Deuteronomy 20

20 ¹ When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, do not be afraid of them, for your Father is with you—the one who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. ² And when you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people. ³ He shall say to them, "Hear, Israel: today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not lose heart. Do not be afraid, do not panic, and do not be terrified of them, ⁴ for your Father is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies and to give you victory."

⁵ Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, "Has anyone built a new house but not yet dedicated it? He may go home, or he might die in battle and another man dedicate it. ⁶ Has anyone planted a vineyard but not yet enjoyed its fruit? He may go home, or he might die in battle and another man enjoy it. ⁷ Has anyone become engaged to a woman but not yet married her? He may go home, or he might die in battle and another man marry her." ⁸ The officers shall speak further to the people and say, "Is there anyone who is afraid and has lost his nerve? He may go home, so that the hearts of his brothers do not melt like his own." ⁹ And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, they shall appoint commanders of the armies at the head of the people.

How to Treat Conquered Cities

¹⁰ When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer it peace. ¹¹ If it answers you peaceably and opens to you, then all the people found in it shall serve you as forced laborers. ¹² But if it refuses to make peace with you and makes war against you, then you shall lay siege to it. ¹³ And when your Father hands it over to you, you shall put all its males to the sword. ¹⁴ But the women and the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder for yourselves, and you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which your Father has given you. ¹⁵ This is how you shall treat all the cities that are very far from you, which are not among the cities of these nations. ¹⁶ But in the cities of these peoples that your Father is giving you as an inheritance, you shall leave alive nothing that breathes. ¹⁷ Rather, you shall devote them to complete destruction—the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites—as your Father has commanded you, ¹⁸ so that they may not teach you to imitate all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against your Father.

Protect the Trees

¹⁹ When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees with your axes. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. For the trees of the field are not human, that they should be treated as your enemy. ²⁰ You may cut down only the trees you know are not food trees, so that you may build siegeworks against the city that is at war with you, until it falls.