✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Deuteronomio 20

VBL · Chapter 20/34

1Cuando vayas a la guerra contra tus enemigos y veas caballos, carros, y un ejército más grande que el tuyo, no les tengas miedo, porque el Señor tu Dios que te sacó de Egipto está contigo.

2Antes de ir a la batalla, el sacerdote vendrá y hablará con el ejército.

3Les dirá: “¡Escuchen, hombres de Israel! Hoy van a luchar contra sus enemigos. No se pongan nerviosos ni tengan miedo; no se dejen llevar por el pánico ni tengan temor de ellos.

4Porque el Señor su Dios va con ustedes y luchará por ustedes contra sus enemigos, y les dará la victoria”.

5Los oficiales también hablarán al ejército y les dirán: “¿Hay alguien aquí que haya construido una casa nueva y no la haya dedicado al Señor? Puede irse a casa, de lo contrario podría morir en la batalla y otro hombre la dedicará.

6¿Hay algún hombre aquí que haya plantado un viñedo y aún no haya disfrutado de su fruto? Puede irse a casa, de lo contrario podría morir en la batalla y otro hombre disfrutará de su fruto.

7¿Hay algún hombre aquí que esté comprometido con una mujer y no se haya casado con ella? Puede irse a casa, de lo contrario podría morir en la batalla y otro hombre se casará con ella”.

8Los oficiales también deben decir al ejército: “¿Hay algún hombre aquí que tenga miedo o esté nervioso? Puede irse a casa, así no afectará a sus compañeros ni los hará tener miedo como él mismo”.

9Cuando los oficiales terminen de hablar con el ejército, se les pondrá a cargo como dirigentes de la batalla.

10Cuando se llega a un pueblo, listo para atacarlo, primero se debe hacer una oferta de paz a las personas que viven allí.

11Si aceptan tu oferta de paz y te abren las puertas, todos los habitantes se convertirán en tus trabajadores esclavos.

12Sin embargo, si se niegan a hacer la paz con ustedes y deciden luchar contra ustedes, entonces asedien la ciudad.

13Una vez que el Señor tu Dios te lo haya entregado, mata a todo varón con la espada.

14Pero puedes tomar como botín a las mujeres, los niños, el ganado y todo lo demás que haya de la ciudad. Puedes tomar y usar todas las posesiones de tus enemigos que el Señor tu Dios te dé.

15De esta manera te ocuparás de todos los pueblos que estén lejos de ti y no pertenezcan a las naciones vecinas.

16Sin embargo, cuando se trate de los pueblos de las naciones cuya tierra el Señor tu Dios te da para que la ocupes, no dejes nada vivo que respire.

17Sepáralas para su completa destrucción: hititas, amorreos, cananeos, ferezeos, heveos y jebuseos, como te ha ordenado el Señor tu Dios.

18Esto es para evitar que te enseñen todas las cosas ofensivas que hacen al adorar a sus dioses, y al hacerlo te hagan pecar contra el Señor tu Dios.

19Ahora bien, cuando sities una ciudad y ésta dure mucho tiempo mientras luchas por capturarla, no destruyas los árboles frutales que hay en ella. Puedes comer sus frutos. No los corten. ¿Acaso los árboles del huerto son seres humanos que también deberías atacar?

20Sin embargo, puedes destruir los árboles que sabes que no son frutales. Puedes usarlos para construir un equipamiento de guerra para atacar el pueblo que está luchando contra ti hasta que caiga.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God establishes rules of warfare for Israel: priests encouraging the people before battle, exemptions from military service for those who built a new house, planted a vineyard, or were newly married, an offer of peace before laying siege to distant cities, yet total destruction of the Canaanite nations, and a prohibition against destroying fruit trees during sieges.

Explanation

The military exemptions for those with recent, important commitments (a new house, a vineyard, a recent marriage) show a practical concern for individual well-being even in times of national war, recognizing that certain life transitions deserved priority over immediate military duty. The distinction between war against distant cities (which first received an offer of peace) and the complete destruction ordered specifically against the Canaanite nations shows that this extreme policy of conquest was not a general principle of warfare for every situation, but a specific, limited measure, theologically tied to the idolatrous contamination of that particular territory. The prohibition against destroying fruit trees during military sieges ('for thou mayest eat of them') is considered by many historians one of the earliest recorded principles of environmental protection in wartime, anticipating modern concepts of ethical conduct in armed conflict.

Fun facts

  • The rhetorical question 'for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?' (v. 19) is one of the earliest known expressions in world literature of a principle of environmental protection during military conflict, clearly distinguishing between human targets of war and non-combatant natural resources.
  • The military exemptions mentioned here (a new house, a new vineyard, a recent marriage) appear almost identically detailed later in chapter 24, showing how certain social priorities — protecting new homes and marriages — were so important that they deserved explicit repetition in the Law.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Deuteronomio 20:1It opens the laws of war with encouragement: even facing a larger army, with horses and chariots, there is no reason for fear, because God is with the people.
  2. Deuteronomio 20:2Before the battle, it is the priest who steps forward to speak directly to the soldiers.
  3. Deuteronomio 20:3The priest’s speech is one of encouragement: asking that hearts not grow faint or be terrified in the face of the enemy.
  4. Deuteronomio 20:4The reason for the encouragement is reinforced: it is God Himself who will fight alongside the people to save them.
  5. Deuteronomio 20:5Before a battle, four kinds of men were excused: whoever had built a new house and not yet dedicated it, whoever had planted a vineyard and not yet eaten its fruit, whoever was engaged and not yet married, and whoever was afraid. The idea seems to be not mixing distracted soldiers in with the rest of the army, as well as sparing those with recent life commitments.
  6. Deuteronomio 20:6The second exemption releases whoever has planted a vineyard and has not yet eaten its first fruit.
  7. Deuteronomio 20:7The third exemption releases the man who is engaged but has not yet actually married the woman promised to him.
  8. Deuteronomio 20:8The last exemption is for whoever is afraid: excused so as not to spread his own discouragement to the other soldiers.
  9. Deuteronomio 20:9After all these exemptions, the commanders formally organize the remaining troops at the head of the army.
  10. Deuteronomio 20:10For cities far away from Canaan, the law commands offering peace first; only if they refuse does the siege come, and even then only the men are killed — women, children, and goods become plunder. The cities of Canaan, in the next verse, do not receive this offer of peace.
  11. Deuteronomio 20:11If the besieged city accepted the offer of peace and opened its gates, its inhabitants would become tributary servants, not be wiped out.
  12. Deuteronomio 20:12If the city refused peace and chose war instead, the response would be a full military siege.
  13. Deuteronomio 20:13Once the siege was won, every man in the city was to be put to death with the edge of the sword.
  14. Deuteronomio 20:14Women, children, livestock, and goods from the city, however, could be taken as plunder of war for one’s own use.
  15. Deuteronomio 20:15This milder rule — sparing women and children — applied only to cities far away, outside Canaanite territory.
  16. Deuteronomio 20:16For the cities within the promised land, the rule was far harsher: nothing that breathed was to be left alive.
  17. Deuteronomio 20:17It specifically names the peoples subject to this total destruction: the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
  18. Deuteronomio 20:18The reason given is to avoid religious contamination: learning the idolatrous practices of these peoples would lead Israel to sin against God.
  19. Deuteronomio 20:19Even in war, fruit trees could not be cut down to build siege works or fires, only trees that bore no fruit. It’s one of the rare wartime rules of that era that considers what’s left after the victory.
  20. Deuteronomio 20:20It distinguishes which trees could be cut down to build siege structures during a prolonged war.

Chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play