Deuteronomy 20
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New American Standard Bible 1995NET Bible
1"When you go out to battle against your enemies and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.1When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry and troops who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you.
2"When you are approaching the battle, the priest shall come near and speak to the people.2As you move forward for battle, the priest will approach and say to the soldiers,
3"He shall say to them, 'Hear, O Israel, you are approaching the battle against your enemies today. Do not be fainthearted. Do not be afraid, or panic, or tremble before them,3"Listen, Israel! Today you are moving forward to do battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted. Do not fear and tremble or be terrified because of them,
4for the LORD your God is the one who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.'4for the LORD your God goes with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies to give you victory."
5"The officers also shall speak to the people, saying, 'Who is the man that has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him depart and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would dedicate it.5Moreover, the officers are to say to the troops, "Who among you has built a new house and not dedicated it? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else dedicate it.
6'Who is the man that has planted a vineyard and has not begun to use its fruit? Let him depart and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would begin to use its fruit.6Or who among you has planted a vineyard and not benefited from it? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else benefit from it.
7'And who is the man that is engaged to a woman and has not married her? Let him depart and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would marry her.'7Or who among you has become engaged to a woman but has not married her? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else marry her."
8"Then the officers shall speak further to the people and say, 'Who is the man that is afraid and fainthearted? Let him depart and return to his house, so that he might not make his brothers' hearts melt like his heart.'8In addition, the officers are to say to the troops, "Who among you is afraid and fainthearted? He may go home so that he will not make his fellow soldier's heart as fearful as his own."
9"When the officers have finished speaking to the people, they shall appoint commanders of armies at the head of the people.9Then, when the officers have finished speaking, they must appoint unit commanders to lead the troops.
10"When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace.10When you approach a city to wage war against it, offer it terms of peace.
11"If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.11If it accepts your terms and submits to you, all the people found in it will become your slaves.
12"However, if it does not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it.12If it does not accept terms of peace but makes war with you, then you are to lay siege to it.
13"When the LORD your God gives it into your hand, you shall strike all the men in it with the edge of the sword.13The LORD your God will deliver it over to you and you must kill every single male by the sword.
14"Only the women and the children and the animals and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourself; and you shall use the spoil of your enemies which the LORD your God has given you.14However, the women, little children, cattle, and anything else in the city--all its plunder--you may take for yourselves as spoil. You may take from your enemies the plunder that the LORD your God has given you.
15"Thus you shall do to all the cities that are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations nearby.15This is how you are to deal with all those cities located far from you, those that do not belong to these nearby nations.
16"Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes.16As for the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is going to give you as an inheritance, you must not allow a single living thing to survive.
17"But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittite and the Amorite, the Canaanite and the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite, as the LORD your God has commanded you,17Instead you must utterly annihilate them--the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites--just as the LORD your God has commanded you,
18so that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against the LORD your God.18so that they cannot teach you all the abhorrent ways they worship their gods, causing you to sin against the LORD your God.
19"When you besiege a city 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, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you?19If you besiege a city for a long time while attempting to capture it, you must not chop down its trees, for you may eat fruit from them and should not cut them down. A tree in the field is not human that you should besiege it!
20"Only the trees which you know are not fruit trees you shall destroy and cut down, that you may construct siegeworks against the city that is making war with you until it falls.20However, you may chop down any tree you know is not suitable for food, and you may use it to build siege works against the city that is making war with you until that city falls.
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Deuteronomy 19
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