Deuteronomy 20
1 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.
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.
2 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,
Naar I rykker ud til Kamp, skal Præsten træde frem og tale til Folket,
3 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.
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!
4 For [it is] the Lord your God who advances with you, to fight with you against your enemies, [and] to save you.
Thi HERREN eders Gud drager med eder for at stride for eder mod eders Fjender og give eder Sejr.«
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.«
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.
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!«
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.
Naar saa Tilsynsmændene er færdige med at tale til Folket, skal der sættes Høvedsmænd i Spidsen for Folket.
10 And if you shall draw near to a city to overcome them by war, then call them out peaceably.
Naar du rykker frem til Angreb paa en By, skal du først tilbyde den Fred.
11 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.
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.
12 But if they will not listen to you, but wage war against you, you shall invest it;
Vil den derimod ikke slutte Fred, men kæmpe med dig, da skal du belejre den,
13 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:
og naar HERREN din Gud giver den i din Haand, skal du hugge alle af Mandkøn ned med Sværdet.
14 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.
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.
15 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.
Saaledes skal du bære dig ad med alle de Byer, som ligger langt fra dig og ikke hører til disse Folkeslags Byer her;
16 [Of these] you shall not take any thing alive;
men i disse Folks Byer, som HERREN din Gud giver dig i Eje, maa du ikke lade en eneste Sjæl i Live.
17 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:
Paa dem skal du lægge Band, paa Hetiterne, Amoriterne, Kana'anæerne, Perizziterne, Hivviterne og Jebusiterne, som HERREN din Gud har paalagt dig,
18 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.
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.
19 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?
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?
20 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.
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.
