Deuteronomy 20

1 When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

When thou goest out to battle against thy enemies, and thou seest horse, and chariot, people more in number than thou: be not afraid of them; for the Lord thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army,

And it shall be, when ye come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people;

3 saying to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be alarmed or terrified because of them.

And he shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye come nigh this day unto the battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and be not downcast, and do not tremble because of them:

4 For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

For the Lord your God it is who goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to help you.

5 Furthermore, the officers are to address the army, saying, “Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man dedicate it.

And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there who hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

6 Has any man planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy its fruit? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man enjoy its fruit.

And what man is there who hath planted a vineyard, and hath not redeemed it? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man redeem it.

7 Has any man become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man marry her.”

And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.

8 Then the officers shall speak further to the army, saying, “Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him return home, so that the hearts of his brothers will not melt like his own.”

And the officers shall speak yet farther unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, that the heart of his brethren become not as faint as his heart.

9 When the officers have finished addressing the army, they are to appoint commanders to lead it.

And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall appoint captains of the armies at the head of the people.

10 When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace.

When thou comest nigh unto a city to make war against it, then summon it with words of peace.

11 If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.

And it shall be, if it make thee an answer of peace, and open [its gates] unto thee: then shall it be, that all the people that are found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

12 But if they refuse to make peace with you and wage war against you, lay siege to that city.

But if it will not make peace with thee, and wageth war against thee; then shalt thou besiege it;

13 When the LORD your God has delivered it into your hand, you must put every male to the sword.

And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thy hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword;

14 But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.

But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that may be in the city, all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take as booty unto thyself; and thou shalt enjoy the spoil of thy enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.

15 This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.

Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

16 However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.

But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, shalt thou not let live a single soul.

17 For you must devote them to complete destruction —the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you,

But thou shalt utterly devote them; namely, the Hittites, and the Emorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee;

18 so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God.

In order that they may not teach you to do in accordance with all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; and ye would thus sin against the Lord your God.

19 When you lay siege to a city for an extended time while fighting against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their fruit. You must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human, that you should besiege them?

When thou besiegest a city a long time, to make war against it to capture it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them; for of them thou mayest eat, and thou shalt not cut them down, [for man liveth of the trees of the field, ] to employ them in thy siege;

20 But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce fruit. Use them to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.

Only those trees of which thou knowest that they are not fruit-trees, thou mayest destroy and cut down; and [thus] thou canst build bulwarks against the city that wageth war with thee, until it be subdued.