Deuteronomy 20

1 When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses, chariots, and a people more numerous than you, you shall not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

“When your [soldiers] go to fight your enemies, and you see that they have many horses and chariots and that their army is much bigger than yours, do not be afraid of them, because Yahweh our God, who brought your [ancestors safely] out of Egypt, will be with you.

2 It shall be, when you draw near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people,

When you are ready to start the battle, the Supreme Priest must stand in front of the troops.

3 and shall tell them, “Hear, Israel, you draw near today to battle against your enemies. Don’t let your heart faint! Don’t be afraid, nor tremble, neither be scared of them;

He must say to them, ‘You Israeli men, listen to me! Today you are going to fight against your enemies. Do not be timid or afraid [DOU] or tremble or panic [DOU],

4 for Yahweh your God is he who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”

because Yahweh our God will go with you. He will fight your enemies for you, and he will enable you to defeat them.’

5 The officers shall speak to the people, saying, “What man is there who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

Then the army officers must say to the troops, ‘If anyone among you has just built a new house [RHQ] and has not dedicated it [to God], he should go home [and dedicate the house]. If he does not do that, if he dies in the battle, someone else will dedicate the house [and live in it].

6 What man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use its fruit.

If anyone among you has planted a vineyard and has not yet harvested any grapes from it [RHQ], he should go home. If he [stays here and] dies in the battle, someone else will [harvest the grapes and] enjoy [the wine made from them].

7 What man is there who has pledged to be married to a wife, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.”

If anyone among you has become engaged to marry a woman [but has not married her yet] [RHQ], he should go home. If [he stays here and] dies in the battle, someone else will marry her.’

8 The officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, “What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brother’s heart melt as his heart.”

“Then the officers must also say, ‘If anyone among you is afraid or timid [RHQ], he should go home, in order that he does not cause his fellow soldiers to also stop being courageous.’

9 It shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall appoint captains of armies at the head of the people.

And when the officers have finished speaking to the troops, they must appoint commanders [to lead the groups of soldiers].

10 When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it.

“When you come near a city [that is far away] to attack it, first tell the people there that if they surrender, you will not attack them.

11 It shall be, if it gives you answer of peace and opens to you, then it shall be that all the people who are found therein shall become forced laborers to you, and shall serve you.

If they open the gates of the city and surrender, they all will become your slaves to work for you.

12 If it will make no peace with you, but will make war against you, then you shall besiege it.

But if they refuse to [surrender] peacefully, and decide instead to fight against you, your troops must surround the city [and break through the walls].

13 When Yahweh your God delivers it into your hand, you shall strike every male of it with the edge of the sword;

Then, when Yahweh our God enables you to capture [IDM] the city, you must kill all the men in the city.

14 but the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, even all its plunder, you shall take for plunder for yourself. You may use the plunder of your enemies, which Yahweh your God has given you.

But you are allowed to take for yourselves the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else [that you want to take] from the city. You will be allowed to enjoy all the things that belonged to your enemies; it is Yahweh our God who has given those things to you.

15 Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far off from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.

You should do that in all the cities that are far from the land in which you will settle.

16 But of the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God gives you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes;

“But in the cities that are in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, you must kill all the people and all the animals [LIT].

17 but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, as Yahweh your God has commanded you;

You must get rid of them completely. Get rid of the Heth people-group, the Amor people-group, the Canaan people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group; that is what Yahweh our God commanded you to do.

18 that they not teach you to follow all their abominations, which they have done for their gods; so would you sin against Yahweh your God.

If you do not do that, they will teach you to sin against Yahweh our God and do the disgusting things that they do when they worship their gods.

19 When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; for you may eat of them. You shall not cut them down, for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged by you?

“When you surround a city for a long time, trying to capture it, do not cut down the fruit trees [outside the city]. You are allowed to eat the fruit from the trees, but do not get rid of the trees, because they certainly are not [RHQ] your enemies.

20 Only the trees that you know are not trees for food, you shall destroy and cut them down. You shall build bulwarks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls.

You are permitted to cut down the other trees and use the wood to make ladders and towers to enable you to [go over the walls and] capture the city.”