Deuteronomy 20
1 When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, 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.
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 draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach 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, O Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against your enemies; let not your heart faint; fear not, nor be alarmed, neither be ye affrighted at 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 the LORD 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 to 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 used the fruit thereof? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit thereof.
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 they shall say: 'What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart melt 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 made an end of speaking unto the people, that captains of hosts shall be appointed 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 drawest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then 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 it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and 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 make no peace with thee, but will make war against 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 the LORD 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 but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take for a prey unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given 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 which 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 Howbeit of the cities of these peoples, that the LORD 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 thou shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as the LORD 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 after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods, and so ye sin against 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 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, but thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?
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 of which thou knowest that they are not trees for food, them thou mayest destroy and cut down, that thou mayest 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.
