Deuteronomy 20

Moses gives Israel rules for war. Before the army fights, the people are told to trust the LORD rather than their numbers, and some men are sent home. Cities far away are offered peace first, while the Canaanite cities are placed under a unique command of total destruction. Even in siege, fruit trees are to be spared.

Deuteronomy 20:1

Israel will meet enemies with horses and chariots, the best military power of the day. Fear is the natural response, but God answers it by pointing back to the Exodus. The One who defeated Egypt’s army is still present with them, and His presence matters more than their numbers.

BSA: afraid (“fearful, terrified”): The fear meant here is the kind that paralyzes, so God confronts it before the battle begins. is with you (“accompanying you”): God does not stay at a distance but marches along with His people.

Hebrew: תִירָא (tira, H3372) — “you shall fear.” This is the ordinary Hebrew word for fear. Here it is forbidden as a ruling attitude, because the people have a reason to trust: the God who rescued them from Egypt.

See also: Exodus 14:13-14; Psalm 20:7.

Deuteronomy 20:2-3

Before the fighting, a priest speaks to the army. Spiritual preparation comes first. He gives four commands against fear, piling up words for panic, because fear spreads quickly through an army. The people are to remember whose battle it is.

BSA: priest (“spiritual leader, mediator”): The one who stands between God and people is the one who speaks courage to the troops. fainthearted (“weak, timid”): It describes a heart that goes soft and loses strength under pressure.

Hebrew: יֵרַךְ (yērak, H7401) — “let it become tender or soft.” The Hebrew pictures a heart growing soft and weak, like something losing its firmness. Courage here is a steady heart, not a hard one.

Deuteronomy 20:4

The reason for courage is that the LORD goes with them to fight on their behalf. The victory is presented as His gift, not their achievement. The Hebrew word for victory also means rescue, so the battle is seen as God’s saving work for His people.

BSA: victory (“salvation, deliverance from danger”): The word is the ordinary one for being saved, so the win is a rescue God gives.

Hebrew: לְהוֹשִׁיעַ (lehoshia‘, H3467) — “to save, to deliver.” It comes from the same root as the names Joshua and Jesus. What English calls victory, Hebrew calls being saved by God.

See also: 2 Chronicles 20:15.

Deuteronomy 20:5

The officers then excuse a man who has built a house but not yet dedicated it. Moses assumes God cares about ordinary joys such as a new home. A man who fears dying before he enjoys it would fight divided, and the people are shown tenderness.

BSA: dedicated (“set apart, consecrated”): A home is meant to be given to God and used with thanks, not just built.

Hebrew: חָנַךְ (chanak, H2596) — “to dedicate, to inaugurate.” This is the root behind the Jewish festival of Hanukkah, the Feast of Dedication. It means formally opening something for its intended use.

Deuteronomy 20:6

A man who has planted a vineyard but not yet tasted its fruit may also go home. Vines took years to bear, so he has waited long for his reward. God does not want people to labor and never enjoy what He has given.

BSA: begun to enjoy (“profaned”): The word points to the first ordinary use of the fruit, after the early years when it was set apart.

Hebrew: חִלְּלוֹ (chillelo, H2490) — “to make common, to begin ordinary use.” It literally means to treat as common. A new vineyard’s early fruit was set apart for God, and only later did it become ordinary food for the owner.

See also: Leviticus 19:23-25.

Deuteronomy 20:7

A man engaged to be married is also sent home. Betrothal was a binding commitment, but the marriage had not yet begun. Moses shows the same concern for newlyweds elsewhere. Home and family are good things God wants protected, not sacrificed lightly.

See also: Deuteronomy 24:5.

Deuteronomy 20:8

Finally, any man who is afraid may go home. This is not about shaming him, but about protecting the others, because panic is contagious. An army that trusts God is stronger than a larger one that is shaken. Gideon’s story shows the same principle at work.

BSA: melt (“become weak, lose courage”): Courage can drain out of a soldier like wax, and it spreads to his companions.

See also: Judges 7:3.

Deuteronomy 20:9

After the exemptions, the army is organized under commanders. Faith in God does not mean careless disorder. Trust and planning go together, and God works through both the prayer of the priest and the leadership of appointed men.

BSA: appoint (“assign, designate”): Leaders are given definite posts so the army can act together.

Deuteronomy 20:10

Even in war, the first step toward a distant city is an offer of peace. Fighting is not to be the first resort. The people are to give the city a real chance to avoid bloodshed before any siege begins.

BSA: peace (“shalom, completeness and wellness”): The offer is of wholeness and well-being, not just the absence of fighting.

Hebrew: שָׁלוֹם (shalom, H7965) — “peace, wholeness, well-being.” The word means more than quiet. It means things being whole and right, so the offer is of a settled life under Israel’s rule.

Deuteronomy 20:11

If the city accepts, it keeps its people alive but becomes subject to Israel, paying its way through labor. Surrender then meant a hard but survivable life. The peaceful route spares the city from the sword.

BSA: forced laborers (“tributaries”): The people pay tribute with their work instead of paying with their lives.

Hebrew: מַס (mas, H4522) — “forced labor, tribute.” This word describes compulsory service owed to a ruler. It is the lot of a conquered city that chose peace over war.

Deuteronomy 20:12-14

If a distant city refuses peace and fights, Israel may besiege it. When it falls, the fighting men are killed, but women, children, livestock and goods may be taken. This is harsh by any standard, though the rules limit what was permitted and distinguish combatants from the rest. The plunder is called a gift from God.

BSA: lay siege (“shut in on all sides”): A siege surrounded the city entirely so that no one could leave or enter. plunder (“capture, seize”): Only a city that fought and lost could be taken this way, after peace was refused.

Deuteronomy 20:15

These rules apply to cities far away, outside the land God was giving Israel. They are treated differently from the nations in Canaan, which are covered next. The distinction shows that the later command is a special case, not the normal way Israel is to wage war.

BSA: far away (“distant, very far off”): Distance marks these as a separate category from the peoples living inside the promised land.

Deuteronomy 20:16-17

For the nations living in the promised land, the command is total destruction. This was a unique commission tied to the conquest of Canaan, not a general rule of war. Christians read it with sorrow and awe, and they differ on how to understand it. The text itself ties it to God’s judgment and His command.

BSA: complete destruction (“total annihilation, extermination”): The word means that these peoples were given over entirely to God, with nothing kept back. inheritance (“a legacy, a heritage”): The land is a gift from God, not something Israel seized for itself.

Hebrew: חָרֵם (charem, H2763) — “to devote to destruction.” The word means setting something apart for God by removing it from ordinary use. In war it meant that nothing was to be kept as spoil.

See also: Genesis 15:16; Deuteronomy 7:1-2.

Deuteronomy 20:18

God gives the purpose: Israel must not learn the detestable practices of the Canaanite religions. The danger was not only the nations’ power but their influence, which would draw God’s people into sin against Him. Holiness meant keeping His people from being corrupted.

BSA: detestable (“abominable or disgusting”): The word marks practices God finds morally revolting, not just foreign customs. sin (“miss the mark or rebel”): To sin is to miss what God intended and to turn against Him.

See also: Deuteronomy 12:30-31.

Deuteronomy 20:19

Even in a long siege, Israel must not chop down the fruit trees around the city. The trees will feed people, so they are not enemies. The question about trees being human makes the point sharply. God’s law restrains destruction even in war.

BSA: fruit (“a gift from God”): Fruit is understood as provision from God, which is worth protecting even in wartime.

Hebrew: תַשְׁחִית (tashchit, H7843) — “you shall destroy, ruin.” The word means to ruin or lay waste. It is the root of a later Jewish principle against needless destruction, which grew out of this verse.

Deuteronomy 20:20

Trees that bear no food may be cut and used to build the siege works. The rule is not a ban on cutting wood but a call to be careful and purposeful. Even war may take only what it needs, and what feeds life is spared.

BSA: siege works (“bulwarks, fortifications”): Wood from the useless trees became the ramps and structures used against the city.