Deuteronomy 3:6
“We utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every inhabited city, with the women and the little ones.”
What does Deuteronomy 3:6 mean?
This passage describes the Israelites' conquest of cities east of the Jordan River as they approached the promised land. The language reflects the harsh realities of ancient warfare, where complete conquest of a region meant destroying its military and civilian populations so that the land could be claimed and settled. It's important to read this account honestly: the text doesn't shy away from describing violence that included vulnerable people. For many readers, this raises real questions about how to understand God's character when scripture includes accounts of such devastation. Scholars and theologians have long wrestled with these passages, recognizing that what's being described isn't necessarily being celebrated, but rather reported as history from that ancient culture's perspective. If you're troubled by these verses, you're not alone, and your wrestling with them is actually a healthy part of faith. Many find it helps to see these difficult passages alongside the fuller biblical story of God's mercy, forgiveness, and repeated calls toward justice and compassion, especially in the teachings of Jesus.