Deuteronomy 32:25
New International Version
In the street the sword will make them childless; in their homes terror will reign. The young men and young women will perish, the infants and those with gray hair.

New Living Translation
Outside, the sword will bring death, and inside, terror will strike both young men and young women, both infants and the aged.

English Standard Version
Outdoors the sword shall bereave, and indoors terror, for young man and woman alike, the nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

Berean Standard Bible
Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man.

King James Bible
The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

New King James Version
The sword shall destroy outside; There shall be terror within For the young man and virgin, The nursing child with the man of gray hairs.

New American Standard Bible
‘Outside the sword will make them childless, And inside, terror— Both young man and virgin, The nursing child with the man of gray hair.

NASB 1995
‘Outside the sword will bereave, And inside terror— Both young man and virgin, The nursling with the man of gray hair.

NASB 1977
‘Outside the sword shall bereave, And inside terror— Both young man and virgin, The nursling with the man of gray hair.

Legacy Standard Bible
Outside the sword will bereave, And inside terror— Both choice man and virgin, The nursing baby with the man of gray hair.

Amplified Bible
‘Outside the sword will bereave, And inside [the chambers] terror— For both young man and virgin, For the nursing child and the man of gray hair.

Christian Standard Bible
Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, there will be terror; the young man and the young woman will be killed, the infant and the gray-haired man.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, there will be terror; the young man and the young woman will be killed, the infant and the gray-haired man.”

American Standard Version
Without shall the sword bereave, And in the chambers terror; It shall destroy both young man and virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.

Contemporary English Version
Young and old alike will be killed in the streets and terrified at home.

English Revised Version
Without shall the sword bereave, And in the chambers terror; It shall destroy both young man and virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Foreign wars will kill off their children, and even at home there will be horrors. Young men and young women alike will die as well as nursing babies and gray-haired men.

Good News Translation
War will bring death in the streets; terrors will strike in the homes. Young men and young women will die; neither babies nor old people will be spared.

International Standard Version
Outside, the sword will cause bereavement; within, there will be terror for the young man and virgin alike, also for the nursing infant and the aged man."

Majority Standard Bible
Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man.

NET Bible
The sword will make people childless outside, and terror will do so inside; they will destroy both the young man and the virgin, the infant and the gray-haired man.

New Heart English Bible
Outside the sword shall bereave, and in the rooms, terror; on both young man and virgin, The nursing infant with the gray-haired man.

Webster's Bible Translation
The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

World English Bible
Outside the sword will bereave, and in the rooms, terror on both young man and virgin, the nursing infant with the gray-haired man.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
The sword destroys from outside, "" And out of the inner-chambers—terror, "" Both youth and virgin, "" Suckling with man of grey hair.

Young's Literal Translation
Without bereave doth the sword, And at the inner-chambers -- fear, Both youth and virgin, Suckling with man of grey hair.

Smith's Literal Translation
The sword shall bereave without, And terror from the chambers, Also the youth, also the virgin, The suckling, with the man of gray hair.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Without, the sword shall lay them waste, and terror within, both the young man and the virgin, the sucking child with the man in years.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Outside, the sword will devastate them; and inside, there will be dread, as much for the young man as for the maiden, and as much for the newborn as for the old man.

New American Bible
Out in the street the sword shall bereave, and at home the terror For the young man and the young woman alike, the nursing babe as well as the gray beard.

New Revised Standard Version
In the street the sword shall bereave, and in the chambers terror, for young man and woman alike, nursing child and old gray head.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Outside the sword shall bereave, and terror in inner chambers shall destroy both the young men and the virgins, the suckling also with the men of gray hairs.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Outside, the sword lays waste, and there is terror from the inner chamber, also the boys and virgin girls and young boys with old men.
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Without shall the sword bereave, And in the chambers terror; Slaying both young man and virgin, The suckling with the man of gray hairs.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Without, the sword shall bereave them of children, and terror shall issue out of the secret chambers; the young man shall perish with the virgin, the suckling with him who has grown old.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Song of Moses
24They will be wasted from hunger and ravaged by pestilence and bitter plague; I will send the fangs of wild beasts against them, with the venom of vipers that slither in the dust. 25Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man. 26I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,…

Cross References
Jeremiah 15:8-9
I will make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea. I will bring a destroyer at noon against the mothers of young men. I will suddenly bring upon them anguish and dismay. / The mother of seven will grow faint; she will breathe her last breath. Her sun will set while it is still day; she will be disgraced and humiliated. And the rest I will put to the sword in the presence of their enemies,” declares the LORD.

Lamentations 1:20
See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am churning within; my heart is pounding within me, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is death.

Ezekiel 7:15
The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.

Isaiah 13:15-16
Whoever is caught will be stabbed, and whoever is captured will die by the sword. / Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.

Hosea 13:16
Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.

Jeremiah 9:21
For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.

2 Kings 17:25
Now when the settlers first lived there, they did not worship the LORD, so He sent lions among them, which killed some of them.

Amos 4:10
“I sent plagues among you like those of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camp, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 6:11
But I am full of the LORD’s wrath; I am tired of holding it back. “Pour it out on the children in the street, and on the young men gathered together. For both husband and wife will be captured, the old and the very old alike.

Leviticus 26:22
I will send wild animals against you to rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and reduce your numbers, until your roads lie desolate.

Matthew 24:7-8
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. / All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Luke 21:11
There will be great earthquakes, famines, and pestilences in various places, along with fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

Revelation 6:8
Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.

Matthew 10:21
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.

Mark 13:12
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.


Treasury of Scripture

The sword without, and terror within, shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the man of gray hairs.

sword

Leviticus 26:36,37
And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth…

Isaiah 30:16
But ye said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall ye flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift.

Jeremiah 9:21
For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

within [heb] from the chambers

Lamentations 2:19-22
Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street…

Lamentations 4:4
The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.

Jump to Previous
Bereave Chambers Child Childless Cut Death Destroy Destroying Hair Hairs Homes Inner Inner-Chambers Inside Nursling Open Outside Perish Reign Rooms Slaying Street Sucking Suckling Sword Terror Virgin Within Women Young
Jump to Next
Bereave Chambers Child Childless Cut Death Destroy Destroying Hair Hairs Homes Inner Inner-Chambers Inside Nursling Open Outside Perish Reign Rooms Slaying Street Sucking Suckling Sword Terror Virgin Within Women Young
Deuteronomy 32
1. Moses' song, which sets forth God's mercy and vengeance
46. He exhorts them to set their hearts upon it
48. God sends him up to mount Nebo to see the land, and to die














Outside the sword
The phrase "Outside the sword" refers to external threats and warfare. In the Hebrew context, "sword" (חֶרֶב, chereb) is often symbolic of divine judgment or military conquest. Historically, Israel faced numerous invasions and battles, and this phrase underscores the reality of external dangers that the Israelites would encounter if they turned away from God. The sword represents the physical manifestation of God's judgment through foreign nations.

will take their children
This phrase highlights the tragic consequence of disobedience, where even the most innocent, the children, are not spared. The Hebrew verb "take" (יָקַח, laqach) implies capture or removal, often used in contexts of exile or death. It serves as a sobering reminder of the comprehensive nature of divine judgment, affecting all generations.

and inside there will be terror
"Inside there will be terror" speaks to the internal fear and chaos that would grip the community. The Hebrew word for terror (אֵימָה, eimah) conveys a sense of dread and panic. This internal turmoil contrasts with the external threat of the sword, indicating that disobedience leads to a breakdown of peace and security within the community itself.

destroying both young man and virgin
This phrase emphasizes the indiscriminate nature of the coming destruction. The "young man" (בָּחוּר, bachur) and "virgin" (בְּתוּלָה, bethulah) represent the future and hope of the nation. In ancient Israel, these individuals were seen as the strength and vitality of the community. Their destruction signifies a loss of potential and continuity, a severe consequence of turning away from God.

the nursing infant with the gray-haired man
The juxtaposition of "the nursing infant" (עוֹלֵל, olel) and "the gray-haired man" (שֵׂיבָה, seivah) illustrates the totality of the devastation. From the youngest to the oldest, no one is exempt from the consequences of sin. This phrase serves as a poignant reminder of the comprehensive nature of divine judgment, affecting every stage of life. It underscores the importance of communal faithfulness and the far-reaching impact of disobedience.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Outside,
מִחוּץ֙ (mi·ḥūṣ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2351: Separate by a, wall, outside, outdoors

the sword
חֶ֔רֶב (ḥe·reḇ)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

will take their children,
תְּשַׁכֶּל־ (tə·šak·kel-)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7921: To miscarry, suffer abortion, to bereave

and inside,
וּמֵחֲדָרִ֖ים (ū·mê·ḥă·ḏā·rîm)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2315: A chamber, room

terror will strike
אֵימָ֑ה (’ê·māh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 367: Fright, an idol

the young man
בָּחוּר֙ (bā·ḥūr)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 970: Selected, a youth

and
גַּם־ (gam-)
Conjunction
Strong's 1571: Assemblage, also, even, yea, though, both, and

the young woman,
בְּתוּלָ֔ה (bə·ṯū·lāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 1330: A virgin, sometimes, a bride

the infant
יוֹנֵ֖ק (yō·w·nêq)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 3243: To suck, to give milk

and
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5973: With, equally with

the gray-haired
שֵׂיבָֽה׃ (śê·ḇāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7872: Hoary head, old age

man.
אִ֥ישׁ (’îš)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 376: A man as an individual, a male person


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 32:25 Outside the sword shall bereave and (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 32:24
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