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.
When you go to war with your enemies and you see horses and chariots, and a larger army than yours, don't be afraid of them, because the Lord your God who led you out of Egypt is with you.
2 And it shall be, when ye are coming nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people;
Before you go into battle, the priest shall come and speak to the army.
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.
He is to tell them, “Listen, men of Israel! Today you are going to fight your enemies. Don't be nervous or afraid; don't be panicked or terrified by them.
4 For Yahweh your God, is he that is going with you, —to fight for you against your enemies to save you.
For the Lord your God is going with you to fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you the victory.”
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.
The officers shall also speak to the army and tell them, “Is there any man here who has built a new house and hasn't dedicated it to the Lord? He can go home, otherwise he might die in battle and another man will 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.
Is there any man here who has planted a vineyard and hasn't yet enjoyed its fruit? He can go home, otherwise he might die in battle and another man will enjoy its fruit.
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.
Is there any man here who is engaged to a woman and hasn't married her? He can go home, otherwise he might die in battle and another man will marry 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.
The officers are also to tell the army, “Is there any man here who is afraid or nervous? He can go home, so he won't affect his fellow-soldiers and make them as frightened as himself.”
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.
After the officers have finished speaking to the army, they are put commanders in charge to lead it into battle.
10 When thou shalt come nigh unto a city, to fight against it, —then shalt thou proclaim unto it—peace,
When you arrive at a town, ready to attack it, you must first make an offer of peace to the people living there.
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 they accept your offer of peace and open their gates to you, all the inhabitants will become your slave-laborers.
12 But if it will not make peace with thee, but will make war with thee, then shalt thou lay siege to it;
However, if they refuse to make peace with you and decide to fight you, then lay siege to the town.
13 and Yahweh thy God will deliver it into thy hand, —and thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword;
Once the Lord your God has handed it over to you, kill every male with 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.
But you can take as plunder the women, children, livestock, and everything else in the town. You can take and use all your enemies' possessions 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.
This is the way you are to deal with all the towns that are a long way from you and don't belong to neighboring nations.
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.
However, when it comes to the towns of those nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you to occupy, don't leave anything alive that breathes.
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:
Set them apart for complete destruction—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has ordered you to do.
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.
This is to prevent them teaching you all the offensive things they do in worshiping their gods, and in so doing make you sin against 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?
Now when you lay siege to a town and it goes on for a long time as you fight to capture it, don't destroy the fruit trees there. You can eat their fruit. Don't cut them down. Are the trees in the orchard human beings that you should also attack?
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.
However, you may destroy the trees that you know are not fruit trees. You can use them to build siege equipment to attack the town that is fighting against you until it falls.
