Deuteronomy 20:18-20

Living Bible

¹⁸ The purpose of this command is to prevent the people of the land from luring you into idol worship and into participation in their loathsome customs, thus sinning deeply against the Lord your God.

¹⁹ “When you besiege a city, don’t destroy the fruit trees. Eat all the fruit you wish; just don’t cut down the trees. They aren’t enemies who need to be slaughtered! ²⁰ But you may cut down trees that aren’t valuable for food. Use them for the siege to make ladders, portable towers, and battering rams.^[a]