Deuteronomy 20

1 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.

When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

2 And it shall be, when ye are come near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people,

When you are about to go into battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army,

3 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;

saying to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be alarmed or terrified because of them.

4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

5 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.

Furthermore, the officers are to address the army, saying, “Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man dedicate it.

6 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.

Has any man planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy its fruit? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man enjoy its fruit.

7 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.

Has any man become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man marry her.”

8 And the officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren’s heart should faint as well as his heart.

Then the officers shall speak further to the army, saying, “Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him return home, so that the hearts of his brothers will not melt like his own.”

9 And it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

When the officers have finished addressing the army, they are to appoint commanders to lead it.

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

When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace.

11 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 in it shall be forced labourers to thee, and they shall serve thee.

If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.

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

But if they refuse to make peace with you and wage war against you, lay siege to that city.

13 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:

When the LORD your God has delivered it into your hand, you must put every male to the sword.

14 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.

But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.

15 Thus shalt thou do to all the cities which are very distant from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.

16 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:

However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.

17 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:

For you must devote them to complete destruction —the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you,

18 That they may not teach you to do after all their abominations, which they have done to their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God.

19 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 axe 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:

When you lay siege to a city for an extended time while fighting against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their fruit. You must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human, that you should besiege them?

20 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.

But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce fruit. Use them to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.