Deuteronomy 20

NEW JERUSALEM	KING JAMES BIBLE
1 'When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater thanyour own, you must not be afraid of them; Yahweh your God is with you, he who brought you out of Egypt.	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.
2 When you are about to join battle, the priest must come forward and address the people.	2 And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,
3 He must say to them, "Listen, Israel: today you are about to join battle with your enemies. Do not befaint hearted. Let there be no fear or trembling or alarm as you face them.	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;
4 Yahweh your God is marching with you, to fight your enemies for you and make you victorious."	4 For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.
5 'The scribes wil then address the people, as follows: "Has anyone built a new house and not yetdedicated it? Let him go home, in case he dies in battle and someone else performs the dedication.	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.
6 "Has anyone planted a vineyard and not yet enjoyed its fruit? Let him go home, in case he dies inbattle and someone else enjoys its fruit.	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.
7 "Has anyone contracted to marry a girl and not yet married her? Let him go home, in case he dies inbattle and someone else marries her."	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.
8 'Final y, the scribes wil say to the people: "Is anyone frightened or faint hearted? Let him go home, incase he makes his brothers faint hearted too!"	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.
9 'Then, when the scribes have finished speaking to the people, commanders wil be appointed to leadthem.	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.
10 'When you advance on a town to attack it, first offer it peace-terms.	10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
11 If it accepts these and opens its gates to you, all the people inside wil owe you forced labour andwork for you.	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.
12 But if it refuses peace and gives battle, you must besiege it.	12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
13 Yahweh your God having handed it over to you, you wil put the whole male population to the sword.	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:
14 But the women, children, livestock and whatever the town contains by way of spoil, you may take foryourselves as booty. You will feed on the spoils of the enemies whom Yahweh your God has handed over toyou.	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.
15 'That is how you will treat towns far away and not belonging to the nations near 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.
16 But as regards the towns of those peoples whom Yahweh your God is giving you as your heritage,you must not spare the life of any living thing.	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:
17 Instead, you must lay them under the curse of destruction: Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites,Hivites and Jebusites, as Yahweh your God has commanded,	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:
18 so that they may not teach you to do al the detestable things which they do to honour their gods: indoing these, you would sin against Yahweh your God.	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.
19 'If, when attacking a town, you have to besiege it for a long time before you capture it, you must notdestroy its trees by taking the axe to them: eat their fruit but do not cut them down. Is the tree in the fieldshuman, that you should besiege it too?	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:
20 Any trees, however, which you know are not fruit trees, you may destroy and cut down and use tobuild siege-works against the hostile town until it fal s.'	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.