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19 “If you besiege a town for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. Although you may take food from them, you must not cut them down. Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you? 20 You may destroy only the trees that you know do not produce food; you may cut them down for use in building siegeworks against the town that makes war with you, until it falls.

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19 “If[a] 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,[b] for you may eat from them,[c] and so you must not cut them[d] down. Are the trees of the field humans that they should come in siege against you?[e] 20 Only[f] the trees[g] that you know are not fruit trees[h] 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.”[i]

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 20:19 Or “when”
  2. Deuteronomy 20:19 Hebrew “it”
  3. Deuteronomy 20:19 Hebrew “it”
  4. Deuteronomy 20:19 Hebrew “it”
  5. Deuteronomy 20:19 Literally “from your face”
  6. Deuteronomy 20:20 Or “But”
  7. Deuteronomy 20:20 Hebrew “tree”
  8. Deuteronomy 20:20 Literally “not a tree of food”
  9. Deuteronomy 20:20 Literally “it to fall”