English translation for this verse)

Targum Onkelos — Aramaic: “Onkelos Genesis” (public domain); “Onkelos Exodus” (public domain); “Onkelos Leviticus” (public domain); “Onkelos Numbers” (public domain); “Onkelos Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “J.W. Etheridge. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch. London: Longmans, Green, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Torah (Genesis–Deuteronomy)

וְיַת כָּל עֲדָאָה תִּכְנְשׁוּן בִּמְצַע פַּלְטִיתָא וְתוּקְדוּן בְּנוּרָא יַת קַרְתָּא וְיַת כָּל עֲדָאָה גְמִיר קֳדָם יְיָ אֱלָהָכוֹן וּתְהֵי תֵּל חָרוֹב לְעַלָם לָא תִתְבְּנֵי תוּב

You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of the street, and burn the city with fire, together with the whole of the spoil, before the Lord your God; and it shall be a desolate heap for ever, never to be builded again:

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan — Aramaic: “Targum Jonathan on Genesis” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Exodus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Leviticus” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Numbers” (public domain); “Targum Jonathan on Deuteronomy” (public domain). English: “The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, trans. J. W. Etheridge, London, 1862” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.

Commentary

Notes on Deuteronomy 13:17 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

Commentary source

The Biblical Illustrator

Joseph S. Exell

Deu_13:17

There shall cleave nought of the cursed thing.

Destroy the cursed thing

Israel must conquer idolatrous cities, and destroy all the spoil, regarding all that had been polluted by idolatry as an accursed thing to be burned with fire. Now, sin of all sorts must be treated by Christians in the same manner. We must not allow a single evil habit to remain. It is now war to the knife with sins of all sorts and sizes, whether of the body, the mind, or the spirit. We do not look upon this giving up of evil as deserving mercy, but we regard it as a fruit of the grace of God, which we would on no account miss. When God causes us to have no mercy on our sins, then He has great mercy on us. When we are angry with evil, God is no more angry with us. When we multiply our efforts against iniquity, the Lord multiplies our blessings. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Geneva Bible (1599)

Geneva Bible translators

Of the spoil of that idolatrous and cursed city, Read Deut. 7:26 and Josh. 7:11.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown

there shall cleave naught of the cursed thing to thine hand--No spoil shall be taken from a city thus solemnly devoted to destruction. Every living creature must be put to the sword--everything belonging to it reduced to ashes--that nothing but its infamy may remain.

Next: Deuteronomy Chapter 14

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 17. And there shall cleave naught of the cursed thing] As God did not permit them to take the spoils of these idolatrous cities, they could be under no temptation to make war upon them. It could only be done through a merely religious motive, in obedience to the command of God, as they could have no profit by the subversion of such places. How few religious wars would there ever have been in the world had they been regulated by this principle: "Thou shalt neither extend thy territory, nor take any spoils!"

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

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(17) We seem to hear an echo of this verse in the close of the story of Achan (Jos_7:26): “And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones, and they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger”

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

John Gill's Exposition

And there shall cleave nought of the cursed thing to thine hand,.... That is, they might not take anything whatever to their own use; for all being devoted to destruction, was cursed, and brought a curse upon the man that should make it his own property, as Achan did, when Jericho was destroyed:

that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger; stirred up by the idolatry of the city:

and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee; who, seeing wrath gone forth, might dread the consequences, lest it should spread itself further:

and multiply thee, as he hath sworn to thy fathers; Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; this is observed to encourage them to execute his orders punctually in the destruction of the idolatrous city; since God could and would multiply them, as he had promised their fathers, with an oath, so that they should not be the fewer by such an instance of his severity.

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

Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary

Hand. Thou shalt reserve nothing for thyself, (Menochius) as Achan did, Josue vii. (Haydock)

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).

Matthew Poole's English Annotations

Of the cursed thing, i.e. of the goods of that accursed city.

And multiply thee; so thou shalt have no loss of thy numbers by cutting off so many people.

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

Whedon's Commentary on the Bible

Daniel D. Whedon

17. There shall cleave naught… to thine hand — How the violation of this command brought the anger of Jehovah upon the whole people is seen in the case of Achan. Joshua 7.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

John Wesley's Explanatory Notes

Multiply thee - So thou shalt have no loss of thy numbers by cutting off so many people.

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

Keil & Delitzsch

C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch

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.

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.)

unfoldingWord translationNotes

Door43 World Missions Community

None of those things set apart for destruction must stick in your hand

Yahweh cursing something and promising to destroy it is spoken of as if Yahweh were setting the object apart from other things. This can be stated in active form. AT: "You must not keep any of the things God has commanded you to destroy" (See: Metaphor and Active or Passive)

must stick in your hand

This is a way of saying a person keeps something. AT: "must you keep" (See: Idiom)

Yahweh will turn from the fierceness of his anger

Yahweh no longer being angry is spoken of as his anger were an object and Yahweh physically turns away from it. AT: "Yahweh will stop being angry" (See: Metaphor)

to your fathers

Here "fathers" means ancestors or forefathers.

you are listening to the voice of Yahweh

Here "voice" represents what Yahweh says. AT: "you are obeying what Yahweh says" (See: Metonymy)

that which is right in the eyes of Yahweh your God

The eyes represent seeing, and seeing represents thoughts or judgment. AT: "that which is right in Yahweh's judgment" or "that which Yahweh your God considers to be right" (See: Metaphor)

translationWords

Yahweh

turn

anger

mercy

compassion

oath

ancestor

voice

God

command

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

Rashi

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi)

לה' אלהיך [AND THOU SHALT BURN WITH FIRE THE CITY …] FOR THE LORD THY GOD — i.e. for the honor of His name and for His sake.

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.

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Deuteronomy, in the Pentateuch, opens this verse with 19 words (18 distinct Hebrew lemmas). Its most distinctive word is mᵉʼûwmâh (“anything”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

How does “anything” (mᵉʼûwmâh) shape what this verse is saying?
How does Genesis 22:12, which shares the word «anything», read alongside this verse?
The translations on this page render this verse differently — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment. What might account for the different wordings?
«יִדְבַּ֧ק» is a Qal Imperfect verb. How does that grammatical form shape the action described?
Compare how The Biblical Illustrator and Geneva Bible (1599) read this verse. Where do they agree or differ?

Things to notice

This verse counts 19 Hebrew ↔ 36 Greek words.
These translations choose different wording for 25 words in this verse.
18 distinct Hebrew lemmas span 19 words in this verse.