Deuteronomy 20

KING JAMES BIBLE	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.	1 "When you go out to war against your enemies and you see horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid of them, for the LORD, your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, will be with you.
2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,	2 "When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and say to the soldiers:
3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;	3 'Hear, O Israel! Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Be not weakhearted or afraid; be neither alarmed nor frightened by them.
4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.	4 For it is the LORD, your God, who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies and give you victory.'
5 And 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.	5 "Then the officials shall say to the soldiers, 'Is there anyone who has built a new house and not yet had the housewarming? Let him return home, lest he die in battle and another dedicate it.
6 And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.	6 Is there anyone who has planted a vineyard and never yet enjoyed its fruits? Let him return home, lest he die in battle and another enjoy its fruits in his stead.
7 And 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 anyone who has betrothed a woman and not yet taken her as his wife? Let him return home, lest he die in battle and another take her to wife.'
8 And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren's heart faint as well as his heart.	8 In fine, the officials shall say to the soldiers, 'Is there anyone who is afraid and weakhearted? Let him return home, lest he make his fellows as fainthearted as himself.'
9 And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.	9 "When the officials have finished speaking to the soldiers, military officers shall be appointed over the army.
10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.	10 "When you march up to attack a city, first offer it terms of peace.
11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.	11 If it agrees to your terms of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people to be found in it shall serve you in forced labor.
12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:	12 But if it refuses to make peace with you and instead offers you battle, lay siege to it,
13 And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:	13 and when the LORD, your God, delivers it into your hand, put every male in it to the sword;
14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.	14 but the women and children and livestock and all else in it that is worth plundering you may take as your booty, and you may use this plunder of your enemies which the LORD, your God, has given you.
15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.	15 "That is how you shall deal with any city at a considerable distance from you, which does not belong to the peoples of this land.
16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:	16 But in the cities of those nations which the LORD, your God, is giving you as your heritage, you shall not leave a single soul alive.
17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:	17 You must doom them all-the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites-as the LORD, your God, has commanded you,
18 That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.	18 lest they teach you to make any such abominable offerings as they make to their gods, and you thus sin against the LORD, your God.
19 When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege:	19 "When you are at war with a city and have to lay siege to it for a long time before you capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them. You may eat their fruit, but you must not cut down the trees. After all, are the trees of the field men, that they should be included in your siege?
20 Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.	20 However, those trees which you know are not fruit trees you may destroy, cutting them down to build siegeworks with which to reduce the city that is resisting you.