Deuteronomy 20

1 “When you go out to battle against your enemy, and have seen horse and chariot—a people more numerous than you—you are not afraid of them, for your God YHWH [is] with you, who is bringing you up 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 it has been, in your drawing near to the battle, that the priest has come near, and spoken to 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 said to them, Hear, O Israel: You are drawing near today to battle against your enemies, do not let your hearts be tender, do not fear, nor make haste, nor be terrified at their presence,

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 your God YHWH [is] He who is going with you, to fight for you with your enemies—to save 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 the authorities have spoken to the people, saying, Who [is] the man that has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in battle and another 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 who [is] the man that has planted a vineyard and has not made it common? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in battle, and another man make it common.

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 who [is] the man that has betrothed a woman and has not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in battle, 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 the authorities have added to speak to the people and said, Who [is] the man that is afraid and tender of heart? Let him go and return to his house, and the heart of his brothers does not melt 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 it has come to pass, as the authorities finish to speak to the people, that they have appointed princes of the hosts at the head of 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 you draw near to a city to fight against it, then you have called to it for peace,

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

11 and it has been, if it answers you [with] peace, and has opened to you, then it has come to pass, all the people who are found in it are for tributaries to you, and have served you.

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 And if it does not make peace with you, and has made war with you, then you have laid siege against it,

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

13 and your God YHWH has given it into your hand, and you have struck every male of it by the mouth of the sword.

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 Only, the women, and the infants, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you seize for yourself, and you have eaten the spoil of your enemies which your God YHWH has given to you.

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 So you do to all the cities which are very far off from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.

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 Only, of the cities of these peoples which your God YHWH is giving to you [for] an inheritance, you do not keep alive any [that are] breathing;

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

17 for you certainly devote the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, as your God YHWH has commanded you,

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 so that they do not teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you have sinned against your God YHWH.

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 you lay siege to a city [for] many days to fight against it, to capture it, you do not destroy its trees to force an axe against them, for you eat of them, and you do not cut them down—for the tree of the field [is] man’s—to go in at your presence in the siege.

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 Only, the tree of which you know that it [is] not a fruit-tree, you destroy it, and have cut [it] down, and have built a bulwark against the city which is making war with you until you have subdued 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.