5 Mosebog 20
1 Naar du drager i Krig mod din Fjende og faar Øje paa Heste, Vogne og Krigsfolk, der er talrigere end du selv, skal du ikke blive bange for dem; thi HERREN din Gud er med dig, han, som førte dig op fra Ægypten.
When you go out to war against other nations, and come face to face with horses and war-carriages and armies greater in number than yourselves, have no fear of them: for the Lord your God is with you, who took you up out of the land of Egypt.
2 Naar I rykker ud til Kamp, skal Præsten træde frem og tale til Folket,
And when you are on the point of attacking, let the priest come forward and say to the people,
3 og han skal sige til dem: »Hør, Israel! I rykker i Dag ud til Kamp mod eders Fjender, lad ikke eders Hjerte være forsagt, frygt ikke, forfærdes ikke og vær ikke bange for dem!
Give ear, O Israel: today you are going forward to the fight; let your heart be strong; do not let uncontrolled fear overcome you because of those who are against you;
4 Thi HERREN eders Gud drager med eder for at stride for eder mod eders Fjender og give eder Sejr.«
For the Lord your God goes with you, fighting for you to give you salvation from those who are against you.
5 Og Tilsynsmændene skal tale saaledes til Folket: »Er der nogen, som har bygget et nyt Hus og endnu ikke indviet det, maa han have Lov at vende hjem til sit Hus, for at ikke en anden skal indvie det, om han falder i Slaget.
And let the overseers say to the people, If there is any man who has made for himself a new house and has not gone into it, let him go back to his house, so that in the event of his death in the fight, another may not take his house for himself.
6 Og er der nogen, som har plantet en Vingaard og ikke taget den i Brug, maa han have Lov at vende hjem til sit Hus, for at ikke en anden skal tage den i Brug, om han falder i Slaget.
Or if any man has made a vine-garden without taking the first-fruits of it, let him go back to his house, so that in the event of his death in the fight, another may not be the first to make use of the fruit.
7 Og er der nogen, som har trolovet sig med en Kvinde, men endnu ikke taget hende til Hustru, maa han have Lov at vende hjem til sit Hus, for at ikke en anden skal tage hende til Hustru, om han falder i Slaget.«
Or if any man is newly married and has had no sex relations with his wife, let him go back to his house, so that in the event of his death in the fight, another man may not take her.
8 Og Tilsynsmændene skal fremdeles tale til Folket og sige: »Er der nogen, som er bange og forsagt, maa han have Lov at vende hjem til sit Hus, for at ikke hans Brødre skal blive forsagte, som han selv er det!«
And let the overseers go on to say to the people, If there is any man whose heart is feeble with fear, let him go back to his house before he makes the hearts of his countrymen feeble.
9 Naar saa Tilsynsmændene er færdige med at tale til Folket, skal der sættes Høvedsmænd i Spidsen for Folket.
Then, after saying these words to the people, let the overseers put captains over the army.
10 Naar du rykker frem til Angreb paa en By, skal du først tilbyde den Fred.
When you come to a town, before attacking it, make an offer of peace.
11 Hvis den da tager mod Fredstilbudet og aabner sine Porte for dig, skal alle Folk, som findes i den, være dine livegne og trælle for dig.
And if it gives you back an answer of peace, opening its doors to you, then all the people in it may be put to forced work as your servants.
12 Vil den derimod ikke slutte Fred, men kæmpe med dig, da skal du belejre den,
If however it will not make peace with you, but war, then let it be shut in on all sides:
13 og naar HERREN din Gud giver den i din Haand, skal du hugge alle af Mandkøn ned med Sværdet.
And when the Lord your God has given it into your hands, let every male in it be put to death without mercy.
14 Men Kvinderne, Børnene, Kvæget og alt, hvad der er i Byen, alt, hvad der røves i den, maa du tage som Bytte, og du maa gøre dig til gode med det, som røves fra dine Fjender, hvad HERREN din Gud giver dig.
But the women and the children and the cattle and everything in the town and all its wealth, you may take for yourselves: the wealth of your haters, which the Lord your God has given you, will be your food.
15 Saaledes skal du bære dig ad med alle de Byer, som ligger langt fra dig og ikke hører til disse Folkeslags Byer her;
So you are to do to all the towns far away, which are not the towns of these nations.
16 men i disse Folks Byer, som HERREN din Gud giver dig i Eje, maa du ikke lade en eneste Sjæl i Live.
But in the towns of these peoples whose land the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage, let no living thing be kept from death:
17 Paa dem skal du lægge Band, paa Hetiterne, Amoriterne, Kana'anæerne, Perizziterne, Hivviterne og Jebusiterne, som HERREN din Gud har paalagt dig,
Give them up to the curse; the Hittite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, as the Lord your God has given you orders:
18 for at de ikke skal lære eder at efterligne alle deres Vederstyggeligheder, som de øver til Ære for deres Guder, saa I forsynder eder mod HERREN eders Gud.
So that you may not take them as your example and do all the disgusting things which they do in the worship of their gods, so sinning against the Lord your God.
19 Naar du ved Belejringen af en By maa holde den indesluttet i lang Tid for at indtage den, maa du ikke ødelægge de Træer, der hører til den, ved at svinge Øksen imod dem; fra dem faar du Føde; dem maa du ikke hugge om; thi mon Markens Træer er Mennesker, at de ogsaa skulde rammes af Belejringen?
If in war a town is shut in by your armies for a long time, do not let its trees be cut down and made waste; for their fruit will be your food; are the trees of the countryside men for you to take up arms against them?
20 Kun Træer, du ved, ikke bærer spiselig Frugt, maa du ødelægge og fælde for at bygge Belejringsværker mod den By, som er i Krig med dig, til den falder.
Only those trees which you are certain are not used for food may be cut down and put to destruction: and you are to make walls of attack against the town till it is taken.
