Numbers 31:15
New International Version
“Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them.

New Living Translation
“Why have you let all the women live?” he demanded.

English Standard Version
Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live?

Berean Standard Bible
“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them.

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

New King James Version
And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive?

New American Standard Bible
And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women?

NASB 1995
And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women?

NASB 1977
And Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women?

Legacy Standard Bible
So Moses said to them, “Have you spared all the women?

Amplified Bible
And Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live?

Christian Standard Bible
“Have you let every female live? ” he asked them.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Have you let every female live?” he asked them. “

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

Contemporary English Version
and said, "I can't believe you let the women live!

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

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"Why did you let all the women live?" he asked them.

Good News Translation
He asked them, "Why have you kept all the women alive?

International Standard Version
"Did you keep all the women alive?" Moses asked them.

Majority Standard Bible
“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them.

NET Bible
Moses said to them, "Have you allowed all the women to live?

New Heart English Bible
Moses said to them, "Have you saved all the women alive?

Webster's Bible Translation
And Moses said to them, Have ye saved all the women alive?

World English Bible
Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive?
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And Moses says to them, “Have you kept every female alive?

Young's Literal Translation
And Moses saith unto them, 'Have ye kept alive every female?

Smith's Literal Translation
And Moses will say to them, Preserved ye alive every female?
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Said: Why have you saved the women?

Catholic Public Domain Version
said: “Why have you spared the females?

New American Bible
“So you have spared all the women!” he exclaimed.

New Revised Standard Version
Moses said to them, “Have you allowed all the women to live?
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And Moses said to them, Why have you let all the women live?

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And Moshe said to them, “Why have you saved all the females?
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And Moses said unto them: 'Have ye saved all the women alive?

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Moses said to them, Why have ye saved every female alive?

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Vengeance on Midian
14But Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who were returning from the battle. 15“Have you spared all the women?” he asked them. 16“Look, these women caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to turn unfaithfully against the LORD at Peor, so that the plague struck the congregation of the LORD.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 20:16-18
However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes. / For you must devote them to complete destruction—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you, / so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God.

Joshua 6:17-21
Now the city and everything in it must be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and all those with her in her house will live, because she hid the spies we sent. / But keep away from the things devoted to destruction, lest you yourself be set apart for destruction. If you take any of these, you will set apart the camp of Israel for destruction and bring disaster upon it. / For all the silver and gold and all the articles of bronze and iron are holy to the LORD; they must go into His treasury.” ...

1 Samuel 15:3
Now go and attack the Amalekites and devote to destruction all that belongs to them. Do not spare them, but put to death men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

Judges 21:10-11
So the congregation sent 12,000 of their most valiant men and commanded them: “Go and put to the sword those living in Jabesh-gilead, including women and children. / This is what you are to do: Devote to destruction every male, as well as every female who has had relations with a man.”

Deuteronomy 7:2
and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

1 Kings 11:1-2
King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh—women of Moab, Ammon, Edom, and Sidon, as well as Hittite women. / These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.

Exodus 34:15-16
Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices. / And when you take some of their daughters as brides for your sons, their daughters will prostitute themselves to their gods and cause your sons to do the same.

Deuteronomy 7:16
You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

2 Kings 10:11
So Jehu killed everyone in Jezreel who remained of the house of Ahab, as well as all his great men and close friends and priests, leaving him without a single survivor.

1 Samuel 15:9
Saul and his troops spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs, and the best of everything else. They were unwilling to devote them to destruction, but they devoted to destruction all that was despised and worthless.

Deuteronomy 13:15
you must surely put the inhabitants of that city to the sword. Devote to destruction all its people and livestock.

2 Chronicles 25:12
and the army of Judah also captured 10,000 men alive. They took them to the top of a cliff and threw them down so that all were dashed to pieces.

1 Kings 20:42
And the prophet said to the king, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Because you have let slip from your hand the man I had devoted to destruction, your life will be exchanged for his life, and your people for his people.’”

2 Kings 11:1
When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to annihilate all the royal heirs.

Matthew 5:17-18
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. / For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.


Treasury of Scripture

And Moses said to them, Have you saved all the women alive?

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:

Deuteronomy 20:13,16-18
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.

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Alive Allowed Kept Live Safe Saved Spared Women
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Alive Allowed Kept Live Safe Saved Spared Women
Numbers 31
1. The Midianites are spoiled, and Balaam slain
13. Moses is angry with the officers, for saving the women alive
19. How the soldiers, with their captives and spoil, are to be purified
25. The proportion in which the prey is to be divided
48. The voluntary offering unto the treasure of the Lord














Have you spared
The phrase "Have you spared" in the context of this verse is a direct question posed by Moses to the Israelite soldiers. The Hebrew root for "spared" is "חָיָה" (chayah), which means to let live or to preserve life. This word choice is significant as it reflects a moment of moral and spiritual questioning. In the broader narrative, Moses is addressing the soldiers' failure to fully execute God's command regarding the Midianites. From a conservative Christian perspective, this highlights the importance of obedience to divine instructions and the consequences of partial obedience. It serves as a reminder of the seriousness with which God's commands should be taken, emphasizing the need for complete faithfulness in following God's will.

all the women
The phrase "all the women" refers to the Midianite women who were taken captive by the Israelites. Historically, the Midianites were a nomadic people often in conflict with Israel. The context here is crucial, as these women had previously led the Israelites into idolatry and immorality, as recorded earlier in Numbers 25. The Hebrew word for "women" is "נָשִׁים" (nashim), which simply means females or women. In this passage, the focus on the women underscores the spiritual and moral corruption they had introduced to the Israelites. From a conservative Christian viewpoint, this serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of allowing influences that lead believers away from God. It stresses the importance of spiritual purity and the need to guard against anything that might compromise one's faith and obedience to God. This narrative also reflects the broader biblical theme of the struggle between following God's commands and the temptations of the world.

(15) Have ye saved all the women alive?--It was the women, as is expressed in the following verse, who had been the cause, at the instigation of Balaam, of the apostacy of the Israelites; and consequently the command to "avenge the Lord of Midiani" implied the punishment of those who had been the instruments employed in the seduction of the Israelites.



Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Have you spared
הַֽחִיִּיתֶ֖ם (ha·ḥî·yî·ṯem)
Verb - Piel - Perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 2421: To live, to revive

all
כָּל־ (kāl-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 3605: The whole, all, any, every

the women?”
נְקֵבָֽה׃ (nə·qê·ḇāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5347: A female

he
מֹשֶׁ֑ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

asked them.
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say


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OT Law: Numbers 31:15 Moses said to them Have you saved (Nu Num.)
Numbers 31:14
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