Deuteronomii 20
1 Si exieris ad bellum contra hostes tuos, et videris equitatus et currus, et maiorem quam tu habeas adversarii exercitus multitudinem, non timebis eos: quia Dominus Deus tuus tecum est, qui eduxit te de Terra Aegypti.
“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.
2 Appropinquante autem iam praelio, stabit sacerdos ante aciem, et sic loquetur ad populum:
When you are ready to start the battle, the Supreme Priest must stand in front of the troops.
3 Audi Israel, vos hodie contra inimicos vestros pugnam committitis, non pertimescat cor vestrum, nolite metuere, nolite cedere, nec formidetis eos:
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],
4 quia Dominus Deus vester in medio vestri est, et pro vobis contra adversarios dimicabit, ut eruat vos de periculo.
because Yahweh our God will go with you. He will fight your enemies for you, and he will enable you to defeat them.’
5 Duces quoque per singulas turmas audiente exercitu proclamabunt: Quis est homo, qui aedificavit domum novam, et non dedicavit eam? vadat, et revertatur in domum suam, ne forte moriatur in bello, et alius dedicet eam.
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].
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 eius fungatur officio.
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].
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.
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.’
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.
“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.’
9 Cumque siluerint duces exercitus, et finem loquendi fecerint, unusquisque suos ad bellandum cuneos praeparabit.
And when the officers have finished speaking to the troops, they must appoint commanders [to lead the groups of soldiers].
10 Si quando accesseris ad expugnandam civitatem, offeres ei primum pacem.
“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.
11 Si receperit, et aperuerit tibi portas, cunctus populus, qui in ea est, salvabitur, et serviet tibi sub tributo.
If they open the gates of the city and surrender, they all will become your slaves to work for you.
12 Sin autem foedus inire noluerit, et coeperit contra te bellum, oppugnabis eam.
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].
13 Cumque tradiderit Dominus Deus tuus illam in manu tua, percuties omne, quod in ea generis masculini est, in ore gladii,
Then, when Yahweh our God enables you to capture [IDM] the city, you must kill all the men in the city.
14 absque mulieribus et infantibus, iumentis et ceteris, quae in civitate sunt. Omnem praedam exercitui divides, et comedes de spoliis hostium tuorum, quae Dominus Deus tuus dederit tibi.
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.
15 Sic facies cunctis civitatibus, quae a te procul valde sunt, et non sunt de his urbibus, quas in possessionem accepturus es.
You should do that in all the cities that are far from the land in which you will settle.
16 De his autem civitatibus, quae dabuntur tibi, nullum omnino permittes vivere:
“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].
17 sed interficies in ore gladii, Hethaeum videlicet, et Amorrhaeum, et Chananaeum, Pherezaeum, et Hevaeum, et Iebusaeum, sicut praecepit tibi Dominus Deus tuus:
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.
18 ne forte doceant vos facere cunctas abominationes, quas ipsi operati sunt diis suis: et peccetis in Dominum Deum vestrum.
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.
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 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.
20 Si qua autem ligna non sunt pomifera, sed agrestia, et in ceteros apta usus, succide, et instrue machinas, donec capias civitatem, quae contra te dimicat.
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.”
