Deuteronomy 20

1 And if thou shouldest go forth to war against thine enemies, and shouldest see horse, and rider, and a people more numerous than thyself; thou shalt not be afraid of them, for the Lord thy God [is] with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

2 And it shall come to pass whenever thou shalt draw nigh to battle, that the priest shall draw nigh and speak to the people, and shall say to them,

When you are about to go into battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army,

3 Hear, O Israel; ye 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.

saying to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be alarmed or terrified because of them.

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

For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

5 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.

Furthermore, the officers are to address the army, saying, “Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man dedicate it.

6 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.

Has any man planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy its fruit? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man enjoy its fruit.

7 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.

Has any man become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man marry her.”

8 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.

Then the officers shall speak further to the army, saying, “Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him return home, so that the hearts of his brothers will not melt like his own.”

9 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.

When the officers have finished addressing the army, they are to appoint commanders to lead it.

10 And if thou shalt draw nigh to a city to overcome them by war, then call them out peaceably.

When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace.

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

If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.

12 But if they will not hearken to thee, but wage war against thee, thou shalt invest it;

But if they refuse to make peace with you and wage war against you, lay siege to that city.

13 until the Lord thy God shall deliver it into thy hands, and thou shalt smite every male of it with the edge of the sword:

When the LORD your God has delivered it into your hand, you must put every male to the sword.

14 except the women and the stuff: and all the cattle, and whatsoever shall be in the city, and all the plunder thou shalt take as spoil for thyself, and shalt eat all the plunder of thine enemies whom the Lord thy God gives thee.

But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.

15 Thus shalt thou do to all the cities that are very far off from thee, not [being] of the cities of these nations which the Lord thy God gives thee to inherit their land.

This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.

16 [Of these] ye shall not take any thing alive;

However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.

17 but ye 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 thy God commanded thee:

For you must devote them to complete destruction —the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you,

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

so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God.

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

When you lay siege to a city for an extended time while fighting against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their fruit. You must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human, that you should besiege them?

20 But the tree which thou knowest to be not fruit-bearing, this thou shalt destroy and cut down; and thou shalt construct a mound against the city, which makes war against thee, until it be delivered up.

But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce fruit. Use them to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.