Limitless Word
All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many unwalled towns.
Deuteronomy 3:5 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides a great many villages without walls.
  • KJV All these cities were fenced with high walls, gates, and bars; beside unwalled towns a great many.
  • BSB All these cities were fortified with high walls and gates and bars, and there were many more unwalled villages.
  • NKJV All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides a great many rural towns.
  • NLT These towns were all fortified with high walls and barred gates. We also took many unwalled villages at the same time.

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

These cities had high walls, gates, and bars, besides many unwalled villages. It emphasizes the strength of what God overcame.

Overview

The description of strongly fortified cities heightens the wonder of Israel's success, since such defenses would normally be impregnable. By noting both walled cities and open villages, the text shows the totality of the conquest. It magnifies the LORD, before whom even the mightiest defenses gave way.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 3

  • Num 13:28However the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the children of Anak there.
  • Heb 11:30By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days.
  • Deut 1:28Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to the sky. Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there!’”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Deuteronomy videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Deuteronomy 3:5YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DeuteronomyMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

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 3:5 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.