Deuteronomy 20

1When thou goest forth to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, thou shalt not be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God is with thee, who brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

1When you go out to war against your enemies and see horses, chariots, and an army larger than yours, do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

2And it shall be, when ye draw nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,

2When you are about to go into battle, the priest must come forward and speak to the troops.

3and shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye draw nigh this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint; fear not, nor tremble, neither be ye affrighted at them;

3He shall say to them, 'Listen, Israel! Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not lose heart or be afraid. Do not panic or tremble because of them.

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

4For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you. He will fight for you against your enemies to give you the victory.'

5And 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.

5Then the officers shall speak to the army, saying, 'Is there any man here who has built a new house but has not yet dedicated it? He should go home, so that he does not die in battle and someone else dedicates it.'

6And what man is there that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not used the fruit thereof? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man use the fruit thereof.

6'Is there any man who has planted a vineyard but has not yet enjoyed its fruit? He should go home, so that he does not die in battle and someone else enjoys its fruit.'

7And 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.

7'Is there any man who is engaged to a woman but has not yet married her? He should go home, so that he does not die in battle and someone else marries her.'

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

8The officers shall also ask the army, 'Is there any man here who is afraid or has lost his courage? He should go home so that he does not discourage his fellow soldiers.'

9And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall appoint captains of hosts at the head of the people.

9When the officers have finished speaking to the troops, they shall appoint commanders to lead the army.

10When thou drawest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.

10When you approach a city to attack it, first offer the people terms of peace.

11And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.

11If they accept your terms and open their gates to you, then all the people in the city will be forced to do hard labor for you and serve you.

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

12But if they refuse to make peace and decide to fight against you, then you shall lay siege to that city.

13and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

13When the LORD your God hands the city over to you, kill every man there with the sword.

14but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take for a prey unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Jehovah thy God hath given thee.

14However, you may take the women, the children, the livestock, and everything else in the city as your own property. You may use the riches of your enemies that the LORD your God has given to you.

15Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

15This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby.

16But of the cities of these peoples, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth;

16But in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as your own land, you must not leave anything alive that breathes.

17but thou shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee;

17You must completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—just as the LORD your God has commanded you.

18that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so would ye sin against Jehovah your God.

18Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the disgusting things they do for their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God.

19When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?

19When you are laying siege to a city for a long time to capture it, do not destroy its trees with an axe. You can eat their fruit, so do not cut them down. Is a tree in the field a human being that you should move your siege against it?

20Only the trees of 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 fall.

20You may only cut down trees that you know do not produce food. You can use those to build siege works against the city that is at war with you until it falls.