Deuteronomii 20
1 Si exieris ad bellum contra hostes tuos, et videris equitatus et currus, et majorem quam tu habeas adversarii exercitus multitudinem, non timebis eos: quia Dominus Deus tuus tecum est, qui eduxit te de terra Ægypti.
When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for Yhwh thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
2 Appropinquante autem jam prælio, stabit sacerdos ante aciem, et sic loquetur ad populum:
And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 Audi, Israël: vos hodie contra inimicos vestros pugnam committitis: non pertimescat cor vestrum, nolite metuere, nolite cedere, nec formidetis eos:
And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;
4 quia Dominus Deus vester in medio vestri est, et pro vobis contra adversarios dimicabit, ut eruat vos de periculo.
For Yhwh your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
5 Duces quoque per singulas turmas audiente exercitu proclamabunt: Quis est homo qui ædificavit domum novam, et non dedicavit eam? vadat, et revertatur in domum suam, ne forte moriatur in bello, et alius dedicet eam.
And the officers shall speak unto 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 die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.
6 Quis est homo qui plantavit vineam, et necdum fecit eam esse communem, de qua vesci omnibus liceat? vadat, et revertatur in domum suam, ne forte moriatur in bello, et alius homo ejus fungatur officio.
And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.
7 Quis est homo, qui despondit uxorem, et non accepit eam? vadat, et revertatur in domum suam, ne forte moriatur in bello, et alius homo accipiat eam.
And what man is there 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 His dictis addent reliqua, et loquentur ad populum: Quis est homo formidolosus, et corde pavido? vadat, et revertatur in domum suam, ne pavere faciat corda fratrum suorum, sicut ipse timore perterritus est.
And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.
9 Cumque siluerint duces exercitus, et finem loquendi fecerint, unusquisque suos ad bellandum cuneos præparabit.
And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.
10 Siquando accesseris ad expugnandam civitatem, offeres ei primum pacem.
When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
11 Si receperit, et aperuerit tibi portas, cunctus populus, qui in ea est, salvabitur, et serviet tibi sub tributo.
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
12 Sin autem fœdus inire noluerit, et cœperit contra te bellum, oppugnabis eam.
And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
13 Cumque tradiderit Dominus Deus tuus illam in manu tua, percuties omne quod in ea generis masculini est, in ore gladii,
And when Yhwh thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
14 absque mulieribus et infantibus, jumentis et ceteris quæ in civitate sunt. Omnem prædam exercitui divides, et comedes de spoliis hostium tuorum, quæ Dominus Deus tuus dederit tibi.
But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Yhwh thy God hath given thee.
15 Sic facies cunctis civitatibus, quæ a te procul valde sunt, et non sunt de his urbibus, quas in possessionem accepturus es.
Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
16 De his autem civitatibus, quæ dabuntur tibi, nullum omnino permittes vivere:
But of the cities of these people, which Yhwh thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
17 sed interficies in ore gladii, Hethæum videlicet, et Amorrhæum, et Chananæum, Pherezæum, et Hevæum, et Jebusæum, sicut præcepit tibi Dominus Deus tuus:
But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as Yhwh thy God hath commanded thee:
18 ne forte doceant vos facere cunctas abominationes, quas ipsi operati sunt diis suis, et peccetis in Dominum Deum vestrum.
That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against Yhwh your God.
19 Quando obsederis civitatem multo tempore, et munitionibus circumdederis ut expugnes eam, non succides arbores, de quibus vesci potest, nec securibus per circuitum debes vastare regionem: quoniam lignum est, et non homo, nec potest bellantium contra te augere numerum.
When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof 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:
20 Si qua autem ligna non sunt pomifera, sed agrestia, et in ceteros apta usus, succide, et instrue machinas, donec capias civitatem, quæ contra te dimicat.
Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.
