Deuteronomy 20

1Now if you go out to war against your enemies and see horse and rider and a people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

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2So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, the priest shall approach and speak to the people,

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3and he shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel, today you are going out to war against your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of their face;

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4for the Lord your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'

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5Then the scribes shall speak to the people, saying, 'What man is there who built a new house, but has not consecrated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and a different man consecrate it.

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6Also what man is there who planted a vineyard, but has not enjoyed it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and a different man enjoy it.

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7Then too, what man is there who is betrothed to a woman, but has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and a different man marry her.'

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8Now the scribes shall speak further to the people and say, 'What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.'

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9So it shall be, when the scribes finish speaking to the people, they shall establish rulers of the army to lead the people.

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10'If you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it.

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11If indeed they accept your offer of peace and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you and obey you.

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12But if the city will not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.

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13Then the Lord your God will deliver it into your hands, and you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword.

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14Besides the women, the household, all the cattle, and whatever is in the city, and all its spoil, you shall capture for yourself; and you shall eat all your enemies' booty, which the Lord your God gives you.

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15Thus you shall do to all the cities very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.

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16But indeed, of the cities of these nations which the Lord your God gives you to inherit their land, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive;

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17but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite, in the manner the Lord your God commanded you;

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18lest they teach you to do all the abominations they did for their gods; and you sin against the Lord your God.

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19'Now if you besiege a city for many days to make war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; but if you can eat from it, do not cut it down. Should a man use this tree in the field to go before you as a battering ram?

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20But the tree you know is not a tree for food, this you may destroy and cut down to build a bulwark against the city that makes war with you, until it is delivered over.

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