Deuteronomy 20
1 When you go out to war against other nations, and come face to face with horses and war-carriages and armies greater in number than yourselves, have no fear of them: for the Lord your God is with you, who took you up out of the land of Egypt.
When you go to war with your enemies and you see horses and chariots, and a larger army than yours, don't be afraid of them, because the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt is with you.
2 And when you are on the point of attacking, let the priest come forward and say to the people,
Before you go into battle, the priest shall come and speak to the army.
3 Give ear, O Israel: today you are going forward to the fight; let your heart be strong; do not let uncontrolled fear overcome you because of those who are against you;
He is to tell them, “Listen, men of Israel! Today you are going to fight your enemies. Don't be nervous or afraid; don't be panicked or terrified by them.
4 For the Lord your God goes with you, fighting for you to give you salvation from those who are against you.
For the Lord your God is going with you to fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you the victory.”
5 And let the overseers say to the people, If there is any man who has made for himself a new house and has not gone into it, let him go back to his house, so that in the event of his death in the fight, another may not take his house for himself.
The officers shall also speak to the army and tell them, “Is there any man here who has built a new house and hasn't dedicated it to the Lord? He can go home, otherwise he might die in battle and another man will dedicate it.
6 Or if any man has made a vine-garden without taking the first-fruits of it, let him go back to his house, so that in the event of his death in the fight, another may not be the first to make use of the fruit.
Is there any man here who has planted a vineyard and hasn't yet enjoyed its fruit? He can go home, otherwise he might die in battle and another man will enjoy its fruit.
7 Or if any man is newly married and has had no sex relations with his wife, let him go back to his house, so that in the event of his death in the fight, another man may not take her.
Is there any man here who is engaged to a woman and hasn't married her? He can go home, otherwise he might die in battle and another man will marry her.”
8 And let the overseers go on to say to the people, If there is any man whose heart is feeble with fear, let him go back to his house before he makes the hearts of his countrymen feeble.
The officers are also to tell the army, “Is there any man here who is afraid or nervous? He can go home, so he won't affect his fellow-soldiers and make them as frightened as himself.”
9 Then, after saying these words to the people, let the overseers put captains over the army.
After the officers have finished speaking to the army, they are put commanders in charge to lead it into battle.
10 When you come to a town, before attacking it, make an offer of peace.
When you arrive at a town, ready to attack it, you must first make an offer of peace to the people living there.
11 And if it gives you back an answer of peace, opening its doors to you, then all the people in it may be put to forced work as your servants.
If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates to you, all the inhabitants will become your slave-laborers.
12 If however it will not make peace with you, but war, then let it be shut in on all sides:
However, if they refuse to make peace with you and decide to fight you, then lay siege to the town.
13 And when the Lord your God has given it into your hands, let every male in it be put to death without mercy.
Once the Lord your God has handed it over to you, kill every male with the sword.
14 But the women and the children and the cattle and everything in the town and all its wealth, you may take for yourselves: the wealth of your haters, which the Lord your God has given you, will be your food.
But you can take as plunder the women, children, livestock, and everything else in the town. You can take and use all your enemies' possessions the Lord your God gives you.
15 So you are to do to all the towns far away, which are not the towns of these nations.
This is the way you are to deal with all the towns that are a long way from you and don't belong to neighboring nations.
16 But in the towns of these peoples whose land the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage, let no living thing be kept from death:
However, when it comes to the towns of those nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you to occupy, don't leave anything alive that breathes.
17 Give them up to the curse; the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, as the Lord your God has given you orders:
Set them apart for complete destruction—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has ordered you to do.
18 So that you may not take them as your example and do all the disgusting things which they do in the worship of their gods, so sinning against the Lord your God.
This is to prevent them teaching you all the offensive things they do in worshiping their gods, and in so doing make you sin against the Lord your God.
19 If in war a town is shut in by your armies for a long time, do not let its trees be cut down and made waste; for their fruit will be your food; are the trees of the countryside men for you to take up arms against them?
Now when you lay siege to a town and it goes on for a long time as you fight to capture it, don't destroy the fruit trees there. You can eat their fruit. Don't cut them down. Are the trees in the orchard human beings that you should also attack?
20 Only those trees which you are certain are not used for food may be cut down and put to destruction: and you are to make walls of attack against the town till it is taken.
However, you may destroy the trees that you know are not fruit trees. You can use them to build siege equipment to attack the town that is fighting against you until it falls.
