20:1 When you go to war with your enemies and see chariotry¹ and people who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them for the LORD your God, he who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you. 20:2 As you draw near for battle, the priest² will approach and say to the people, 20:3 “Listen, Israel! You are today moving forward³ to make war with your enemies. Do not become faint-hearted. Do not fear and tremble nor be terrified because of them. 20:4 For the LORD your God is the one who accompanies you to fight on your behalf against your enemies so as to save you.” 20:5 Moreover, the officials shall say to the people, “Who among you⁴ has built a new house and not dedicated⁵ it? Let him return home,⁶ lest he might die in battle and another should dedicate it. 20:6 and who among you⁷ has planted a vineyard and not benefited from it?⁸ Let him go home lest he die in battle and another benefit from it. 20:7 And who among you⁹ has become engaged to a woman but has not married¹⁰ her? Let him return home lest he die in battle and another marry her.” 20:8 The officials shall say even more to the people, namely, “Who among you¹¹ becomes immobilized by fear,¹² let him return home so that he will not make his brother’s spirit¹³ as unstable¹⁴ as his own.” 20:9 Then, when the officials have finished speaking¹⁵ they will appoint commanders¹⁶ to lead¹⁷ the people. 20:10 When you approach a city to wage war against it then offer it terms of peace.¹⁸ 20:11 If it accepts them¹⁹ and submits to you,²⁰ all the people found in it will become compulsory servants²¹ to you.²² 20:12 But if they do not accept terms of peace but make war with you, then you shall lay siege against their city.²³ 20:13 The LORD your God will deliver it over to you²⁴ and you will slay every single male by sword. 20:14 However,²⁵ the women, little children, cattle, and anything in the city—all its spoil—you may take as your booty. You may appropriate²⁶ the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God has given you. 20:15 Thus you shall do to all cities very distant from you, those not of these nearby nations.

20:16 As for the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God is going to give you as an inheritance, you must not allow a single living thing²⁷ to survive.²⁸ 20:17 Instead you must put them under the ban²⁹—the Hittite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite³⁰—just as the LORD your God has commanded you, 20:18 so that they might not teach you to do the detestable things they do to their gods and you thereby sin against him.³¹ 20:19 If you besiege a city for a long time to do battle against and to capture it, you must not chop down its trees,³² for you may eat from them and should not cut them. A tree³³ is not human so that you should besiege it.³⁴ 20:20 However, any tree you know not to be suitable for food you may destroy by cutting it down, and you may with it build siege works³⁵ against the city that is making war against you until you have subjugated it.