Deuteronomy 13:15

15 you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction ^[a] all its people and livestock.

Deuteronomy 13:15 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 13:15

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.

Deuteronomy 13:15 In-Context

13 that wicked men have arisen from among you and have led the people of their city astray, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods” (which you have not known),

14 then you must inquire, investigate, and interrogate thoroughly. And if it is established with certainty that this abomination has been committed among you,

15 you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock.

16 And 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.

17 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,

Footnotes

• [a] Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons to the LORD, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; similarly in verse 17.