When the LORD your God gives you rest from the enemies around you in the land that He is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you are to blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore it shall be, when Yahweh your God has given you rest from all your enemies all around, in the land which Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance to possess it, that you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under the sky. You shall not forget.
- KJV Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it.
- NKJV Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.
- NASB So it shall come about, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your surrounding enemies in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall wipe out the mention of the name Amalek from under heaven; you must not forget.
- NLT Therefore, when the Lord your God has given you rest from all your enemies in the land he is giving you as a special possession, you must destroy the Amalekites and erase their memory from under heaven. Never forget this!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Once settled and at rest in the land, Israel must blot out the memory of Amalek and never forget this charge. God's justice on persistent evil is sure though sometimes delayed.
Overview
The command anticipates a day of security when Israel would execute God's long-standing judgment on Amalek (later carried out imperfectly by Saul, 1 Samuel 15). It reveals God's patience and His certainty in dealing with entrenched evil. The tension between blotting out Amalek's memory and not forgetting the charge highlights how seriously God takes both justice and the protection of His people, a justice fully and finally upheld in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Exod 17:14Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as a reminder and recite it to Joshua, because I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”
- 1 Sam 14:48He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of its plunderers.
- Exod 17:16“Indeed,” he said, “a hand was lifted up toward the throne of the LORD. The LORD will war against Amalek from generation to generation.”
- Deut 9:14Leave Me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. Then I will make you into a nation mightier and greater than they are.”
- Ps 83:7–17of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, of Philistia with the people of Tyre.
- 1 Sam 15:1–35Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD.
- Josh 7:22–25So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath.
- Josh 23:1A long time after the LORD had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, when Joshua was old and well along in years,
- 1 Sam 27:8Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)
- Esth 7:10So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the fury of the king subsided.
- Josh 6:3March around the city with all the men of war, circling the city one time. Do this for six days.
- Josh 7:12This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.
- Esth 3:1After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him to a position above all the princes who were with him.
- 1 Sam 30:1–7On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.
- 1 Chr 4:43and struck down the remnant of the Amalekites who had escaped. And they have lived there to this day.
- Esth 9:7–10including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,
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Christ at the center
Moses promised a Prophet like himself to whom Israel must listen (18:15); Jesus is that Prophet, the one who keeps the covenant we broke and becomes the curse for us by hanging on a tree (Gal 3:13).
How Deuteronomy 25:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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