1-4 The priest's exhortation to encourage the people to battle 5-9 The officers' proclamation of who are to be dismissed from the war 10-15 How to use the cities that accept or refuse the proclamation of peace 16-18 What cities must be devoted 19,20 Trees of man's meat must not be destroyed in the siege

goest out De 3:21,22 7:1

horses Jos 10:5-8 11:4-6,9 Jud 4:3-9 2Ch 14:11 20:12 Ps 20:7 33:16,17 Isa 31:1 37:24,25

the Lord De 2:7 31:6,8 Ge 26:3 Nu 23:21 Jos 1:5,9 Jud 6:12 2Ch 32:7,8 Ps 46:7,11 118:6 Isa 7:14 8:9,10 43:2 Ro 8:31

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

Nu 10:8,9 31:6 Jud 20:27,28 1Sa 14:18 30:7,8 2Ch 13:12

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;

let not Ps 27:1-3 Isa 35:3,4 41:10-14 Mt 10:16,28,31 Eph 6:11-18 1Th 5:15 Heb 12:12,13 Re 2:10

faint [heb] be tender
tremble [heb] make haste Isa 28:16

be ye terrified Ps 3:6 Isa 8:12,13 57:7,8 Mt 8:26 Mr 16:6,18 Ac 18:9,10 27:24 1Ti 6:12 Heb 13:6

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

to fight De 1:30 3:22 11:25 32:30 Ex 14:14 Jos 10:42 23:10 2Ch 13:12 32:7,8 Ps 144:1,2 Ro 8:37

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.

the officers De 1:15 16:18 Nu 31:14,48 1Sa 17:18

dedicated Ne 12:27 Ps 30:1

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.

eaten of it [heb] made it common De 28:30 Le 19:23-25 Jer 31:5

lest he die Isa 65:22 Zep 1:13

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.

betrothed a wife It was customary among the jews to contract matrimony, espouse, or betroth, and for a considerable time to leave the parties in the houses of the respective parents; and when the bridegroom had made proper preparations, then the bride was brought home to his house, and the marriage consummated. The provisions in this verse refer to a case of this kind; though the Jews extend it to him who had newly consummated his marriage, and even to him who had married his brother's wife. It was deemed a peculiar hardship for a person to be obliged to go to battle, who had left a house unfinished, newly purchased land half tilled, or a wife with whom he had just contracted marriage. De 22:23-25 24:5 Mt 1:18

lest he die De 28:30 Lu 14:18-20 2Ti 2:4

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.

fearful De 1:28 23:9 Jud 7:3 Lu 9:62 Ac 15:37,38 Re 3:16 21:8

lest his brethren's Nu 13:31-33 14:1-3 32:9 1Co 15:33

faint [heb] melt De 1:28 Ex 15:15

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.

to lead the people [heb] to be in the head of the people

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

then proclaim 2Sa 20:18-22 Isa 57:19 Zec 9:10 Lu 10:5,6 Ac 10:36 2Co 5:18-21 6:1 Eph 2:17

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.

tributaries Le 25:42-46 Jos 9:22,23,27 11:19,20 16:10 Jud 1:28,30-35 1Ki 9:21,22 Ps 120:7

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:

thou shalt smite Nu 31:7-9,17,18 1Ki 11:15,16 Ps 2:6-12 21:8,9 110:1 Lu 19:27 2Th 1:7-9

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.

the women Nu 31:9,12,18,35 Jos 8:2 11:14 2Ch 14:13-15 20:25 Ps 68:12 Ro 8:37

take unto thyself [heb] spoil
thou shalt eat Jos 22:8

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:

De 7:1-4,16 Nu 21:2,3,35 33:52 Jos 6:17-21 9:24,27 10:28,40 11:11 11:12,14

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:

thou shalt Isa 34:5,6 Jer 48:10 50:35-40 Eze 38:21-23 Re 19:18

the Hittites De 7:1

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.

De 7:4,5 12:30,31 18:19 Ex 23:33 Jos 23:13 Jud 2:3 Ps 106:34-40 1Co 15:33 2Co 6:17 Eph 5:11 2Th 3:14 1Ti 6:5 2Ti 2:17,18 Re 18:3-5

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:

thou shalt not Mt 3:10 7:15-20 21:19 Lu 13:7-9 Joh 15:2-8

for the tree, etc. or, for, O man, the tree of the field is to be employed in the siege. The original is exceedingly difficult. The LXX. has it, `Is the tree in the field a man, to enter the trench before thee?' The Latin Vulgate:`For it is a tree, and not a man, neither can it increase the number of those who war against thee;' Onkelos, `For the tree of the field is not as a man, that it should come against thee in the siege;' and to the same purpose the Arabic, Philo, and Josephus who say, `If trees could speak, they would cry out, that it is unjust that they, who were no cause of the war, should suffer the miseries of it.' However rendered, the sense is sufficiently clear: and it is a merciful provision to spare all the fruit trees for the support of both the besieged and besiegers. De 26:6

to employ, etc. [heb] to go from before thee

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.

thou shalt build De 1:28 2Ch 26:15 Ec 9:14 Isa 37:33 Jer 6:6 33:4 Eze 17:17

be subdued [heb] come down