Deuteronomy 20
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Rules of Warfare
20 “When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots, an army larger than your own, do not fear them, for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.(A) 2 Before you engage in battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the troops 3 and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel! Today you are drawing near to do battle against your enemies. Do not lose heart or be afraid or panic or be in dread of them,(B) 4 for it is the Lord your God who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to give you victory.’(C) 5 Then the officers shall address the troops, saying, ‘Has anyone built a new house but not dedicated it? He should go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another dedicate it. 6 Has anyone planted a vineyard but not yet enjoyed its fruit? He should go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another be first to enjoy its fruit.(D) 7 Has anyone become engaged to a woman but not yet married her? He should go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another marry her.’(E) 8 The officers shall continue to address the troops, saying, ‘Is anyone afraid or disheartened? He should go back to his house, or he might cause the heart of his comrades to melt like his own.’(F) 9 When the officers have finished addressing the troops, then the commanders shall take charge of them.
10 “When you draw near to a town to fight against it, offer it terms of peace.(G) 11 If it accepts your terms of peace and surrenders to you, then all the people in it shall serve you at forced labor. 12 But if it does not accept your terms of peace and makes war against you, then you shall besiege it, 13 and when the Lord your God gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword. 14 You may, however, take as your plunder the women, the children, livestock, and everything else in the town, all its spoil. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the Lord your God has given you.(H) 15 Thus you shall treat all the towns that are very far from you, which are not towns of these nations here. 16 But as for the towns of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not let anything that breathes remain alive.(I) 17 Indeed, you shall annihilate them—the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites—just as the Lord your God has commanded, 18 so that they may not teach you to do all the abhorrent things that they do for their gods and you thus sin against the Lord your God.(J)
19 “If you besiege a town for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. Although you may take food from them, you must not cut them down. Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you? 20 You may destroy only the trees that you know do not produce food; you may cut them down for use in building siegeworks against the town that makes war with you, until it falls.
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
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