Parallel Bible results for "deuteronomy 20"

Deuteronomy 20

The Complete Jewish Bible CJB

1 "When you go out to fight your enemies and see horses, chariots and a force larger than yours, you are not to be afraid of them; because ADONAI your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, is with you.

2 When you are about to go into battle, the cohen is to come forward and address the people.

3 He should tell them, 'Listen, Isra'el! You are about to do battle against your enemies. Don't be fainthearted or afraid; don't be alarmed or frightened by them;

4 because ADONAI your God is going with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies and give you victory.'

5 "Then the officials will speak to the soldiers. They are to say, 'Is there a man here who has built a new house, but hasn't dedicated it yet? He should go back home now; otherwise he may die fighting, and another man will dedicate it.

6 "'Is there a man here who has planted a vineyard, but hasn't yet made use of its fruit? He should go back home; otherwise he may die fighting, and another man will use it.

7 "'Is there a man here who is engaged to a woman, but hasn't married her yet? He should go back home; otherwise he may die fighting, and another man will marry her.'

8 "The officials will then add to what they have said to the soldiers: 'Is there a man here who is afraid and fainthearted? He should go back home; otherwise his fear may demoralize his comrades as well.'

9 When the officials have finished speaking with the soldiers, commanders are to be appointed to lead the army.

10 "When you advance on a town to attack it, first offer it terms for peace.

11 If it accepts the terms for peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people there are to be put to forced labor and work for you.

12 However, if they refuse to make peace with you but prefer to make war against you, you are to put it under siege.

13 When ADONAI your God hands it over to you, you are to put every male to the sword.

14 However, you are to take as booty for yourself the women, the little ones, the livestock, and everything in the city - all its spoil. Yes, you will feed on your enemies' spoil, which ADONAI your God has given you.

15 This is what you are to do to all the towns which are at a great distance from you, which are not the towns of these nations.

16 "As for the towns of these peoples, which ADONAI your God is giving you as your inheritance, you are not to allow anything that breathes to live.

17 Rather you must destroy them completely - the Hitti, the Emori, the Kena'ani, the P'rizi, the Hivi and the Y'vusi - as ADONAI your God has ordered you;

18 so that they won't teach you to follow their abominable practices, which they do for their gods, thus causing you to sin against ADONAI your God.

19 "When, in making war against a town in order to capture it, you lay siege to it for a long time, you are not to destroy its trees, cutting them down with an axe. You can eat their fruit, so don't cut them down. After all, are the trees in the field human beings, so that you have to besiege them too?

20 However, if you know that certain trees provide no food, you may destroy them and cut them down, in order to build siege-works against the town making war with you, until it falls.

New Living Translation NLT

1 “When you go out to fight your enemies and you face horses and chariots and an army greater than your own, do not be afraid. The LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, is with you!

2 When you prepare for battle, the priest must come forward to speak to the troops.

3 He will say to them, ‘Listen to me, all you men of Israel! Do not be afraid as you go out to fight your enemies today! Do not lose heart or panic or tremble before them.

4 For the LORD your God is going with you! He will fight for you against your enemies, and he will give you victory!’

5 “Then the officers of the army must address the troops and say, ‘Has anyone here just built a new house but not yet dedicated it? If so, you may go home! You might be killed in the battle, and someone else would dedicate your house.

6 Has anyone here just planted a vineyard but not yet eaten any of its fruit? If so, you may go home! You might die in battle, and someone else would eat the first fruit.

7 Has anyone here just become engaged to a woman but not yet married her? Well, you may go home and get married! You might die in the battle, and someone else would marry her.’

8 “Then the officers will also say, ‘Is anyone here afraid or worried? If you are, you may go home before you frighten anyone else.’

9 When the officers have finished speaking to their troops, they will appoint the unit commanders.

10 “As you approach a town to attack it, you must first offer its people terms for peace.

11 If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor.

12 But if they refuse to make peace and prepare to fight, you must attack the town.

13 When the LORD your God hands the town over to you, use your swords to kill every man in the town.

14 But you may keep for yourselves all the women, children, livestock, and other plunder. You may enjoy the plunder from your enemies that the LORD your God has given you.

15 “But these instructions apply only to distant towns, not to the towns of the nations in the land you will enter.

16 In those towns that the LORD your God is giving you as a special possession, destroy every living thing.

17 You must completely destroy the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, just as the LORD your God has commanded you.

18 This will prevent the people of the land from teaching you to imitate their detestable customs in the worship of their gods, which would cause you to sin deeply against the LORD your God.

19 “When you are attacking a town and the war drags on, you must not cut down the trees with your axes. You may eat the fruit, but do not cut down the trees. Are the trees your enemies, that you should attack them?

20 You may only cut down trees that you know are not valuable for food. Use them to make the equipment you need to attack the enemy town until it falls.