Deuteronomy 20

1 When thou go forth to battle against thine enemies, and see horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, thou shall not be afraid of them, for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

And if you should go forth to war against your enemies, and should see horse, and rider, and a people more numerous than yourself; you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God [is] with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

2 And it shall be, when ye draw near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people,

And it shall come to pass whenever you shall draw near to battle, that the priest shall draw near and speak to the people, and shall say to them,

3 and shall say to them, Hear, O Israel, ye draw near this day to battle against your enemies. Let not your heart faint. Fear not, nor tremble, neither be ye frightened at them.

Hear, O Israel; you are going this day to battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint, fear not, neither be confounded, neither turn aside from their face.

4 For Jehovah your God is he who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

For [it is] the Lord your God who advances with you, to fight with you against your enemies, [and] to save you.

5 And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, What man is there who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

And the scribes shall speak to the people, saying, What man [is] he that has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war, and another man dedicate it.

6 And what man is there who has planted a vineyard, and has not used the fruit of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit of it.

And what man [is] he that has planted a vineyard, and not been made merry with it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man be made merry with it.

7 And what man is there who has betrothed a wife, and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.

And what man [is] he that has betrothed a wife, and has not taken her? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.

8 And the officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, What man is there who is fearful and faint-hearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest his brother's heart melt as his heart.

And the scribes shall speak further to the people, and say, What man [is] he that fears and is cowardly in his heart? Let him go and return to his house, lest he make the heart of his brother fail, as his own.

9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking to the people, that they shall appoint captains of armies at the head of the people.

And it shall come to pass when the scribes shall have ceased speaking to the people, that they shall appoint generals of the army to be leaders of the people.

10 When thou draw near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it.

And if you shall draw near to a city to overcome them by war, then call them out peaceably.

11 And it shall be, if it makes to thee an answer of peace, and opens to thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found in it shall become tributary to thee, and shall serve thee.

If then they should answer peaceably to you, and open to you, it shall be that all the people found in it shall be tributary and subject to you.

12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shall besiege it.

But if they will not listen to you, but wage war against you, you shall invest it;

13 And when Jehovah thy God delivers it into thy hand, thou shall smite every male of it with the edge of the sword,

until the Lord your God shall deliver it into your hands, and you shall strike every male of it with the edge of the sword:

14 but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil of it, thou shall take for a prey to thyself. And thou shall eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Jehovah thy God has given thee.

except the women and the stuff: and all the cattle, and whatever shall be in the city, and all the plunder you shall take as spoil for yourself, and shall eat all the plunder of your enemies whom the Lord your God gives you.

15 Thus thou shall do to all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

Thus shall you do to all the cities that are very far off from you, not [being] of the cities of these nations which the Lord your God gives you to inherit their land.

16 But of the cities of these peoples, that Jehovah thy God gives thee for an inheritance, thou shall save alive nothing that breathes,

[Of these] you shall not take any thing alive;

17 but thou shall utterly destroy them-the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite-as Jehovah thy God has commanded thee,

but you shall surely curse them, the Chettite, and the Amorite, and the Chananite, and the Pherezite, and the Evite, and the Jebusite, and the Gergesite; as the Lord your God commanded you:

18 that they not teach you to do after all their abominations, which they have done to their gods, so ye would sin against Jehovah your God.

that they may not teach you to do all their abominations, which they did to their gods, and [so] you should sin before the Lord your God.

19 When thou shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shall not destroy the trees of it by wielding an axe against them, for thou may eat of them. And thou shall not cut them down, for is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by thee?

And if you should besiege a city many days to prevail against it by war to take it, you shall not destroy its trees, by applying an iron tool to them, but you shall eat of it, and shall not cut it down: Is the tree that is in the field a man, to enter before you into the work of the siege?

20 Only the trees of which thou know that they are not trees for food, thou shall destroy and cut them down. And thou shall build bulwarks against the city that makes war with thee, until it falls.

But the tree which you know to be not fruit-bearing, this you shall destroy and cut down; and you shall construct a mound against the city, which makes war against you, until it be delivered up.