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 your [soldiers] go to fight your enemies, and you see that they have many horses and chariots and that their army is much bigger than yours, do not be afraid of them, because Yahweh our God, who brought your [ancestors safely] out of Egypt, will be with you.
2 Naar I rykker ud til Kamp, skal Præsten træde frem og tale til Folket,
When you are ready to start the battle, the Supreme Priest must stand in front of the troops.
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!
He must say to them, ‘You Israeli men, listen to me! Today you are going to fight against your enemies. Do not be timid or afraid [DOU] or tremble or panic [DOU],
4 Thi HERREN eders Gud drager med eder for at stride for eder mod eders Fjender og give eder Sejr.«
because Yahweh our God will go with you. He will fight your enemies for you, and he will enable you to defeat them.’
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.
Then the army officers must say to the troops, ‘If anyone among you has just built a new house [RHQ] and has not dedicated it [to God], he should go home [and dedicate the house]. If he does not do that, if he dies in the battle, someone else will dedicate the house [and live in it].
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.
If anyone among you has planted a vineyard and has not yet harvested any grapes from it [RHQ], he should go home. If he [stays here and] dies in the battle, someone else will [harvest the grapes and] enjoy [the wine made from them].
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.«
If anyone among you has become engaged to marry a woman [but has not married her yet] [RHQ], he should go home. If [he stays here and] dies in the battle, someone else will marry 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!«
“Then the officers must also say, ‘If anyone among you is afraid or timid [RHQ], he should go home, in order that he does not cause his fellow soldiers to also stop being courageous.’
9 Naar saa Tilsynsmændene er færdige med at tale til Folket, skal der sættes Høvedsmænd i Spidsen for Folket.
And when the officers have finished speaking to the troops, they must appoint commanders [to lead the groups of soldiers].
10 Naar du rykker frem til Angreb paa en By, skal du først tilbyde den Fred.
“When you come near a city [that is far away] to attack it, first tell the people there that if they surrender, you will not attack them.
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.
If they open the gates of the city and surrender, they all will become your slaves to work for you.
12 Vil den derimod ikke slutte Fred, men kæmpe med dig, da skal du belejre den,
But if they refuse to [surrender] peacefully, and decide instead to fight against you, your troops must surround the city [and break through the walls].
13 og naar HERREN din Gud giver den i din Haand, skal du hugge alle af Mandkøn ned med Sværdet.
Then, when Yahweh our God enables you to capture [IDM] the city, you must kill all the men in the city.
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 you are allowed to take for yourselves the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else [that you want to take] from the city. You will be allowed to enjoy all the things that belonged to your enemies; it is Yahweh our God who has given those things to you.
15 Saaledes skal du bære dig ad med alle de Byer, som ligger langt fra dig og ikke hører til disse Folkeslags Byer her;
You should do that in all the cities that are far from the land in which you will settle.
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 cities that are in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, you must kill all the people and all the animals [LIT].
17 Paa dem skal du lægge Band, paa Hetiterne, Amoriterne, Kana'anæerne, Perizziterne, Hivviterne og Jebusiterne, som HERREN din Gud har paalagt dig,
You must get rid of them completely. Get rid of the Heth people-group, the Amor people-group, the Canaan people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group; that is what Yahweh our God commanded you to do.
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.
If you do not do that, they will teach you to sin against Yahweh our God and do the disgusting things that they do when they worship their gods.
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?
“When you surround a city for a long time, trying to capture it, do not cut down the fruit trees [outside the city]. You are allowed to eat the fruit from the trees, but do not get rid of the trees, because they certainly are not [RHQ] your enemies.
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.
You are permitted to cut down the other trees and use the wood to make ladders and towers to enable you to [go over the walls and] capture the city.”
