Deuteronomy 20
1 When thou goest out to war against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, [and] a people more numerous than thou, thou shalt not fear them; for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee 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 be, when ye approach unto the battle, that the priest shall draw near and speak unto the people,
Sotheli whanne the batel neiyeth now, the preest schal stonde bifor the scheltrun, and thus he schal speke to the puple,
3 and shall say unto them, Hear, Israel, ye are approaching this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be afraid of them;
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 Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, 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 officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, 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 there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not eaten of it? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of 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 there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto 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 officers shall speak further unto the people, and shall say, What man is there that is timid and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart melt as well as his heart.
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 be, when the officers have ended speaking unto the people, that they shall place captains of the hosts at the head 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 When thou approachest unto a city to fight against it, thou shalt proclaim peace unto it.
If ony tyme thou schalt go to a citee to ouercome it, first thou schalt profire pees to it.
11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then all the people that are found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
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 And if it will not make peace with thee, but will make war with thee, then thou shalt besiege it;
Sotheli if they nylen make boond of pees, and bigynnen batel ayens thee, thou schalt fiyte ayens it.
13 and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof 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 only the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that shall be in the city, all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take as booty for thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee
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 shalt thou do unto all the cities that are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
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 But of the cities of these peoples which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth,
Sotheli of these citees that schulen be youun to thee, thou schalt not suffre eny to lyue,
17 but shalt utterly devote them to destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee;
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 teach you not to do according to all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods, so that ye sin against Jehovah 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 When thou shalt besiege a city many days, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by lifting up an axe against them; for thou canst eat of them; and thou shalt not cut them down, for is the tree of the field a man that it should be besieged?
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 Only the trees which thou knowest are not trees for meat, thou mayest destroy and cut them down, and build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it fall.
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.
