Deuteronomy 20:8

And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
officers	הַשֹּׁטְרִים֮ ha.sho.te.Rim	H7860	properly · definite article + verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
speak	לְדַבֵּ֣ר le.da.Ber	H1696	perhaps properly · preposition + verb, piel infinitive construct
further	וְיָסְפ֣וּ ve.ya.se.Fu	H3254	to add or augment (often adverbial · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
people	הָעָם֒ ha.'Am	H5971	a people (as a congregated unit) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
say	וְאָמְר֗וּ ve.'a.me.Ru	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
man	הָאִ֤ישׁ ha.'Ish	H376	a man as an individual or a male person · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
fearful	הַיָּרֵא֙ hai.ya.Re'	H3373	fearing · definite article + adjective, masculine singular absolute
fainthearted	וְרַ֣ךְ ve.Rakh	H7390	tender (literally or figuratively) · conjunction + adjective, masculine singular construct
go	יָלַךְ yâlak	H3212	to walk (literally or figuratively)
return	וְיָשֹׁ֣ב ve.ya.Sho	H7725	to turn back (hence · conjunction + verb, qal jussive, 3rd person masculine singular
house	לְבֵית֑וֹ le.vei.To	H1004	a house (in the greatest variation of applications · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
brethren’s	אֶחָ֖יו 'e.Chav	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
heart	הַלֵּבָ֔ב ha.le.Vav	H3824	the heart (as the most interior organ) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
faint	יִמַּ֛ס yi.Mas	H4549	to liquefy · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
heart	לְבַ֥ב le.Vav	H3824	the heart (as the most interior organ) · noun, common masculine singular construct

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Judges 7:3 Now therefore go to, proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return and depart early from mount…
Deuteronomy 1:28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and…
Revelation 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall ha…
Acts 15:37-38 And Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose surname was Mark.
Numbers 32:9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should no…
Deuteronomy 23:9 When the host goeth forth against thine enemies, then keep thee from every wicked thing.
Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Exodus 15:15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall mel…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 20:1-9

Israel was at this time to be considered rather as a camp than as a kingdom, entering upon an enemy's country, and not yet settled in a country of their own; and, besides the war they were now entering upon in order to their settlement, even after their settlement they could neither protect nor enlarge their coast without hearing the alarms of war. It was therefore needful that they should have directions given them in their military affairs; and in these verses they are directed in managing, marshalling, and drawing up their own forces. And it is observable that the discipline of war here prescribed is so far from having any thing in it harsh or severe, as is usual in martial law, that the…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 20:5

And the officers shall speak unto the people--literally, Shoterim, who are called "scribes" or "overseers" (Exo 5:6). They might be keepers of the muster-roll, or perhaps rather military heralds, whose duty it was to announce the orders of the generals (Ch2 26:11). This proclamation (Deu 20:5-8) must have been made previous to the priest's address, as great disorder and inconvenience must have been occasioned if the serried ranks were broken by the departure of those to whom the privilege was granted. Four grounds of exemption are expressly mentioned: (1) The dedication of a new house, which, as in all Oriental countries still, was an important event, and celebrated by festive and religious…

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John Gill on Deuteronomy 20:8

And the officers shall speak further unto the people,.... According to Maimonides (n), the priest the anointed of war spoke to the end of Deuteronomy 20:7 and which the officers repeated after him to the people aloud, as before observed; and then after that an officer speaks of himself, or in his own words, and not in those of the priest, as follows: what man that is fearful, &c. and then another officer causes all the people to hear it: and they shall say, what man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? that has not courage to face his enemies, to whom the terrors of war, and especially of death, are dreadful; the Targum of Jonathan adds,"because of his sin;''whose sins stare him in t…

Dictionary and topics

Booty — Captives or cattle or objects of value taken in war. In Canaan all that breathed were to be destroyed (Deut. 20: 16). The “pictures and images” of the Canaanites were to be destroyed also (Num.…
Armies Of Israel, The · The fearful allowed to leave — The fearful allowed to leave
Cowardice · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Soldiers · Cowards excused from duty as — Cowards excused from duty as

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Deuteronomy 20:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 20:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 20:5

John Gill on Deuteronomy 20:8

Dictionary and topics

Deuteronomy 20:8

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Deuteronomy 20:1-9

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Deuteronomy 20:5

John Gill on Deuteronomy 20:8

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Deuteronomy 20:5-8

Keil & Delitzsch on Deuteronomy 20:1-9

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Deuteronomy 20:7

Rashi on Deuteronomy 20:8