To not keep alive a soul of the seven nations: That we were warned with a negative commandment not to keep anyone of the seven nations alive in every place that we find them and are able to kill them without danger to our souls. And the seven nations are the Canaanite, the Perizite, the Hivite, the Jebusite, the Hittite, the Girgashite and the Amorite. And about them is it stated (Deuteronomy 20:16), “you shall not keep a soul alive.” And even though the truth is that King David killed many of them to the point that he almost finished them [off] and destroyed their memory, nonetheless a few of them remained that assimilated among the [other] nations. And anyone who finds some of them is obligated to destroy them in every place that they are. And I have written all of the content of this commandment at length above in the Order of Va’etchanan on the commandment of killing the seven nations (Sefer HaChinukh 525). And [so] take it from there.
שֶׁלֹּא לְהַחֲיוֹת נְשָׁמָה מִשִּׁבְעָה עֲמָמִין – שֶׁהֻזְהַרְנוּ בְּלֹא תַּעֲשֶׂה שֶׁלֹּא נְחַיֶּה אֶחָד מִשִּׁבְעָה עֲמָמִים בְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁנִּמְצָאֵם וְנוּכַל לְהָרְגָם בְּלִי סַכָּנָה לְנַפְשׁוֹתֵינוּ. וְשִׁבְעָה עֲמָמִים הֵן, הַכְּנַעֲנִי, וְהַפְּרִזִּי, וְהַחִוִּי, וְהַיְּבֻסִי, וְהַחִתִּי, וְהַגִּרְגָּשִׁי, וְהָאֱמוֹרִי. וַעֲלֵיהֶם נֶאֱמַר (דברים כ טז) לֹא תְחַיֶּה כָּל נְשָׁמָה. וְאַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהָאֱמֶת כִּי דָּוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ הָרַג מֵהֶם רַבִּים עַד אֲשֶׁר כִּמְעַט כִּלָּה אוֹתָם וְאִבֵּד זִכְרָם, עֲדַיִן נִשְׁאֲרוּ מֵהֶן קְצָת שֶׁטָּבְעוּ בֵּין הָאֻמּוֹת, וְכָל מִי שֶׁיִּמָּצֵא מֵהֶם חַיָּב לְאַבְּדָם בְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁהֵם. וְכָל עִנְיַן מִצְוָה זוֹ, כָּתַבְתִּי לְמַעְלָה בַּאֲרֻכָּה בְּסֵדֶר וָאֶתְחַנַּן בְּמִצְוַת הֲרִיגַת שִׁבְעָה עֲמָמִין (מצוה תכה), וְקָחֶנּוּ מִשָּׁם.
To not keep alive a soul of the seven nations: That we were warned with a negative commandment not to keep anyone of the seven nations alive in every place that we find them and are able to kill them without danger to our souls. And the seven nations are the Canaanite, the Perizite, the Hivite, the Jebusite, the Hittite, the Girgashite and the Amorite. And about them is it stated (Deuteronomy 20:16), “you shall not keep a soul alive.” And even though the truth is that King David killed many of them to the point that he almost finished them [off] and destroyed their memory, nonetheless a few of them remained that assimilated among the [other] nations. And anyone who finds some of them is obligated to destroy them in every place that they are. And I have written all of the content of this commandment at length above in the Order of Va’etchanan on the commandment of killing the seven nations (Sefer HaChinukh 525). And [so] take it from there.