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;

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 has been, in your drawing near to the battle, that the priest has come near, and spoken to 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 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,

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

`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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

If ony tyme thou schalt go to a citee to ouercome it, first thou schalt profire pees 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.

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

Sotheli if they nylen make boond of pees, and bigynnen batel ayens thee, thou schalt fiyte ayens 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 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 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.

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 So you do to all the cities which are very far off from you, 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 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;

Sotheli of these citees that schulen be youun to thee, thou schalt not suffre eny to lyue,

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 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 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.

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 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.

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 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.”

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.