Laws of Warfare

1When you go out to battle against your enemies, and you see horses and chariots—people more numerous than you—do not be afraid of them, for YHWH your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 2And it shall come to pass, in your⁺ drawing near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people, 3and he shall say to them, “Hear, O Israel, you⁺ are drawing near today to battle against your⁺ enemies. Do not let your⁺ hearts be faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble, and do not be terrified at their presence. 4For YHWH your⁺ God is He who goes with you⁺ to fight for you⁺ against your⁺ enemies, to save you⁺.”

5And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, “Who is the man who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. 6And who is the man who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it. 7And who is the man who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.”

8And the officers shall add to speak to the people and say, “Who is the man fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, so that the heart of his brothers shall not melt like his heart.”

9And it shall come to pass, the officers having finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

10When you go near to a city to fight against it, then you shall call out to it for peace. 11And it shall come to pass that if they accept your offer of peace and open to you, then all the people found in it shall be unto you in tribute, and they will serve you.

12And if it does not make peace with you and makes war against you, then you shall lay siege against it. 13And YHWH your God has delivered it into your hands, and you shall strike every male in it with the mouth of the sword. 14But the women, and the children, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself. And you shall devour the plunder of your enemies, which YHWH your God gives to you. 15Thus you shall do to all the cities very far from you, which are not from the cities of these nations.

16But from the cities of these peoples that YHWH your God gives to you as an inheritance, you shall not keep alive anything that breathes. 17But you must devote them to complete destruction†—the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite—as YHWH your God has commanded you, 18so that they will not teach you⁺ to do according to all their abominations that they have done for their gods, and cause you⁺ to sin against YHWH your⁺ God.

19When you lay siege to a city many days while making war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. And if you can eat of them, then do not cut them down, for is the tree of the field a man, coming from your face to besiege? 20Only the trees that you know that are not trees for food, you may destroy and cut down and build siege works against the city that is making war with you, until it is subdued.