6:21a

The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible leaves untranslated but many English versions translate as “Then” introduces the next event in the storyline.

At the edge of the sword: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as At the edge of the sword is more literally “with the mouth of the sword.” This is a Hebrew idiom. It means that they killed the people and animals.

Here is another way to translate this Hebrew idiom:

they killed everyone…they even killed every cow, sheep, and donkey (Contemporary English Version)

they devoted to destruction everything in the city: The phrase they devoted to destruction indicates that they destroyed everything in the town (including people, animals, and other things).

6:21b

man and woman, young and old: They killed every human being in the town.

oxen, sheep, and donkeys: The word oxen refers to bulls and cows.

Here is another way to translate this phrase:

all the domestic animals

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