| New International Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. | 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. |
| 2When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. | 2When you are about to go into battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army, |
| 3He shall say: "Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. | 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. |
| 4For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." | 4For the LORD your God goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.” |
| 5The officers shall say to the army: "Has anyone built a new house and not yet begun to live in it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else may begin to live in it. | 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. |
| 6Has anyone planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy it? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else enjoy 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. |
| 7Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her." | 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.” |
| 8Then the officers shall add, "Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too." | 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.” |
| 9When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it. | 9When the officers have finished addressing the army, they are to appoint commanders to lead it. |
| 10When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. | 10When you approach a city to fight against it, you are to make an offer of peace. |
| 11If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. | 11If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you. |
| 12If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. | 12But if they refuse to make peace with you and wage war against you, lay siege to that city. |
| 13When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. | 13When the LORD your God has delivered it into your hand, you must put every male to the sword. |
| 14As for the women, the children, the livestock and everything else in the city, you may take these as plunder for yourselves. And you may use the plunder the LORD your God gives you from your enemies. | 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. |
| 15This is how you are to treat all the cities that are at a distance from you and do not belong to the nations nearby. | 15This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and do not belong to the nations nearby. |
| 16However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. | 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. |
| 17Completely destroy them--the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--as the LORD your God has commanded you. | 17For you must devote them to complete destruction—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you, |
| 18Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the LORD your God. | 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. |
| 19When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them? | 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? |
| 20However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls. | 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. |
|
