Deuteronomy 20:14

Summary

The verse specifies what may be taken as plunder from a conquered city: the women, children, livestock, and everything else in the city, including all its spoil. It concludes by stating that this plunder comes from enemies whom Yehovah the God of the addressee has given over.

Key words

• rak ("only", H7535) — a restrictive adverb opening the verse, marking a limitation on what follows (i.e., only these categories, in contrast to what a preceding context would have addressed).
• taf ("little one[s]", H2945) — masculine singular noun used collectively for children/dependents, definite with the article ha.
• behemah ("livestock", H0929) — feminine singular noun, also collective, referring to animals as a class.
• ta.voz ("you will plunder", H0962) — qal imperfect, second person masculine singular, expressing a future/ongoing action of taking as plunder.
• 'a.khal.ta ("you will consume", H0398) — qal sequential perfect, continuing the action begun by ta.voz; the sequential form links this verb narratively to the preceding verb of plundering.

What the text says

The sentence begins with rak ("only", H7535), which functions as a restrictive marker, singling out the categories that follow: na.shim ("women", H0802G), taf ("little one[s]", H2945), and behemah ("livestock", H0929), each joined by the conjunction ve ("and", H9002) and each bearing the definite article ha ("the", H9009). This is followed by a broader relative clause, ve.khol 'a.sher yih.yeh va.'ir ("and all that will be in the city"), using the relative particle 'a.sher ("that/who", H0834A) with the qal imperfect yih.yeh ("it will be", H1961).

The clause continues with kol-she.la.lah ("all its booty", H7998 with H9024 suffix "its"), a construct chain specifying the totality of spoil belonging to the city. The verb ta.voz ("you will plunder", H0962), qal imperfect second-person masculine singular, governs this material, followed by la.kh ("for yourself", H9005+H9031), a reflexive-directional phrase.

The narrative vav on 'a.khal.ta ("you will consume", H0398) marks a sequential perfect, continuing the action: after plundering, the addressee "consumes" or "uses" the spoil. This verb takes the direct object marker 'et (H0853) before she.lal 'oye.vei.kha ("the booty of your enemies", H7998 construct + H0341 "enemies" + H9021 "your"). The final relative clause, 'a.sher na.tan Yehovah 'e.lo.hei.kha la.kh ("which Yehovah your God has given to you"), uses the qal perfect na.tan ("he has given", H5414G), indicating a completed action attributing the source of the spoil to Yehovah (H3068G).

Differences between versions

The LXX renders taf ("little one[s]", H2945) as ἀποσκευῆς ("baggage/belongings"), differing from the Hebrew's more specific reference to children, while the Vulgate uses infantibus ("infants"), closer to the Hebrew sense. The LXX also renders 'a.khal.ta ("you will consume", H0398) as φάγῃ ("you shall eat"), a more literal rendering than the Vulgate's comedes ("you shall eat") or the BSB's "you shall use," which broadens the sense beyond literal consumption.