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will give you this land if you are careful to obey
all the commands I have given you—if you always love the Lord your God and walk in his
ways.) 10 That way you will prevent the death of
innocent people in the land the Lord your God
is giving you as your special possession. You
will not be held responsible for the death of innocent people.
11 “But suppose someone is hostile toward
a neighbor and deliberately ambushes and
murders him and then flees to one of the cities
of refuge. 12 In that case, the elders of the murderer’s hometown must send agents to the city
of refuge to bring him back and hand him over
to the dead person’s avenger to be put to death.
13 Do not feel sorry for that murderer! Purge from
Israel the guilt of murdering innocent people;
then all will go well with you.
Concern for Justice
14 “When you arrive in the land the Lord your
God is giving you as your special possession,
you must never steal anyone’s land by moving
the boundary markers your ancestors set up to
mark their property.
15 “You must not convict anyone of a crime on
the testimony of only one witness. The facts of
the case must be established by the testimony
of two or three witnesses.
16 “If a malicious witness comes forward and
accuses someone of a crime, 17 then both the accuser and accused must appear before the Lord
by coming to the priests and judges in office
at that time. 18 The judges must investigate the
case thoroughly. If the accuser has brought false
charges against his fellow Israelite, 19 you must
impose on the accuser the sentence he intended
for the other person. In this way, you will purge
such evil from among you. 20 Then the rest of
the people will hear about it and be afraid to do
such an evil thing. 21 You must show no pity for
the guilty! Your rule should be life for life, eye for
eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Regulations concerning War
“When you go out to fight your enemies
and you face horses and chariots and an
army greater than your own, do not be afraid.
The Lord your God, who brought you out of
the land of Egypt, is with you! 2 When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to
speak to the troops. 3 He will say to them, ‘Listen
to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid
as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do
not lose heart or panic or tremble before them.
4 For the Lord your God is going with you! He
will fight for you against your enemies, and he
will give you victory!’
5 “Then the officers of the army must address
20
20:17 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete
consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by
destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
DEUTER ONOM Y 20
the troops and say, ‘Has anyone here just built
a new house but not yet dedicated it? If so, you
may go home! You might be killed in the battle,
and someone else would dedicate your house.
6 Has anyone here just planted a vineyard but
not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, you may go
home! You might die in battle, and someone
else would eat the first fruit. 7 Has anyone here
just become engaged to a woman but not yet
married her? Well, you may go home and get
married! You might die in the battle, and someone else would marry her.’
8 “Then the officers will also say, ‘Is anyone
here afraid or worried? If you are, you may go
home before you frighten anyone else.’ 9 When
the officers have finished speaking to their
troops, they will appoint the unit commanders.
10 “As you approach a town to attack it, you
must first offer its people terms for peace. 11 If
they accept your terms and open the gates to
you, then all the people inside will serve you in
forced labor. 12 But if they refuse to make peace
and prepare to fight, you must attack the town.
13 When the Lord your God hands the town over
to you, use your swords to kill every man in the
town. 14 But you may keep for yourselves all the
women, children, livestock, and other plunder.
You may enjoy the plunder from your enemies
that the Lord your God has given you.
15 “But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of the nations in
the land you will enter. 16 In those towns that the
Lord your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing. 17 You must
completely destroy* the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just
as the Lord your God has commanded you.
18 This will prevent the people of the land from
teaching you to imitate their detestable customs
• Courage
DE U TE R ON OM Y 20:8
We never exist alone. Our lives affect
the lives of others and vice versa. If we
consistently forget to rely on God for help
or decide not to include him, how will
this affect the way we influence others?
How do you feel when fellow Christians
demonstrate fear or a lack of faith? We
don’t have the luxury of thinking only
of ourselves. Our responsibility to build
others up should be an incentive to keep
our courage in hard times. Are you facing
tomorrow with fear or worry? Can it hurt
to choose to trust God anyway? You may
end up encouraging someone else as
well as yourself.