Deuteronomy 20:7-17

7 And yf any man be betrothed vnto a wyfe and haue not taken hyr, let hym goo and returne agayne vnto his housse, lest he dye in the batayle and another take her.
8 And let the officers speake further vnto the people and saye. Yf any man feare and be faynte herted, let him goo and returne vnto his housse, lest his brothers hert be made faynte as well as his.
9 And when the officers haue made an ende off speakynge vnto the people, let the make captaynes of warre ouer them.
10 When thou comest nye vnto a citie to fight agenst it, offre them peace.
11 And yf they answere the agayne peasably, and open vnto the, then let all the people that is founde therein be tributaries vnto the and serue the.
12 But and yf they will make no peace with the, then make warre agenste the citie and besege it.
13 And when the Lord thy God hath delyuered it in to thine handes, smyte all the males thereof with the edge of the swerde,
14 saue the weme and the childern and the catell and all that is in the citie and all the spoyle thereof take vnto thy selfe and eate the spoyle of thyne enemies which the Lord thy God geueth the.
15 Thus thou shalt doo vnto all the cities whiche are a greate waye of from the ad not of the cities of these nacions.
16 But in the cities of these nacions which the Lorde thy God geueth the to enheret, thou shalt saue alyue nothinge that bretheth.
17 But shalt destroye them with out redempcion, both the Hethites, the Amorites, the Cananites, the Pherezites, the Heuites and the Iebusites, as the Lorde thy God hath commaunded the,

Deuteronomy 20:7-17 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.

The Tyndale Bible is in the public domain.