The punishment is severe: the towns are to be put under a ban, that is, completely destroyed. (See in 2.33-36 how the towns ruled by Sihon were dealt with; see also 7.26.)

Put … to the sword … with the edge of the sword: if possible the translation should keep the word sword; for example, “you must take your swords and kill every one” (Contemporary English Version). But if the word that is used means a dagger, or hatchet, or bolo, or knife, it will probably be better to use the general verb “to kill” (so Good News Translation, Bible en français courant, Nova Tradução na Linguagem de Hoje, and others).

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .