Deuteronomy 20

1 When thou shalt go out to wage war against thine enemy, and shalt see the horses and chariots of a people more in number than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them, —for, Yahweh thy God, is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

And if you should go forth to war against your enemies, and should see horse, and rider, and a people more numerous than yourself; you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God [is] with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

2 And it shall be, when ye are coming nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people;

And it shall come to pass whenever you shall draw near to battle, that the priest shall draw near and speak to the people, and shall say to them,

3 and shall say unto them, —Hear, O Israel, ye are coming near to-day, unto battle against your enemies, —let not your heart faint do not fear nor start nor quake because of them.

Hear, O Israel; you 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 Yahweh your God, is he that is going with you, —to fight for you against 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 Then shall the officers speak unto the people saying, Who is the man that hath built a new house and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return unto his house, —lest he die in the 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 hath planted a vineyard and hath not thrown it open? let him go and return unto his house, —lest he die in the battle, and another man, throw it open.

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 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.

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 Then shall the officers further speak unto the people, and say—Who is the man that is fearful and faint-hearted? let him go and return unto his house, —lest his brethren’s heart melt as well as 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 shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, then shall they appoint captains of 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 thou shalt come nigh unto a city, to fight against it, —then shalt thou proclaim unto it—peace,

And if you shall draw near to a city to overcome them by war, then call them out peaceably.

11 and it shall be if peace, be the answer it giveth thee, and it open unto thee, then shall it be, that, all the people that are found therein, shall become thy tributaries and shall serve thee.

If then they should answer peaceably to you, and open to you, it shall be that all the people found in it shall be tributary and subject to you.

12 But if it will not make peace with thee, but will make war with thee, then shalt thou lay siege to it;

But if they will not listen to you, but wage war against you, you shall invest it;

13 and Yahweh thy God will deliver it into thy hand, —and thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword;

until the Lord your God shall deliver it into your hands, and you shall strike every male of it with the edge of the sword:

14 but the women and the little ones and the cattle and all that shall be in the city—all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take as thy prey, —so shalt thou eat the spoil of thine enemies, whom Yahweh thy God hath delivered unto thee.

except the women and the stuff: and all the cattle, and whatever shall be in the city, and all the plunder you shall take as spoil for yourself, and shall eat all the plunder of your enemies whom the Lord your God gives you.

15 Thus, shalt thou do unto all the cities that are very far away from thee, —which are not of the cities of those nations.

Thus shall you do to all the cities that are very far off from you, not [being] of the cities of these nations which the Lord your God gives you to inherit their land.

16 But of the cities of these peoples which Yahweh thy God is giving unto thee as an inheritance, shalt thou not save alive, any breathing thing.

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

17 But thou shalt devote them to destruction—the Hittites and the Amorites the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, —as Yahweh thy God hath commanded thee:

but you 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 your God commanded you:

18 lest they teach you to do, according to all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods, —and so ye sin against Yahweh your God.

that they may not teach you to do all their abominations, which they did to their gods, and [so] you should sin before the Lord your God.

19 When thou shalt besiege a city for many days to fight against it, to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding against them an axe, when of them, thou mightest eat, them, there-fore shalt thou not cut down, —for, Is the tree of the field, a man, that it should enter, because of thee into the siege?

And if you should besiege a city many days to prevail against it by war to take it, you shall not destroy its trees, by applying an iron tool to them, but you shall eat of it, and shall not cut it down: Is the tree that is in the field a man, to enter before you into the work of the siege?

20 Nevertheless, the tree of which thou knowest that it is, not a tree yielding food, the same, mayest thou destroy, and cut down, —and so build up a siege-work against the city which is making war with thee, until thou hast subdued it.

But the tree which you know to be not fruit-bearing, this you shall destroy and cut down; and you shall construct a mound against the city, which makes war against you, until it be delivered up.