| International Standard Version | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 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. | 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. |
| 2As you draw near for battle, let the priest approach and speak to the army. | 2When you are about to engage in battle, the priest is to come forward and address the army. |
| 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. | 3He is to say to them: 'Listen, Israel: Today you are about to engage in battle with your enemies. Do not be cowardly. Do not be afraid, alarmed, or terrified because of them. |
| 4For the LORD your God will be with you, fighting on your behalf against your enemies in order to grant you victory.' | 4For the LORD your God is the One who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.'" |
| 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. | 5The officers are to address the army, 'Has any man built a new house and not dedicated it? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise, he may die in battle and another man dedicate 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. | 6Has any man planted a vineyard and not begun to enjoy its fruit? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise he may die in battle and another man enjoy its fruit. |
| 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.' | 7Has any man become engaged to a woman and not married her? Let him leave and return home. Otherwise he may die in battle and another man marry her.' |
| 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.' | 8The officers will continue to address the army and say, 'Is there any man who is afraid or cowardly? Let him leave and return home, so that his brothers' hearts won't melt like his own.' |
| 9"When the officials have finished speaking to the army, they must appoint officers to lead the troops." | 9When the officers have finished addressing the army, they will appoint military commanders to lead it." |
| 10"When you approach a city to wage war against it, extend terms of peace. | 10When you approach a city to fight against it, you must make an offer of peace. |
| 11If it agrees to peace and welcomes you, then all the people found in it will serve you as forced laborers. | 11If it accepts your offer of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people found in it will become forced laborers for you and serve you. |
| 12But if they refuse to make peace with you and instead choose war, then attack it. | 12However, if it does not make peace with you but wages war against you, lay siege to it. |
| 13The LORD your God will deliver it into your control, and you must execute every male. | 13When the LORD your God hands it over to you, you must strike down all its males with the sword. |
| 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. | 14But you may take the women, children, animals, and whatever else is in the city--all its spoil--as plunder. You may enjoy the spoil of your enemies that the LORD your God has given you. |
| 15Do this to all the cities that are distant from you—that is, to those cities that are not in neighboring nations." | 15This is how you are to treat all the cities that are far away from you and are not among the cities of these nations. |
| 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. | 16However, you must not let any living thing survive among the cities of these people the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. |
| 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, | 17You must completely destroy them--the Hittite, Amorite, Canaanite, Perizzite, Hivite, and Jebusite--as the LORD your God has commanded you, |
| 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." | 18so that they won't teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and you sin against the LORD your God." |
| 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? | 19When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can get food from them. You must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human, to come under siege by you? |
| 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." | 20But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce food. You may cut them down to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls." |
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