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Deuteronomy 20
Lexham English Bible

20 “If you go out to war against your enemies and you see a horse and a chariot, an army[a] larger that you, you shall not be afraid because of them; for Yahweh your God is with you, the one who brought you from the land of Egypt. 2 And then[b] when you approach the battle, then the priest shall come near and speak to the troops. 3 And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are near today[c] to the battle against your enemies; do not lose heart;[d] you shall not be afraid, and you shall not panic, and you shall not be terrified because of them,[e] 4 for Yahweh your God is going with you to fight for you against your enemies to help you.’ 5 And the officials shall speak to the troops, saying,[f] ‘Who is the man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to this house, so that he does not die in battle and another man[g] dedicates it. 6 And who is the man that has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed it? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and another man[h] enjoys it. 7 And who is the man who got engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and let him return to his house, so that he does not die in battle and another man[i] marries her.’ 8 And the officials shall continue to speak to the troops, and they shall say, ‘What man[j] is afraid and disheartened?[k] Let him go, and let him return to his house, and let him not cause the heart of his brothers to melt[l] like his.’ 9 And when the officials have finished speaking[m] to the army troops, then they shall appoint commanders of divisions at the head of the troops.

10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you must offer it peace.[n] 11 And then[o] if they accept your terms of peace[p] and they surrender to you,[q] and then[r] all the people inhabiting it[s] shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you. 12 But if they do not accept your terms of peace[t] and they want to make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it.[u] 13 And Yahweh your God will give it into your hand, and you shall kill all its males with the edge[v] of the sword. 14 Only the women and the little children and the domestic animals[w] and all that shall be in the city, all of its spoil you may loot for yourselves, and you may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that Yahweh you God has given to you. 15 Thus you shall do to all the far[x] cities from you, which are not from the cities of these nations located nearby.[y]

16 But from the cities of these peoples that Yahweh your God is giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not let anything live that breathes.[z] 17 Rather, you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites[aa] and the Amorites,[ab] the Canaanites[ac] and the Perizzites,[ad] the Hivites,[ae] and the Jebusites,[af] just as Yahweh your God has commanded you, 18 so that they may not teach you to do like all their detestable things that they do for their gods and thereby you sin against Yahweh your God.

19 “If[ag] you besiege a town for many days to make war against it in order to seize it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them,[ah] for you may eat from them,[ai] and so you must not cut them[aj] down. Are the trees of the field humans that they should come in siege against you?[ak] 20 Only[al] the trees[am] that you know are not fruit trees[an] you may destroy and you may cut down, and you may build siege works against that city that is making war with you until it falls.”[ao]

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 20:1 Literally “a people”
  2. Deuteronomy 20:2 Literally “And it will happen”
  3. Deuteronomy 20:3 Literally “the day”
  4. Deuteronomy 20:3 Literally “do not be faint/tender-hearted”
  5. Deuteronomy 20:3 Literally “from their faces”
  6. Deuteronomy 20:5 Literally “to say”
  7. Deuteronomy 20:5 Literally “a man other”
  8. Deuteronomy 20:6 Literally “a man other”
  9. Deuteronomy 20:7 Literally “a man other”
  10. Deuteronomy 20:8 Literally “Who is the man”
  11. Deuteronomy 20:8 Literally “and soft/weak of the heart”
  12. Deuteronomy 20:8 The verb has a causal meaning here
  13. Deuteronomy 20:9 Literally “it will happen as to finish the officials to speak”
  14. Deuteronomy 20:10 Literally “you should call it for peace”
  15. Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “And it will happen”
  16. Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “if peace they reply to you”
  17. Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “they open to you”
  18. Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “and it will happen”
  19. Deuteronomy 20:11 Literally “being found in it”
  20. Deuteronomy 20:12 Literally “not they make peace with you”
  21. Deuteronomy 20:12 That is, the city
  22. Deuteronomy 20:13 Literally “mouth”
  23. Deuteronomy 20:14 Hebrew “animal”
  24. Deuteronomy 20:15 Or “distant”
  25. Deuteronomy 20:15 Literally “here”
  26. Deuteronomy 20:16 Or “is alive”
  27. Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Hittite”
  28. Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Amorite”
  29. Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Canaanite”
  30. Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Perizzite”
  31. Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Hivite”
  32. Deuteronomy 20:17 Hebrew “Jebusite”
  33. Deuteronomy 20:19 Or “when”
  34. Deuteronomy 20:19 Hebrew “it”
  35. Deuteronomy 20:19 Hebrew “it”
  36. Deuteronomy 20:19 Hebrew “it”
  37. Deuteronomy 20:19 Literally “from your face”
  38. Deuteronomy 20:20 Or “But”
  39. Deuteronomy 20:20 Hebrew “tree”
  40. Deuteronomy 20:20 Literally “not a tree of food”
  41. Deuteronomy 20:20 Literally “it to fall”
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Deuteronomy 20
New American Standard Bible

Laws of Warfare

20 “When you go out to battle against your enemies and see (A)horses, chariots, and people more numerous than you, (B)do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. 2 When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people. 3 He shall say to them, ‘Hear, Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. (C)Do not be afraid, or panic, or be terrified by them, 4 for the Lord your God (D)is the One who is going with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ 5 The officers also shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Who is the man that has built a new house but has not (E)dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would dedicate it. 6 And who is the man that has planted a vineyard but has not [a]put it to use? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man [b]would put it to use. 7 (F)And who is the man that is [c]betrothed to a woman and has not [d]married her? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would [e]marry her.’ 8 Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, ‘(G)Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, so that [f]he does not make his brothers’ hearts melt like his heart!’ 9 And when the officers have finished speaking to the people, they shall appoint commanders of armies at the head of the people.

10 “When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall [g]offer it terms of peace. 11 And if it [h]agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your (H)forced labor and serve you. 12 However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. 13 When the Lord your God gives it into your hand, (I)you shall strike all the [i]men in it with the edge of the sword. 14 However, the women, the children, (J)the animals, and everything that is in the city, all of its spoils, you shall take as plunder for yourself; and you shall [j]use the spoils of your enemies which the Lord your God has given you. 15 This is what you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations [k]nearby. 16 (K)Only in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave anything that breathes alive. 17 Instead, you shall [l]utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the Lord your God has commanded you, 18 so that they will not teach you to do [m](L)all the same detestable practices of theirs which they have done for their gods, [n]by which you would (M)sin against the Lord your God.

19 “When you besiege a city for a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, so you shall not cut them down. For [o]is the tree of the field a human, that it should [p]be besieged by you? 20 Only the trees that you know [q]are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, so that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war against you until it falls.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 20:6 Lit treat(ed) it as common
  2. Deuteronomy 20:6 Lit treat(ed) it as common
  3. Deuteronomy 20:7 A betrothed couple was considered legally married, but did not yet live together
  4. Deuteronomy 20:7 Lit taken
  5. Deuteronomy 20:7 Lit take
  6. Deuteronomy 20:8 As in LXX and other ancient versions; MT his brothers’ hearts do not melt like
  7. Deuteronomy 20:10 Lit call to it for peace
  8. Deuteronomy 20:11 Lit answers peace to you
  9. Deuteronomy 20:13 Lit males
  10. Deuteronomy 20:14 Lit eat
  11. Deuteronomy 20:15 Lit here
  12. Deuteronomy 20:17 Or put them under the ban
  13. Deuteronomy 20:18 Lit according to all the detestable
  14. Deuteronomy 20:18 Lit and you would
  15. Deuteronomy 20:19 Read as interrogative with ancient versions; MT the tree of the field is man
  16. Deuteronomy 20:19 Lit come before you in the siege
  17. Deuteronomy 20:20 Lit that it is not a tree of food
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Deuteronomy 20
Complete Jewish Bible

20 “When you go out to fight your enemies and see horses, chariots and a force larger than yours, you are not to be afraid of them; because Adonai your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you. 2 When you are about to go into battle, the cohen is to come forward and address the people. 3 He should tell them, ‘Listen, Isra’el! You are about to do battle against your enemies. Don’t be fainthearted or afraid; don’t be alarmed or frightened by them; 4 because Adonai your God is going with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies and give you victory.’

5 “Then the officials will speak to the soldiers. They are to say, ‘Is there a man here who has built a new house, but hasn’t dedicated it yet? He should go back home now; otherwise he may die fighting, and another man will dedicate it.

6 “‘Is there a man here who has planted a vineyard, but hasn’t yet made use of its fruit? He should go back home; otherwise he may die fighting, and another man will use it.

7 “‘Is there a man here who is engaged to a woman, but hasn’t married her yet? He should go back home; otherwise he may die fighting, and another man will marry her.’

8 “The officials will then add to what they have said to the soldiers: ‘Is there a man here who is afraid and fainthearted? He should go back home; otherwise his fear may demoralize his comrades as well.’ 9 When the officials have finished speaking with the soldiers, commanders are to be appointed to lead the army.

(vii) 10 “When you advance on a town to attack it, first offer it terms for peace. 11 If it accepts the terms for peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people there are to be put to forced labor and work for you. 12 However, if they refuse to make peace with you but prefer to make war against you, you are to put it under siege. 13 When Adonai your God hands it over to you, you are to put every male to the sword. 14 However, you are to take as booty for yourself the women, the little ones, the livestock, and everything in the city — all its spoil. Yes, you will feed on your enemies’ spoil, which Adonai your God has given you. 15 This is what you are to do to all the towns which are at a great distance from you, which are not the towns of these nations.

16 “As for the towns of these peoples, which Adonai your God is giving you as your inheritance, you are not to allow anything that breathes to live. 17 Rather you must destroy them completely — the Hitti, the Emori, the Kena‘ani, the P’rizi, the Hivi and the Y’vusi — as Adonai your God has ordered you; 18 so that they won’t teach you to follow their abominable practices, which they do for their gods, thus causing you to sin against Adonai your God.

19 “When, in making war against a town in order to capture it, you lay siege to it for a long time, you are not to destroy its trees, cutting them down with an axe. You can eat their fruit, so don’t cut them down. After all, are the trees in the field human beings, so that you have to besiege them too? 20 However, if you know that certain trees provide no food, you may destroy them and cut them down, in order to build siege-works against the town making war with you, until it falls.

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Deuteronomy 19
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