Deuteronomy 20
International Standard Version
Rules of War
20 “When you go to war against your enemies and observe more horses, chariots, and soldiers[a] than you have, don’t be afraid of them, for the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt is with you. 2 As you draw near for battle, let the priest approach and speak to the army.[b] 3 He will say to them, ‘Listen, Israel! You’re about to go into battle today against your enemies. Don’t be faint-hearted. Don’t be afraid, don’t panic, and don’t be terrified to face them. 4 For the Lord your God will be with you, fighting on your behalf against your enemies in order to grant you victory.’
5 “Furthermore, let the officials ask the army, ‘Is there a man here[c] who has built a new house but has not yet dedicated it? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate it. 6 And is there a man here[d] who has planted a vineyard and not yet benefited from it? Let him go home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man use it. 7 And is there a man here[e] who is engaged to a woman and has not yet married her? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man marry her.’
8 “Let the officials also speak to the army, ‘Is there a man here[f] who is afraid and faint-hearted? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may demoralize his fellow soldier.’[g]
9 “When the officials have finished speaking to the army, they must appoint officers to lead the troops.”
Rules of Peace
10 “When you approach a city to wage war against it, extend terms of peace. 11 If it agrees to peace and welcomes you, then all the people found in it will serve you as forced laborers. 12 But if they refuse to make peace with you and instead choose war, then attack it. 13 The Lord your God will deliver it into your control, and you must execute every male. 14 The women, children, all the livestock in the city, and all of the spoil and plunder will belong to you. Appropriate the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God will give you. 15 Do this to all the cities that are distant from you—that is, to those cities that are not in neighboring nations.”
Destruction of the Canaanites
16 “You are not to leave even one person alive in the cities of these nations that the Lord your God is about to give you as an inheritance. 17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, just as the Lord your God commanded you, 18 so they won’t teach you to do all the detestable things that they do for their gods. If you do what they teach you, you will sin against the Lord your God.”
Preservation of Fruit Trees
19 “When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don’t destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack them? 20 However, you may cut down the trees whose fruit[h] you know isn’t edible, in order to build siege works against the city that waged war with you, until it falls.”
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 20:1 Lit. people
- Deuteronomy 20:2 Lit. people; and so throughout the chapter
- Deuteronomy 20:5 The Heb. lacks here
- Deuteronomy 20:6 The Heb. lacks here
- Deuteronomy 20:7 The Heb. lacks here
- Deuteronomy 20:8 The Heb. lacks here
- Deuteronomy 20:8 Lit. his brother
- Deuteronomy 20:20 The Heb. lacks whose fruit
Deuteronomy 20
Lexham English Bible
20 “If you go out to war against your enemies and you see a horse and a chariot, an army[a] larger that you, you shall not be afraid because of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, the one who brought you from the land of Egypt. 2 And then[b] when you approach the battle, then the priest shall come near and speak to the troops. 3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are near today[c] to the battle against your enemies; do not lose heart;[d] you shall not be afraid, and you shall not panic, and you shall not be terrified because of them,[e] 4 for Yahweh your God is going with you to fight for you against your enemies to help you.’ 5 And the officials shall speak to the troops, saying,[f] ‘Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to this house, so that he does not die in battle and another man[g] dedicates it. 6 And who is the man that has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed it? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and another man[h] enjoys it. 7 And who is the man who got engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and another man[i] marries her.’ 8 And the officials shall continue to speak to the troops, and they shall say, ‘What man[j] is afraid and disheartened?[k] Let him go, and let him return to his house, and let him not cause the heart of his brothers to melt[l] like his.’ 9 And when the officials have finished speaking[m] to the army troops, then they shall appoint commanders of divisions at the head of the troops.
10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you must offer it peace.[n] 11 And then[o] if they accept your terms of peace[p] and they surrender to you,[q] and then[r] all the people inhabiting it[s] shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you. 12 But if they do not accept your terms of peace[t] and they want to make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it.[u] 13 And Yahweh your God will give it into your hand, and you shall kill all its males with the edge[v] of the sword. 14 Only the women and the little children and the domestic animals[w] and all that shall be in the city, all of its spoil you may loot for yourselves, and you may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that Yahweh you God has given to you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the far[x] cities from you, which are not from the cities of these nations located nearby.[y]
16 But from the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not let anything live that breathes.[z] 17 Rather, you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites[aa] and the Amorites,[ab] the Canaanites[ac] and the Perizzites,[ad] the Hivites,[ae] and the Jebusites,[af] just as Yahweh your God has commanded you, 18 so that they may not teach you to do like all their detestable things that they do for their gods and thereby you sin against Yahweh your God.
19 “If[ag] you besiege a town for many days to make war against it in order to seize it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them,[ah] for you may eat from them,[ai] and so you must not cut them[aj] down. Are the trees of the field humans that they should come in siege against you?[ak] 20 Only[al] the trees[am] that you know are not fruit trees[an] you may destroy and you may cut down, and you may build siege works against that city that is making war with you until it falls.”[ao]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 20:1 Literally “a people”
- Deuteronomy 20:2 Literally “And it will happen”
- Deuteronomy 20:3 Literally “the day”
- Deuteronomy 20:3 Literally “do not be faint/tender-hearted”
- Deuteronomy 20:3 Literally “from their faces”
- Deuteronomy 20:5 Literally “to say”
- Deuteronomy 20:5 Literally “a man other”
- Deuteronomy 20:6 Literally “a man other”
- Deuteronomy 20:7 Literally “a man other”
- Deuteronomy 20:8 Literally “Who is the man”
- Deuteronomy 20:8 Literally “and soft/weak of the heart”
- Deuteronomy 20:8 The verb has a causal meaning here
- Deuteronomy 20:9 Literally “it will happen as to finish the officials to speak”
- Deuteronomy 20:10 Literally “you should call it for peace”
- Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “And it will happen”
- Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “if peace they reply to you”
- Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “they open to you”
- Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “and it will happen”
- Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “being found in it”
- Deuteronomy 20:12 Literally “not they make peace with you”
- Deuteronomy 20:12 That is, the city
- Deuteronomy 20:13 Literally “mouth”
- Deuteronomy 20:14 Hebrew “animal”
- Deuteronomy 20:15 Or “distant”
- Deuteronomy 20:15 Literally “here”
- Deuteronomy 20:16 Or “is alive”
- Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Hittite”
- Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Amorite”
- Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Perizzite”
- Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Hivite”
- Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Jebusite”
- Deuteronomy 20:19 Or “when”
- Deuteronomy 20:19 Hebrew “it”
- Deuteronomy 20:19 Hebrew “it”
- Deuteronomy 20:19 Hebrew “it”
- Deuteronomy 20:19 Literally “from your face”
- Deuteronomy 20:20 Or “But”
- Deuteronomy 20:20 Hebrew “tree”
- Deuteronomy 20:20 Literally “not a tree of food”
- Deuteronomy 20:20 Literally “it to fall”
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