| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of 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. |
| 2And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people | 2When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. |
| 3and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread 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 give you the victory.’ | 4For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory." |
| 5Then the officers shall speak to the people, saying, ‘Is there any man who has built a new house and has not dedicated it? Let him go back 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. |
| 6And is there any man who has planted a vineyard and has not enjoyed its fruit? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man enjoy its fruit. | 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 is there any man who has betrothed a wife and has not taken her? Let him go back to his house, lest he die in the battle and another man take 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." |
| 8And the officers shall speak further to the people, and say, ‘Is there any man who is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go back to his house, lest he make the heart of his fellows melt like his own.’ | 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 when the officers have finished speaking to the people, then commanders shall be appointed at the head of the people. | 9When the officers have finished speaking to the army, they shall appoint commanders over it. |
| 10“When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. | 10When you march up to attack a city, make its people an offer of peace. |
| 11And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall 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. |
| 12But if it makes no peace with you, but makes 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 gives it into your hand, you shall put all its males to the sword, | 13When the LORD your God delivers it into your hand, put to the sword all the men in it. |
| 14but the women and the little ones, the livestock, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as plunder for yourselves. And you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies, which the LORD your God has given 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 that are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here. | 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. |
| 16But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, | 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 devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the LORD your God has commanded, | 17Completely destroy them--the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites--as the LORD your God has commanded you. |
| 18that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so 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, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you? | 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 that you know are not trees for food you may destroy and cut down, that you may build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you, until it falls. | 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. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. 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. |
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