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;

When thou goest out to battle against thy enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, [and] a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God [is] with thee, who brought thee 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 be when ye are come nigh to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people,

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,

And shall say to them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day to battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;

4 for your God YHWH [is] He who is going with you, to fight for you with your enemies—to save you.

For the LORD your God [is] he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, 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 officers shall speak to 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 should die in the battle, and another man should 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 hath planted a vineyard, and hath not [yet] eaten of it? let him [also] go and return to his house, lest he should die in the battle, and another man should eat of 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 there] that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return to his house, lest he should die in battle, and another man should 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 officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, What man [is there that is] fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren's heart should faint as well as his heart.

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 be, when the officers have made an end of speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

10 When you draw near to a city to fight against it, then you have called to it for peace,

When thou comest nigh to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it.

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.

And it shall be, if it shall make thee answer of peace, and open to thee, then it shall be, [that] all the people [that are] found therein, shall be tributaries to thee, and they shall serve thee.

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

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

And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thy hands, 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.

But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, [even] all the spoil of it, shalt thou take to thyself: and thou shalt eat the spoil of thy enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given 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 [which are] very distant from thee, which [are] not of the cities of these nations.

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;

But of the cities of these people which the LORD thy God doth give thee [for] an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

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 thou shalt utterly destroy them, [namely], the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the LORD thy God hath 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 after all their abominations which they have done to their gods; so would ye sin against 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.

When thou shalt besiege a city a long time in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees of it by forcing an ax against them; for thou mayest eat of them: and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field [is] man's [life] ) to employ [them] in 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.”

Only the trees which thou knowest that they [are] not trees for food, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it shall be subdued.