Deuteronomy 20
1 “When your [soldiers] go to fight your enemies, and you see that they have many horses and chariots and that their army is much bigger than yours, do not be afraid of them, because Yahweh our God, who brought your [ancestors safely] out of Egypt, will be with you.
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.
2 When you are ready to start the battle, the Supreme Priest must stand in front of the troops.
And it shall be, when ye are coming nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people;
3 He must say to them, ‘You Israeli men, listen to me! Today you are going to fight against your enemies. Do not be timid or afraid [DOU] or tremble or panic [DOU],
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.
4 because Yahweh our God will go with you. He will fight your enemies for you, and he will enable you to defeat them.’
For Yahweh your God, is he that is going with you, —to fight for you against your enemies to save you.
5 Then the army officers must say to the troops, ‘If anyone among you has just built a new house [RHQ] and has not dedicated it [to God], he should go home [and dedicate the house]. If he does not do that, if he dies in the battle, someone else will dedicate the house [and live in it].
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.
6 If anyone among you has planted a vineyard and has not yet harvested any grapes from it [RHQ], he should go home. If he [stays here and] dies in the battle, someone else will [harvest the grapes and] enjoy [the wine made from them].
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.
7 If anyone among you has become engaged to marry a woman [but has not married her yet] [RHQ], he should go home. If [he stays here and] dies in the battle, someone else will marry her.’
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.
8 “Then the officers must also say, ‘If anyone among you is afraid or timid [RHQ], he should go home, in order that he does not cause his fellow soldiers to also stop being courageous.’
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.
9 And when the officers have finished speaking to the troops, they must appoint commanders [to lead the groups of soldiers].
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.
10 “When you come near a city [that is far away] to attack it, first tell the people there that if they surrender, you will not attack them.
When thou shalt come nigh unto a city, to fight against it, —then shalt thou proclaim unto it—peace,
11 If they open the gates of the city and surrender, they all will become your slaves to work for you.
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.
12 But if they refuse to [surrender] peacefully, and decide instead to fight against you, your troops must surround the city [and break through the walls].
But if it will not make peace with thee, but will make war with thee, then shalt thou lay siege to it;
13 Then, when Yahweh our God enables you to capture [IDM] the city, you must kill all the men in the city.
and Yahweh thy God will deliver it into thy hand, —and thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword;
14 But you are allowed to take for yourselves the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else [that you want to take] from the city. You will be allowed to enjoy all the things that belonged to your enemies; it is Yahweh our God who has given those things to you.
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.
15 You should do that in all the cities that are far from the land in which you will settle.
Thus, shalt thou do unto all the cities that are very far away from thee, —which are not of the cities of those nations.
16 “But in the cities that are in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, you must kill all the people and all the animals [LIT].
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.
17 You must get rid of them completely. Get rid of the Heth people-group, the Amor people-group, the Canaan people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group; that is what Yahweh our God commanded you to do.
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:
18 If you do not do that, they will teach you to sin against Yahweh our God and do the disgusting things that they do when they worship their gods.
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.
19 “When you surround a city for a long time, trying to capture it, do not cut down the fruit trees [outside the city]. You are allowed to eat the fruit from the trees, but do not get rid of the trees, because they certainly are not [RHQ] your enemies.
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?
20 You are permitted to cut down the other trees and use the wood to make ladders and towers to enable you to [go over the walls and] capture the city.”
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.
