Deuteronomy

When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

1When you go out to fight your enemies, you may see horses and chariots. You may see an army much bigger than yours. Do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God is with you. He is the one who brought you out of Egypt.

2And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people,

2When the battle is close, the priest must come forward and speak to the people. A priest is a man who serves God for everyone.

3And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them;

3He will say, "Listen, Israel. Today you go out to fight your enemies. Do not lose heart. Do not be afraid. Do not shake or let them scare you.

4For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

4The LORD your God is going with you. He will fight your enemies for you. He will save you."

5And the officers shall speak unto the people, saying, What man is there that hath built a new house, and hath not dedicated it? let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man dedicate it.

5Then the officers, the men who lead the army, will speak to the people. They will say, "Has any man built a new house but not yet begun to live in it? Let him go back home. If he dies in the battle, another man will live in it first.

Note"Dedicated" in the old English means holding a special first day in the new house, when the owner begins living there.

6And what man is he that hath planted a vineyard, and hath not yet eaten of it? let him also go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man eat of it.

6Has any man planted a vineyard, a field of grapevines, but not yet eaten its fruit? Let him go back home. If he dies in the battle, another man will eat that fruit.

7And what man is there that hath betrothed a wife, and hath not taken her? let him go and return unto his house, lest he die in the battle, and another man take her.

7Has any man promised to marry a woman but not married her yet? Let him go back home. If he dies in the battle, another man will marry her."

8And the officers shall speak further unto the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return unto his house, lest his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart.

8Then the officers will say one more thing. "Is any man afraid or losing his courage? Let him go back home. If he stays, his fear may spread to the other men."

9And it shall be, when the officers have made an end of speaking unto the people, that they shall make captains of the armies to lead the people.

9When the officers have finished speaking, they will choose leaders to command the army.

10When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.

10When you come near a city to fight against it, first offer that city peace.

11And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

11If the city says yes and opens its gates, all the people inside will work for you. They will do the work you give them.

NoteThe KJV word "tributaries" does not mean rivers. It means people who must pay or work for the ones who beat them.

12And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:

12But if the city will not make peace and fights you instead, then surround it. Camp around it so no food or help can get in.

13And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:

13When the LORD your God hands that city over to you, kill every man in it with the sword.

14But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.

14But the women, the children, the animals, and everything else in the city are yours to take. You may use all the goods the LORD your God gives you from your enemies.

15Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.

15This is what you do to all the cities that are far away from you. Those cities do not belong to the nations living near you.

16But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

16But the cities of those nearby nations are different. The LORD your God is giving you their land to keep. In those cities, leave nothing alive that breathes.

17But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee:

17Destroy them completely. That means the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The LORD your God has told you to do this.

18That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against the LORD your God.

18If you did not, they would teach you the terrible things they do for their gods. Then you would sin against the LORD your God.

19When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man’s life) to employ them in the siege:

19You may fight against a city for a long time before you take it. Do not chop down its fruit trees with an axe. You may eat their fruit, so do not cut them down for the fight. The trees of the field are not people who are fighting you.

NoteThe KJV line "the tree of the field is man's life" is hard even in Hebrew. It can mean the trees feed people, or that trees are not enemies to attack.

20Only the trees which thou knowest that they be not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.

20But trees that do not give food you may cut down. Use their wood to build ramps and walls against the city that is fighting you. Keep going until that city gives up.

Note"Meat" in the KJV means food of any kind, not just meat from animals. Here it means trees that grow food.