1When you go out to the battle against your enemies, and see horse and chariot, a people more than you, you shall not fear from them; for YHWH your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
2And it shall be, when you draw near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people,
3and shall say to them, "Hear, O Israel, you are drawing near today to the battle against your enemies; let not your heart be faint, do not fear, and do not tremble, and do not be terrified before them;
4for YHWH your God is the one 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 (ish) that 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 (ish) dedicate it.
6And who is the man (ish) that has planted a vineyard and has not made common use of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man (ish) make common use of it.
7And who is the man (ish) that has betrothed a woman (ishah) and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man (ish) take her."
8And the officers shall add to speak to the people, and they shall say, "Who is the man (ish) that is fearful and faint of heart? Let him go and return to his house, and let not his brothers' heart melt as his heart."
9And it shall be, when the officers finish speaking to the people, that they shall appoint captains of hosts at the head of the people.
10When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then you shall call out to it for peace.
11And it shall be, if it answers you peace and opens to you, then it shall be that all the people found in it shall become to you for forced labor, and they shall serve (avad) you.
12And if it does not make peace with you, but makes war with you, then you shall besiege it.
13And YHWH your God shall give it into your hand, and you shall strike every male of it by the mouth of the sword.
14Only the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and you shall eat the spoil of your enemies, which YHWH your God has given you.
15Thus you shall do to all the cities very far off from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.
16Only from the cities of these peoples, which YHWH your God gives you for an inheritance, you shall not keep alive any breath (neshamah);
17but you shall utterly devote them — the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite — as YHWH your God has commanded (tzivvah) you;
18so that they teach you not to do according to all their abominations, which they have done for their gods, and so you sin against YHWH your God.
19When you besiege a city many days, fighting against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them; for from them you may eat, and you shall not cut them down; for is the man (adam) the tree of the field, to come before you in the siege?
20Only a tree that you know that it is not a tree for food, it you may destroy and cut down, and you shall build siege-works against the city that makes war with you, until its fall.