Deuteronomy 20:18-20

New American Standard Bible

¹⁸ so that they will not teach you to do ^[a](A)all the same detestable practices of theirs which they have done for their gods, ^[b]by which you would ^(B)sin against the Lord your God.

¹⁹ “When you besiege a city for a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, so you shall not cut them down. For ^[c]is the tree of the field a human, that it should ^[d]be besieged by you? ²⁰ Only the trees that you know ^[e]are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, so that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war against you until it falls.