| New King James Version | New International Version |
| 1“When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. | 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. |
| 2So it shall be, when you are on the verge of battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people. | 2When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. |
| 3And he shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel: Today you are on the verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; | 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. |
| 4for the LORD your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ | 4For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." |
| 5“Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying: ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man dedicate it. | 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. |
| 6Also what man is there who has planted a vineyard and has not eaten of it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man eat of 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. |
| 7And what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not married her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man marry her.’ | 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." |
| 8“The officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘What man is there who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return to his house, lest the heart of his brethren faint like his heart.’ | 8Then the officers shall add, "Is anyone afraid or fainthearted? Let him go home so that his fellow soldiers will not become disheartened too." |
| 9And so it shall be, when the officers have finished speaking to the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people. | 9When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it. |
| 10“When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it. | 10When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. |
| 11And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you. | 11If they accept and open their gates, all the people in it shall be subject to forced labor and shall work for you. |
| 12Now if the city will not make peace with you, but war against you, then you shall besiege it. | 12If they refuse to make peace and they engage you in battle, lay siege to that city. |
| 13And when the LORD your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword. | 13When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. |
| 14But the women, the little ones, the livestock, and all that is in the city, all its spoil, you shall plunder for yourself; and you shall eat the enemies’ plunder which the LORD your God gives you. | 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. |
| 15Thus you shall do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations. | 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. |
| 16“But of the cities of these peoples which the LORD your God gives you as an inheritance, you shall let nothing that breathes remain alive, | 16However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. |
| 17but you shall utterly destroy them: the Hittite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, just as the LORD your God has commanded you, | 17Completely destroy them--the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--as the LORD your God has commanded you. |
| 18lest they teach you to do according to all their abominations which they have done for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God. | 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. |
| 19“When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food. | 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? |
| 20Only the trees which you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, to build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it is subdued. | 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. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
|
