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¹ When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots, a people more than you, you shall not be afraid of them. For Jehovah your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.² And it shall be, when you draw near to battle, the priest shall come and speak to the people,³ and say to them. Hear, Israel, you are drawing near today to battle against your enemies. Do not let your heart be faint; do not fear nor tremble, nor be terrified before their faces.⁴ For Jehovah your God is He who is going before you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.⁵ And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, Who is the man that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, that he not die in battle and another man dedicate it.⁶ And who is the man that has planted a vineyard, and has not used its fruit? Let him go and return to his house, that he not die in battle, and another man use its fruit.⁷ And who is the man who has betrothed a woman, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, that he not die in the battle, and another man take her.⁸ And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, Who is the man who is afraid, and faint of heart? Let him go and return to his house; then the heart of his brothers will not melt like his heart.⁹ And it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, commanders of the armies shall be appointed at the head of the people.

¹⁰ When you come near a city to fight against it, then call to it for peace.¹¹ And it shall be, if it answers peace to you, and shall open to you, then it shall be that all the people found in it shall be forced laborers for you, and shall serve you.¹² And if it shall not make peace with you, and shall make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it.¹³ And Jehovah your God shall give it into your hand; and you shall strike every male of it by the mouth of the sword.¹⁴ Only, the women, and the little ones, and the livestock, and all in the city, all its plunder, you shall seize for yourself. And you shall eat the plunder of your enemies which Jehovah your God has given to you.¹⁵ So you shall do to all the cities very far away from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.¹⁶ But of the cities of these peoples which Jehovah your God is giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not keep alive any that breathes.¹⁷ But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as Jehovah your God has commanded you;¹⁸ so that they may not teach you to do according to all their filthy deeds which they have done for their gods; and you would sin against Jehovah your God.¹⁹ When you shall lay siege to a city many days, to fight against it, to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees in order to force an axe against them. For you shall eat of them, and you shall not cut them down; for is the tree ofthe field a man, that it should be used by you to lay siege?²⁰ Only the tree which you know not to be a fruit tree, you may destroy it, and may cut it down, and may build a bulwark against the city making war with you, until you have subdued it.