Deuteronomy 20

1 When thou shalt go forth to warre against thine enemies, and shalt see horses and charets, and people moe then thou, be not afrayde of them: for the Lord thy God is with thee, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt.

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.

2 And when ye are come neere vnto the battel, then the Priest shall come forth to speake vnto the people,

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,

3 And shall say vnto them, Heare, O Israel: ye are come this day vnto battell against your enemies: let not your heartes faynt, neither feare, nor be amased, nor adread of them.

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.

4 For ye Lord your God goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, and to saue 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 let the officers speake vnto the people, saying, What man is there that hath buylt a new house, and hath not dedicate it? let him go and returne to his house, least he dye in the battel, and an other 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 that hath planted a vineyarde, and hath not eaten of the fruite? let him go and returne againe vnto his house, least he die in the battel, and another eate the fruite.

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 that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and returne againe vnto his house, lest he die in the battell, 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 let the officers speake further vnto the people, and say, Whosoeuer is afrayde and faynt hearted, let him go and returne vnto his house, least his brethrens heart faynt like 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 after that the officers haue made an ende of speaking vnto the people, they shall make captaines of the armie to gouerne 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 commest neere vnto a citie to fight against it, thou shalt offer it peace.

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

11 And if it answere thee againe peaceably, and open vnto thee, then let all the people that is founde therein, be tributaries vnto thee, and serue thee.

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.

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

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

13 And the Lord thy God shall deliuer it into thine handes, and thou shalt smite all the males thereof with the edge of the sworde.

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:

14 Onely the women, and the children, and the cattel, and all that is in the citie, euen all the spoyle thereof shalt thou take vnto thy selfe, and shalt eate the spoyle of thine enemies, which the Lord thy God hath giuen thee.

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.

15 Thus shalt thou do vnto all ye cities, which are a great way off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations here.

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.

16 But of the cities of this people, which the Lord thy God shall giue thee to inherite, thou shalt saue no person aliue,

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

17 But shalt vtterly destroy them: to wit, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hiuites, and the Iebusites, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee,

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:

18 That they teache you not to doe after all their abominations, which they haue done vnto their gods, and so ye should sinne against the Lord your God.

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.

19 When thou hast besieged a citie long time, and made warre against it to take it, destroy not the trees therof, by smiting an axe into them: for thou mayest eate of them: therfore thou shalt not cut them downe to further thee in the siege, (for the tree of the field is mans life)

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?

20 Onely those trees, which thou knowest are not for meate, those shalt thou destroy and cut downe, and make fortes against the citie that maketh warre with thee, vntil thou subdue it.

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.