³⁴ At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed^[a](A) them—men, women and children. We left no survivors.

¹⁶ You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town^(A) and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God.^(B) That town is to remain a ruin^(C) forever, never to be rebuilt, ¹⁷ and none of the condemned things^[a] are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger,^(D) will show you mercy,^(E) and will have compassion^(F) on you. He will increase your numbers,^(G) as he promised^(H) on oath to your ancestors—

¹⁸ But keep away from the devoted things,^(A) so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction^(B) and bring trouble^(C) on it.

²¹ They devoted^(A) the city to the Lord and destroyed^(B) with the sword every living thing in it—men and women, young and old, cattle, sheep and donkeys.