Deuteronomy 20:8-18

8 And the officials shall continue to speak to the troops, and they shall say, '{What man} is afraid {and disheartened}? Let him go, and let him return to his house, and let him not cause the heart of his brothers to melt like his.'

9 And {when the officials have finished speaking} to the army troops, then they shall appoint commanders of divisions at the head of the troops.

10 "When you approach a city to fight against it, {you must offer it peace}.

11 {And then} if {they accept your terms of peace} and {they surrender to you}, {and then} all the people {inhabiting it} shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you.

12 But if they {do not accept your terms of peace} and they want to make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it.

13 And Yahweh your God will give it into your hand, and you shall kill all its males with the {edge} of [the] sword.

14 Only the women and the little children and the domestic animals and all that shall be in the city, all of its spoil you may loot for yourselves, and you may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that Yahweh you God has given to you.

15 Thus you shall do to all the far cities from you, which [are] not from the cities of these nations located {nearby}.

16 But from the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not let anything live that breathes.

17 Rather, you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, [just] as Yahweh your God has commanded you,

18 so that they may not teach you to do like all their detestable things that they do for their gods and [thereby] you sin against Yahweh your God.

Deuteronomy 20:8-18 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 20

In this chapter rules are given to be observed in times of war. When a battle was near, a priest was to address the soldiers, and encourage them to fight, De 20:1-4, then the officers were to declare who might return home, De 20:5-9 when an enemy's city was approached, peace was to be proclaimed on certain conditions, which, if accepted of, the inhabitants were to be tributaries and servants, but if not, when taken, all were to be put to the sword, excepting women, children, and cattle, De 20:10-15, but those of the seven nations were to be utterly destroyed, De 20:16-18, and, during a siege, no trees bearing fruit fit for food were to be cut down, De 20:19.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "Who is the man"
• [b]. Literally "and soft/weak of the heart"
• [c]. The verb has a causal meaning here
• [d]. Literally "it will happen as to finish the officials to speak"
• [e]. Literally "you should call it for peace"
• [f]. Literally "And it will happen"
• [g]. Literally "if peace they reply to you"
• [h]. Literally "they open to you"
• [i]. Literally "and it will happen"
• [j]. Literally "being found in it"
• [k]. Literally "not they make peace with you"
• [l]. That is, the city
• [m]. Literally "mouth"
• [n]. Hebrew "animal"
• [o]. Or "distant"
• [p]. Literally "here"
• [q]. Or "is alive"
• [r]. Hebrew "Hittite"
• [s]. Hebrew "Amorite"
• [t]. Hebrew "Canaanite"
• [u]. Hebrew "Perizzite"
• [v]. Hebrew "Hivite"
• [w]. Hebrew "Jebusite"