The big picture
Deuteronomy 20 opens in verse 1 with “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and…”, reaches its middle movement near verse 10 with “When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.”, and closes in verse 20 with “Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy…” Repeated or prominent terms include people, LORD, battle, house, city. Together, those details trace this chapter’s own movement from its opening to its conclusion.
Scripture beside the summary
Deuteronomy · King James Version · 20Deuteronomy 20:1-7
1–7: When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses…
Deuteronomy 20:1–7 opens with “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a…” and reaches “And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Deuteronomy 20 develops its own movement around people, LORD, battle, house, city, with particular weight carried by battle, house, enemies.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 3 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be…” Naming Egypt keeps the account rooted in particular people or places. Follow where the name returns and what changes around it.
“And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
“And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Deuteronomy 20:1-7
King James Version1When 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.
2And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
3And 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;
4For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
5And 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.
6And 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.
7And 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.
Deuteronomy 20:8-14
8–14: The officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say…
Deuteronomy 20:8–14 opens with “And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that…” and reaches “But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Deuteronomy 20 develops its own movement around people, LORD, battle, house, city, with particular weight carried by people, peace, city.
Context that brings the passage to life
This block contains 1 explicit questions. They are more than punctuation: they reveal where a voice is searching, challenging, afraid, or trying to understand.
“And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and…” The question slows the passage down. Notice who is being pressed to answer, what the question assumes, and whether the next lines provide a response.
“And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the…” The command cannot be understood from the verb alone. Its recipient, purpose, and place in the larger covenant or argument define the responsibility.
Deuteronomy 20:8-14
King James Version8And 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.
9And 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.
10When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
11And 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.
12And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
13And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
14But 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.
Deuteronomy 20:15-20
15–20: Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee…
Deuteronomy 20:15–20 opens with “Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the…” and reaches “Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut…” by its final verse. That movement develops the focus on Deuteronomy 20 develops its own movement around people, LORD, battle, house, city, with particular weight carried by cities, destroy, LORD.
Context that brings the passage to life
“Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.” The line’s distinctive content terms include cities, nations. Its relationship to verses 16 shows what work it does in this passage.
“But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive…” The verse names God rather than leaving the action without a source. Watch whether the next line continues, answers, or contrasts that action.
Deuteronomy 20:15-20
King James Version15Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
16But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
17But 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:
18That 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.
19When 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:
20Only 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.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Deuteronomy 20:1 begins with “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…”
Where the chapter turns
Deuteronomy 20:8 forms a natural hinge: “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…”
The final note
Deuteronomy 20:20 leaves the reader with “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…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words people, LORD, battle, house, city, enemies help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
What assumption drives Abraham's deception?
He assumes there is no fear of God in the place and that he will be killed.
How does the chapter expose that assumption?
Abimelech responds seriously to God's warning and confronts Abraham about wrongdoing.
KJV words made clear
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
- hath
- has
Text first
Where readers differ
The chapter summary begins with what the passage says and how its parts fit together. It does not assume one denomination has already settled every question. Where a conclusion depends on a tradition, literary theory, or historical reconstruction, that dependence is named openly.
The KJV text is presented first. Interpretive conclusions are labeled, and differences are introduced only when they help a reader understand why serious communities do not always reach the same answer.
Comparative interpretive notes for this chapter are in preparation. Until reviewed notes are ready, this page separates the KJV text from summary and application without claiming that serious readers agree on every question.