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Deuteronomy 20:15-20

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15 "Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby.
16 "1Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes.
17 "But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the LORD your God has commanded you,
18 so that they may not teach you to do 2according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would 3sin against the LORD your God.
19 "When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you?
20 "Only the trees which you know are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war with you until it falls.
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Deuteronomy 20:15-20 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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 3

  • 1. Exodus 23:31-33; Numbers 21:2, 3; Deuteronomy 7:1-5; Joshua 11:14
  • 2. Exodus 34:12-16; Deuteronomy 7:4; Deuteronomy 9:5; Deuteronomy 12:30, 31
  • 3. Exodus 23:33; 2 Kings 21:3-15; Psalms 106:34-41

Footnotes 5

  • [a]. Lit "here"
  • [b]. Or "put them under the ban"
  • [c]. Read as interrogative with ancient versions
  • [d]. Lit "come before you in the siege"
  • [e]. Lit "they are not trees for food"
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.