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.
If thou goist out to batel ayens thin enemyes, and seest multitude of knyytis, and charis, and grettere multitude of the aduersarie oost than thou hast, thou schalt not drede hem; for thi Lord God is with thee, that ledde thee out of the lond of Egipt.
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,
Sotheli whanne the batel neiyeth now, the preest schal stonde bifor the scheltrun, and thus he schal speke to the puple,
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.
Thou, Israel, here to dai, ye han batel ayens youre enemyes; youre herte drede not, `nyle ye drede; nyle ye yyue stede, drede ye not hem;
4 For [it is] the Lord your God who advances with you, to fight with you against your enemies, [and] to save you.
for youre Lord God is in the myddis of you, and he schal fiyte for you ayens aduersaries, that he delyuere you fro perel.
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.
`Also the duykis schulen crie bi alle cumpanyes, `while the oost schal here, Who is a man that bildide a newe hows, and halewide not it? go he and turne ayen into his hows, lest perauenture he die in batel, and another man halewe 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.
Who is a man that plauntide a vyner, and not yit made it to be comyn, and of which it is leeueful to alle men to ete? go he, and turne ayen in to his hows, lest perauenture he die in batel, and anothir man be set in his office.
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.
Who is a man that spowside a wijf, and `took not hir `bi fleischli knowyng? go he, and turne ayen in to his hows, lest perauenture he die in batel, and anothir man take hir.
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.
Whanne these thingis ben seid, thei schulen adde othere thingis, and schulen speke to the peple, Who is a ferdful man, and of gastful herte? go he, and turne ayen in to his hows, lest he make `the hertis of his britheren for to drede, as he is agast bi drede.
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.
And whanne the duykis of the oost ben stille, and han maad ende of speking, ech `of the princis and cheuenteyns of the oost schal make redie his cumpeneyes to batel.
10 And if you shall draw near to a city to overcome them by war, then call them out peaceably.
If ony tyme thou schalt go to a citee to ouercome it, first thou schalt profire pees to it.
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.
If the citee resseyueth, and openeth to thee the yatis, al the puple that is ther ynne schal be saued, and schal serue thee vndur tribut.
12 But if they will not listen to you, but wage war against you, you shall invest it;
Sotheli if they nylen make boond of pees, and bigynnen batel ayens thee, thou schalt fiyte ayens it.
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:
And whanne thi Lord God hath bitake it in thin hond, thou schalt smyte bi the scharpnesse of swerd al thing of male kynde which is ther ynne,
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.
with out wymmen, and yonge children, beestis and othere thingis that ben in the citee. Thou schalt departe al the prey to the oost, and thou schalt ete of the spuylis of thin enemyes, whiche spuylis thi Lord God yaf to thee.
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.
Thus thou schalt do to alle the citees, that ben ful fer fro thee, and ben not of these citees which thou schalt take in to possessioun.
16 [Of these] you shall not take any thing alive;
Sotheli of these citees that schulen be youun to thee, thou schalt not suffre eny to lyue,
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:
but thou schalt sle bi the scharpnesse of swerd; that is to seie, Ethei, and Ammorrey, and Cananei, Ferezei, Euey, and Jebusei, as `thi Lord God comaundide to thee;
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.
lest perauenture thei techen you to do alle abhomynaciouns, whiche thei wrouyten to her goddis, and ye doon synne ayens youre Lord God.
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?
Whanne thou hast bisegid a citee `in myche tyme, and hast cumpassid with strengthingis that thou ouercome it, thou schalt not kitte doun trees, of whiche `me may ete, nether thou schalt waste the cuntrey `bi cumpas with axis; for it is `a tree, and not man, nether it may encresse the noumbre of fiyteris ayens thee.
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.
Forsothe if onye ben not appil trees, but `of the feeld, and ben able in to othere vsis, kitte doun, and make thou engynes, til thou take the citee that fiytith ayens thee.
