Deuteronomy 20 NIV ISV Parallel

◄ Deuteronomy 20 ►

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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.

1"When you go to war against your enemies and observe more horses, chariots, and soldiers than you have, don't 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.

2As you draw near for battle, let the priest approach and speak to 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.

3He will say to them, 'Listen, Israel! You're about to go into battle today against your enemies. Don't be faint-hearted. Don't be afraid, don't panic, and don't be terrified to face 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 will be with you, fighting on your behalf against your enemies in order to grant you 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.

5"Furthermore, let the officials ask the army, 'Is there a man here who has built a new house but has not yet dedicated it? Let him go back home. Otherwise, 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.

6And is there a man here who has planted a vineyard and not yet benefited from it? Let him go home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man use it.

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."

7And is there a man here who is engaged to a woman and has not yet married her? Let him go back home. Otherwise, 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."

8"Let the officials also speak to the army, 'Is there a man here who is afraid and faint-hearted? Let him go back home. Otherwise, he may demoralize his fellow soldier.'

9When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it.

9"When the officials have finished speaking to the army, they must appoint officers to lead the troops."

10When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace.

10"When you approach a city to wage war against it, extend terms 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 it agrees to peace and welcomes you, then all the people found in it will serve you as forced laborers.

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 instead choose war, then attack it.

13When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it.

13The LORD your God will deliver it into your control, and you must execute every male.

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.

14The women, children, all the livestock in the city, and all of the spoil and plunder will belong to you. Appropriate the spoil of your enemies, which the LORD your God will give 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.

15Do this to all the cities that are distant from you—that is, to those cities that are not in neighboring nations."

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

16"You are not to leave even one person alive in the cities of these nations that the LORD your God is about to give you as an inheritance.

17Completely destroy them--the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--as the LORD your God has commanded you.

17You must completely destroy the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, just as the LORD your God 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 they won't teach you to do all the detestable things that they do for their gods. If you do what they teach you, you will 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?

19"When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don't destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack 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.

20However, you may cut down the trees whose fruit you know isn't edible, in order to build siege works against the city that waged war with you, until it falls."

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