1 Samuel 15:3
Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Study Note
Study Note
'Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not' — the herem ('ban'/devoted destruction) command against Amalek is one of Scripture's most ethically demanding texts, generating extensive discussion in both Jewish and Christian interpretation. Ancient Near Eastern herem practices are attested in extrabiblical texts such as the Mesha Stele, suggesting a cultural context in which such commands were understood as sacred warfare under divine authority rather than ordinary military conquest. Christian readings from Origen onward have allegorized Amalek as the flesh's sinful inclinations that must be utterly destroyed, while contemporary theology grapples with the text's historical-ethical dimensions within the canonical witness to God's character.
Other Translations
Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Now, go, and thou hast smitten Amalek, and devoted all that it hath, and thou hast no pity on it, and hast put to death from man unto woman, from infant unto suckling, from ox unto sheep, from camel unto ass.'
Go now and put Amalek to the sword, putting to the curse all they have, without mercy: put to death every man and woman, every child and baby at the breast, every ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Cross References
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the …
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous …
Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the Lord of all that he hath, both of man …
None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.
And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; …
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with …
Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all …
And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with …
But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt …