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Deuteronomy 17-20
New American Standard Bible

Administration of Justice

17 “(A)You shall not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep which has a blemish or any [a]defect, for that is a detestable thing to the Lord your God.

2 “(B)If there is found in your midst, in any of your [b]towns which the Lord your God is giving you, a man or a woman who does what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, by violating His covenant, 3 and that person has gone and (C)served other gods and worshiped them, (D)or the sun, the moon, or any of the heavenly [c]lights, (E)which I have commanded not to do, 4 and if it is reported to you and you have heard about it, then you shall investigate thoroughly. And [d]if it is true and the report is trustworthy that this detestable thing has been done in Israel, 5 then you are to bring out to your gates that man or woman who has done this evil deed, that is, the man or the woman, and (F)you shall stone them to [e]death. 6 (G)On the [f]testimony of two witnesses or three witnesses, the [g]condemned shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the [h]testimony of only one witness. 7 (H)The hands of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. (I)So you shall eliminate the evil from your midst.

8 “(J)If a case is too difficult for you to decide, between [i]one kind of homicide or another, between [j]one kind of lawsuit or another, and between [k]one kind of assault or another, that are cases of dispute in your [l]courts, then you shall arise and go up to (K)the place which the Lord your God chooses. 9 So you shall come to (L)the Levitical priests or the judge who is in office in those days, and you shall inquire of them and they will declare to you the [m]verdict. 10 Then you shall act in accordance with the [n]terms of the verdict which they declare to you from that place which the Lord chooses; and you shall be careful to act in accordance with everything that they instruct you to do. 11 (M)In accordance with the [o]terms of the law about which they instruct you, and in accordance with the verdict which they tell you, you shall act; you shall not turn aside from the word which they declare to you, to the right or the left. 12 But the person who acts (N)insolently by not listening to the priest who stands there to serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that person shall die; so you shall eliminate the evil from Israel. 13 Then all the people will hear and be afraid, and will not act (O)insolently again.

14 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and you (P)take possession of it and live in it, and you say, ‘(Q)I will appoint a king over me like all the nations who are around me,’ 15 you shall in fact appoint a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses. One (R)from among your countrymen you shall appoint as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves, anyone who is not your countryman. 16 (S)In any case, he is not to acquire many horses for himself, nor shall he (T)make the people return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since (U)the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never again return that way.’ 17 And (V)he shall not acquire many wives for himself, so that his heart does not turn away; nor shall he greatly increase silver and gold for himself.

18 “Now it shall come about, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this Law on a scroll [p](W)in the presence of the Levitical priests. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it (X)all the days of his life, so that he will learn to fear the Lord his God, [q]by carefully following all the words of this Law and these statutes, 20 so that his heart will not be haughty toward his countrymen, (Y)and that he will not turn away from the commandment to the right or the left, so that he and his sons may [r]live long in his kingdom in the midst of Israel.

Portion for the Levites

18 “(Z)The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall not have a portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the Lord’s offerings by fire and His [s]property. 2 (AA)They shall not have an inheritance among their countrymen; the Lord is their inheritance, as He [t]promised them.

3 “(AB)Now this shall be the priests’ portion from the people, from those who offer a sacrifice, either an ox or a sheep: they shall give the priest the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the stomach. 4 You shall give him the (AC)first fruits of your grain, your new wine, and your oil, and the first fleece of your sheep. 5 (AD)For the Lord your God has chosen him and his sons from all your tribes, to (AE)stand to serve in the name of the Lord always.

6 “Now if a Levite comes from any of your [u]towns throughout Israel where he (AF)resides, and he comes [v]whenever he desires to the place which the Lord chooses, 7 then he shall serve in the name of the Lord his God, like all his fellow Levites who stand there before the Lord. 8 (AG)They shall eat [w]equal portions, except for what they receive from the sale of their fathers’ estates.

Spiritism Forbidden

9 “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to [x](AH)imitate the detestable things of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone (AI)who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, a (AJ)soothsayer, one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11 or one who casts a spell, (AK)or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who consults the dead. 12 For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and (AL)because of these detestable things the Lord your God is going to drive them out before you. 13 (AM)You are to be blameless before the Lord your God. 14 For these nations, which you are going to dispossess, listen to (AN)soothsayers and diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.

15 “(AO)The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen. 16 This is (AP)in accordance with everything that you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, ‘Do not let me hear the voice of the Lord my God again, and do not let me see this great fire anymore, or I will die!’ 17 And (AQ)the Lord said to me, ‘They have [y]spoken well. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet from among their countrymen like you, and (AR)I will put My words in his mouth, and (AS)he shall speak to them everything that I command him. 19 (AT)And it shall come about that whoever does not listen to My words which he speaks in My name, I Myself will [z]require it of him. 20 But the prophet who speaks a word (AU)presumptuously in My name, a word which I have not commanded him to speak, or (AV)which he speaks in the name of other gods, [aa]that prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How will we recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ 22 (AW)When the prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it (AX)presumptuously; you are not to be afraid of him.

Cities of Refuge

19 “(AY)When the Lord your God cuts off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2 (AZ)you shall set aside for yourself three cities in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to [ab]possess. 3 You shall prepare the [ac]roads for yourself, and divide into three regions the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as an inheritance, [ad]so that anyone who commits manslaughter may flee there.

4 “(BA)Now this is the case of the one who commits manslaughter, who may flee there and live: when he [ae]kills his friend [af]unintentionally, [ag]not hating him previously— 5 as when a person goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand [ah]swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the [ai]handle and [aj]strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue [ak]him [al]in the heat of his anger, and overtake him because the way is long, and [am]take his life, though he was not sentenced to death since he had not hated him previously. 7 Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside for yourself three cities.’

8 “And if the Lord your God (BB)enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land that He [an]promised to give your fathers— 9 if you [ao]carefully follow all of this commandment which I am commanding you today, (BC)to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always—(BD)then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10 So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and (BE)guilt for bloodshed will not be on you.

11 “But (BF)if there is a person who hates his neighbor, and waits in ambush for him and rises up against him and strikes [ap]him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send men and take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 [aq](BG)You shall not pity him, but (BH)you shall eliminate the guilt for the bloodshed of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well for you.

Laws of Landmark and Testimony

14 “(BI)You shall not displace your neighbor’s boundary marker, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to [ar]possess.

15 “(BJ)A single witness shall not rise up against a person regarding any wrongdoing or any sin [as]that he commits; on the [at]testimony of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. 16 (BK)If a malicious witness rises up against a person to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17 then both people who have the dispute shall stand (BL)before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18 And the judges (BM)shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has testified against his brother falsely, 19 then (BN)you shall do to him just as he had planned to do to his brother. So you shall eliminate the evil from among you. 20 And (BO)the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21 So [au](BP)you shall not show pity: (BQ)life for life, (BR)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.

Laws of Warfare

20 “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see (BS)horses, chariots, and people more numerous than you, (BT)do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. 2 When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people. 3 He shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. (BU)Do not be afraid, or panic, or be terrified by them, 4 for the Lord your God (BV)is the One who is going with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ 5 The officers also shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Who is the man that has built a new house but has not (BW)dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would dedicate it. 6 And who is the man that has planted a vineyard but has not [av]put it to use? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man [aw]would put it to use. 7 (BX)And who is the man that is [ax]betrothed to a woman and has not [ay]married her? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would [az]marry her.’ 8 Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, ‘(BY)Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, so that [ba]he does not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart!’ 9 And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, they shall appoint commanders of armies at the head of the people.

10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall [bb]offer it terms of peace. 11 And if it [bc]agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your (BZ)forced labor and serve you. 12 However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 When the Lord your God gives it into your hand, (CA)you shall strike all the [bd]men in it with the edge of the sword. 14 However, the women, the children, (CB)the animals, and everything that is in the city, all of its spoils, you shall take as plunder for yourself; and you shall [be]use the spoils of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you. 15 This is what you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations [bf]nearby. 16 (CC)Only in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave anything that breathes alive. 17 Instead, you shall [bg]utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, 18 so that they will not teach you to do [bh](CD)all the same detestable practices of theirs which they have done for their gods, [bi]by which you would (CE)sin against the Lord your God.

19 “When you besiege a city for 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, so you shall not cut them down. For [bj]is the tree of the field a human, that it should [bk]be besieged by you? 20 Only the trees that you know [bl]are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, so that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war against you until it falls.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 17:1 Lit bad thing
  2. Deuteronomy 17:2 Lit gates
  3. Deuteronomy 17:3 Lit host
  4. Deuteronomy 17:4 Lit behold, true
  5. Deuteronomy 17:5 Lit death with stones
  6. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth
  7. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit one dying
  8. Deuteronomy 17:6 Lit mouth
  9. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit blood to blood
  10. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit lawsuit to lawsuit
  11. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit blow to blow
  12. Deuteronomy 17:8 Lit gates
  13. Deuteronomy 17:9 Lit word of decision
  14. Deuteronomy 17:10 Lit mouth
  15. Deuteronomy 17:11 Lit mouth
  16. Deuteronomy 17:18 Lit from before
  17. Deuteronomy 17:19 Lit to keep all...to do them,
  18. Deuteronomy 17:20 Lit prolong days
  19. Deuteronomy 18:1 Or inheritance
  20. Deuteronomy 18:2 Lit spoke to
  21. Deuteronomy 18:6 Lit gates
  22. Deuteronomy 18:6 Lit with all the desire of his soul
  23. Deuteronomy 18:8 Lit portion like portion
  24. Deuteronomy 18:9 Lit do as
  25. Deuteronomy 18:17 Lit done well what they have spoken
  26. Deuteronomy 18:19 I.e., hold him responsible
  27. Deuteronomy 18:20 Lit then that
  28. Deuteronomy 19:2 Lit possess it
  29. Deuteronomy 19:3 Lit road
  30. Deuteronomy 19:3 Lit and it shall be for everyone who committed manslaughter to flee there
  31. Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit strikes
  32. Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit without knowledge
  33. Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit and he was not hating him previously
  34. Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit is put to the
  35. Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit wood
  36. Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit finds
  37. Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit the one who committed manslaughter
  38. Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit while his heart is hot
  39. Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit strike him in the soul
  40. Deuteronomy 19:8 Lit spoke
  41. Deuteronomy 19:9 Lit keep all...to do it
  42. Deuteronomy 19:11 Lit him in the soul
  43. Deuteronomy 19:13 Lit Your eye
  44. Deuteronomy 19:14 Lit possess it
  45. Deuteronomy 19:15 Lit in any sin, that he sins
  46. Deuteronomy 19:15 Lit mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three
  47. Deuteronomy 19:21 Lit your eye
  48. Deuteronomy 20:6 Lit treat(ed) it as common
  49. Deuteronomy 20:6 Lit treat(ed) it as common
  50. Deuteronomy 20:7 A betrothed couple was considered legally married, but did not yet live together
  51. Deuteronomy 20:7 Lit taken
  52. Deuteronomy 20:7 Lit take
  53. Deuteronomy 20:8 As in LXX and other ancient versions; MT his brothers’ hearts do not melt like
  54. Deuteronomy 20:10 Lit call to it for peace
  55. Deuteronomy 20:11 Lit answers peace to you
  56. Deuteronomy 20:13 Lit males
  57. Deuteronomy 20:14 Lit eat
  58. Deuteronomy 20:15 Lit here
  59. Deuteronomy 20:17 Or put them under the ban
  60. Deuteronomy 20:18 Lit according to all the detestable
  61. Deuteronomy 20:18 Lit and you would
  62. Deuteronomy 20:19 Read as interrogative with ancient versions; MT the tree of the field is man
  63. Deuteronomy 20:19 Lit come before you in the siege
  64. Deuteronomy 20:20 Lit that it is not a tree of food
Listen to Deuteronomy 17-20
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Deuteronomy 17-20
New International Version

17 Do not sacrifice to the Lord your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect(A) or flaw in it, for that would be detestable(B) to him.(C)

2 If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the Lord gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the Lord your God in violation of his covenant,(D) 3 and contrary to my command(E) has worshiped other gods,(F) bowing down to them or to the sun(G) or the moon or the stars in the sky,(H) 4 and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true(I) and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,(J) 5 take the man or woman who has done this evil deed to your city gate and stone that person to death.(K) 6 On the testimony of two or three witnesses a person is to be put to death, but no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.(L) 7 The hands of the witnesses must be the first in putting that person to death,(M) and then the hands of all the people.(N) You must purge the evil(O) from among you.

Law Courts

8 If cases come before your courts that are too difficult for you to judge(P)—whether bloodshed, lawsuits or assaults(Q)—take them to the place the Lord your God will choose.(R) 9 Go to the Levitical(S) priests and to the judge(T) who is in office at that time. Inquire of them and they will give you the verdict.(U) 10 You must act according to the decisions they give you at the place the Lord will choose. Be careful to do everything they instruct you to do. 11 Act according to whatever they teach you and the decisions they give you. Do not turn aside from what they tell you, to the right or to the left.(V) 12 Anyone who shows contempt(W) for the judge or for the priest who stands ministering(X) there to the Lord your God is to be put to death.(Y) You must purge the evil from Israel.(Z) 13 All the people will hear and be afraid, and will not be contemptuous again.(AA)

The King

14 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession(AB) of it and settled in it,(AC) and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”(AD) 15 be sure to appoint(AE) over you a king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your fellow Israelites.(AF) Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not an Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses(AG) for himself(AH) or make the people return to Egypt(AI) to get more of them,(AJ) for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”(AK) 17 He must not take many wives,(AL) or his heart will be led astray.(AM) He must not accumulate(AN) large amounts of silver and gold.(AO)

18 When he takes the throne(AP) of his kingdom, he is to write(AQ) for himself on a scroll a copy(AR) of this law, taken from that of the Levitical priests. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life(AS) so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees(AT) 20 and not consider himself better than his fellow Israelites and turn from the law(AU) to the right or to the left.(AV) Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.(AW)

Offerings for Priests and Levites

18 The Levitical(AX) priests—indeed, the whole tribe of Levi—are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the food offerings(AY) presented to the Lord, for that is their inheritance.(AZ) 2 They shall have no inheritance among their fellow Israelites; the Lord is their inheritance,(BA) as he promised them.(BB)

3 This is the share due the priests(BC) from the people who sacrifice a bull(BD) or a sheep: the shoulder, the internal organs and the meat from the head.(BE) 4 You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,(BF) 5 for the Lord your God has chosen them(BG) and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister(BH) in the Lord’s name always.(BI)

6 If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the Lord will choose,(BJ) 7 he may minister in the name(BK) of the Lord his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the Lord. 8 He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.(BL)

Occult Practices

9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate(BM) the detestable ways(BN) of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire,(BO) who practices divination(BP) or sorcery,(BQ) interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,(BR) 11 or casts spells,(BS) or who is a medium or spiritist(BT) or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.(BU) 13 You must be blameless(BV) before the Lord your God.(BW)

The Prophet

14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination.(BX) But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so. 15 The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites.(BY) You must listen to him. 16 For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”(BZ)

17 The Lord said to me: “What they say is good. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet(CA) like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words(CB) in his mouth.(CC) He will tell them everything I command him.(CD) 19 I myself will call to account(CE) anyone who does not listen(CF) to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.(CG) 20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods,(CH) is to be put to death.”(CI)

21 You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true,(CJ) that is a message the Lord has not spoken.(CK) That prophet has spoken presumptuously,(CL) so do not be alarmed.

Cities of Refuge(CM)

19 When the Lord your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses,(CN) 2 then set aside for yourselves three cities in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess. 3 Determine the distances involved and divide into three parts the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that a person who kills someone may flee for refuge to one of these cities.

4 This is the rule concerning anyone who kills a person and flees there for safety—anyone who kills a neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought. 5 For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood(CO) might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought. 7 This is why I command you to set aside for yourselves three cities.

8 If the Lord your God enlarges your territory,(CP) as he promised(CQ) on oath to your ancestors, and gives you the whole land he promised them, 9 because you carefully follow all these laws I command you today—to love the Lord your God and to walk always in obedience to him(CR)—then you are to set aside three more cities. 10 Do this so that innocent blood(CS) will not be shed in your land, which the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed.(CT)

11 But if out of hate someone lies in wait, assaults and kills a neighbor,(CU) and then flees to one of these cities, 12 the killer shall be sent for by the town elders, be brought back from the city, and be handed over to the avenger of blood to die. 13 Show no pity.(CV) You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood,(CW) so that it may go well with you.

14 Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess.(CX)

Witnesses

15 One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.(CY)

16 If a malicious witness(CZ) takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, 17 the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges(DA) who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation,(DB) and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, 19 then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party.(DC) You must purge the evil from among you. 20 The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid,(DD) and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. 21 Show no pity:(DE) life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.(DF)

Going to War

20 When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours,(DG) do not be afraid(DH) of them,(DI) because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with(DJ) you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. 3 He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted(DK) or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. 4 For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you(DL) to fight(DM) for you against your enemies to give you victory.(DN)”

5 The officers shall say to the army: “Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in(DO) it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may begin to live in it. 6 Has anyone planted(DP) a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it?(DQ) Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy it. 7 Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her.(DR)” 8 Then the officers shall add, “Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too.”(DS) 9 When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it.

10 When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.(DT) 11 If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject(DU) to forced labor(DV) and shall work for you. 12 If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. 13 When the Lord your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.(DW) 14 As for the women, the children, the livestock(DX) and everything else in the city,(DY) you may take these as plunder(DZ) for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the Lord your God gives you from your enemies. 15 This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance(EA) from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.

16 However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes.(EB) 17 Completely destroy[a] them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you. 18 Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods,(EC) and you will sin(ED) against the Lord your God.

19 When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?[b] 20 However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees(EE) and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 20:17 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  2. Deuteronomy 20:19 Or down to use in the siege, for the fruit trees are for the benefit of people.
Listen to Deuteronomy 17-20
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Deuteronomy 17-20
King James Version

17 Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God.

2 If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the Lord thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the Lord thy God, in transgressing his covenant,

3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;

4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:

5 Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die.

6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.

7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.

8 If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the Lord thy God shall choose;

9 And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the sentence of judgment:

10 And thou shalt do according to the sentence, which they of that place which the Lord shall choose shall shew thee; and thou shalt observe to do according to all that they inform thee:

11 According to the sentence of the law which they shall teach thee, and according to the judgment which they shall tell thee, thou shalt do: thou shalt not decline from the sentence which they shall shew thee, to the right hand, nor to the left.

12 And the man that will do presumptuously, and will not hearken unto the priest that standeth to minister there before the Lord thy God, or unto the judge, even that man shall die: and thou shalt put away the evil from Israel.

13 And all the people shall hear, and fear, and do no more presumptuously.

14 When thou art come unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein, and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all the nations that are about me;

15 Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one from among thy brethren shalt thou set king over thee: thou mayest not set a stranger over thee, which is not thy brother.

16 But he shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses: forasmuch as the Lord hath said unto you, Ye shall henceforth return no more that way.

17 Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver and gold.

18 And it shall be, when he sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priests the Levites:

19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:

20 That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

18 The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by fire, and his inheritance.

2 Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.

3 And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep; and they shall give unto the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the maw.

4 The firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep, shalt thou give him.

5 For the Lord thy God hath chosen him out of all thy tribes, to stand to minister in the name of the Lord, him and his sons for ever.

6 And if a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he sojourned, and come with all the desire of his mind unto the place which the Lord shall choose;

7 Then he shall minister in the name of the Lord his God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before the Lord.

8 They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh of the sale of his patrimony.

9 When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch.

11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

12 For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee.

13 Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.

14 For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do.

15 The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken;

16 According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.

17 And the Lord said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.

18 I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.

19 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.

20 But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.

21 And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the Lord hath not spoken?

22 When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.

19 When the Lord thy God hath cut off the nations, whose land the Lord thy God giveth thee, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their cities, and in their houses;

2 Thou shalt separate three cities for thee in the midst of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.

3 Thou shalt prepare thee a way, and divide the coasts of thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, that every slayer may flee thither.

4 And this is the case of the slayer, which shall flee thither, that he may live: Whoso killeth his neighbour ignorantly, whom he hated not in time past;

5 As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:

6 Lest the avenger of the blood pursue the slayer, while his heart is hot, and overtake him, because the way is long, and slay him; whereas he was not worthy of death, inasmuch as he hated him not in time past.

7 Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.

8 And if the Lord thy God enlarge thy coast, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, and give thee all the land which he promised to give unto thy fathers;

9 If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:

10 That innocent blood be not shed in thy land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, and so blood be upon thee.

11 But if any man hate his neighbour, and lie in wait for him, and rise up against him, and smite him mortally that he die, and fleeth into one of these cities:

12 Then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him thence, and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood, that he may die.

13 Thine eye shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel, that it may go well with thee.

14 Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour's landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the Lord thy God giveth thee to possess it.

15 One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sinneth: at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established.

16 If a false witness rise up against any man to testify against him that which is wrong;

17 Then both the men, between whom the controversy is, shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges, which shall be in those days;

18 And the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and, behold, if the witness be a false witness, and hath testified falsely against his brother;

19 Then shall ye do unto him, as he had thought to have done unto his brother: so shalt thou put the evil away from among you.

20 And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you.

21 And thine eye shall not pity; but life shall go for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.

20 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,

3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;

4 For the Lord your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

5 And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

6 And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.

7 And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.

8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart.

9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.

11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:

13 And when the Lord thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.

15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

16 But of the cities of these people, which the Lord thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee:

18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the Lord your God.

19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege:

20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.

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