Deuteronomy 20

Modern

Literal

Laws of Warfare

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; for the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you.

¹When you go out to battle against your enemies, and you see horses and chariots—people more numerous than you—do not be afraid of them, for YHWH your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

²When you are about to go into battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army,

²And it shall come to pass, in your drawing near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people,

³saying to them, “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be alarmed or terrified because of them.

³and he shall say to them, “Hear, O Israel, you are drawing near today to battle against your enemies. Do not let your hearts be faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble, and do not be terrified at their presence.

⁴For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”

⁴For YHWH your God is He who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”

⁵Furthermore, the officers are to address the army, saying, “Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man dedicate it.

⁵And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, “Who is the man who has built a new house, and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it.

⁶Has any man planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy its fruit? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man enjoy its fruit.

⁶And who is the man who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of it.

⁷Has any man become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him return home, or he may die in battle and another man marry her.”

⁷And who is the man who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.”

⁸Then the officers shall speak further to the army, saying, “Is any man afraid or fainthearted? Let him return home, so that the hearts of his brothers will not melt like his own.”

⁸And the officers shall add to speak to the people and say, “Who is the man fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, so that the heart of his brothers shall not melt like his heart.”

⁹When the officers have finished addressing the army, they are to appoint commanders to lead it.

⁹And it shall come to pass, the officers having finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

¹⁰When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace.

¹⁰When you go near to a city to fight against it, then you shall call out to it for peace.

¹¹If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.

¹¹And it shall come to pass that if they accept your offer of peace and open to you, then all the people found in it shall be unto you in tribute, and they will serve you.

¹²But if they refuse to make peace with you and wage war against you, lay siege to that city.

¹²And if it does not make peace with you and makes war against you, then you shall lay siege against it.

¹³When the LORD your God has delivered it into your hand, you must put every male to the sword.

¹³And YHWH your God has delivered it into your hands, and you shall strike every male in it with the mouth of the sword.

¹⁴But the women, children, livestock, and whatever else is in the city—all its spoil—you may take as plunder, and you shall use the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God gives you.

¹⁴But the women, and the children, and the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself. And you shall devour the plunder of your enemies, which YHWH your God gives to you.

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

¹⁵Thus you shall do to all the cities very far from you, which are not from the cities of these nations.

¹⁶However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.

¹⁶But from the cities of these peoples that YHWH your God gives to you as an inheritance, you shall not keep alive anything that breathes.

¹⁷For you must devote them to complete destruction—^athe Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you,

¹⁷But you must devote them to complete destruction—the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite—as YHWH your God has commanded you,

¹⁸so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God.

¹⁸so that they will not teach you to do according to all their abominations that they have done for their gods, and cause you to sin against YHWH your God.

¹⁹When you lay siege to a city for an extended time while fighting against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their fruit. You must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human, that you should besiege them?

¹⁹When you lay siege to a city many days while making war against it to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. And if you can eat of them, then do not cut them down, for is the tree of the field a man, coming from your face to besiege?

²⁰But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce fruit. Use them to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.

²⁰Only the trees that you know that are not trees for food, you may destroy and cut down and build siege works against the city that is making war with you, until it is subdued.