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Deuteronomy 20

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1 ἐὰν δὲ ἐξέλθῃς εἰς πόλεμον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθρούς σου καὶ ἴδῃς ἵππον καὶ ἀναβάτην καὶ λαὸν πλείονά σου οὐ φοβηθήσῃ ἀ{P'} αὐτῶν ὅτι κύριος ὁ θεός σου μετὰ σοῦ ὁ ἀναβιβάσας σε ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου 2 καὶ ἔσται ὅταν ἐγγίσῃς τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ προσεγγίσας ὁ ἱερεὺς λαλήσει τῷ λαῷ 3 καὶ ἐρεῖ πρὸς αὐτούς ἄκουε Ισραηλ ὑμεῖς προσπορεύεσθε σήμερον εἰς πόλεμον ἐπὶ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν μὴ ἐκλυέσθω ἡ καρδία ὑμῶν μὴ φοβεῖσθε μηδὲ θραύεσθε μηδὲ ἐκκλίνητε ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν 4 ὅτι κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν ὁ προπορευόμενος με{Q'} ὑμῶν συνεκπολεμῆσαι ὑμῖν τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν διασῶσαι ὑμᾶς 5 καὶ λαλήσουσιν οἱ γραμματεῖς πρὸς τὸν λαὸν λέγοντες τίς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ οἰκοδομήσας οἰκίαν καινὴν καὶ οὐκ ἐνεκαίνισεν αὐτήν πορευέσθω καὶ ἀποστραφήτω εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἕτερος ἐγκαινιεῖ αὐτήν 6 καὶ τίς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὅστις ἐφύτευσεν ἀμπελῶνα καὶ οὐκ εὐφράνθη ἐξ αὐτοῦ πορευέσθω καὶ ἀποστραφήτω εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἕτερος εὐφρανθήσεται ἐξ αὐτοῦ 7 καὶ τίς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὅστις μεμνήστευται γυναῖκα καὶ οὐκ ἔλαβεν αὐτήν πορευέσθω καὶ ἀποστραφήτω εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ μὴ ἀποθάνῃ ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ ἄνθρωπος ἕτερος λήμψεται αὐτήν 8 καὶ προσθήσουσιν οἱ γραμματεῖς λαλῆσαι πρὸς τὸν λαὸν καὶ ἐροῦσιν τίς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ φοβούμενος καὶ δειλὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ πορευέσθω καὶ ἀποστραφήτω εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτοῦ ἵνα μὴ δειλιάνῃ τὴν καρδίαν τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ὥσπερ ἡ αὐτοῦ 9 καὶ ἔσται ὅταν παύσωνται οἱ γραμματεῖς λαλοῦντες πρὸς τὸν λαόν καὶ καταστήσουσιν ἄρχοντας τῆς στρατιᾶς προηγουμένους τοῦ λαοῦ

1 When thou dost go out to war against thy enemies, never be daunted by the sight of horsemen and chariots, and a host greater than thy own arrayed against thee; the Lord thy God, who rescued thee from Egypt, fights on thy side. 2 When the hour of battle draws near, the high priest will take his stand there in front of the ranks, and say to the people, 3 Listen, Israel; as you join battle to-day with your enemies, there must be no faint hearts among you, no flinching, no yielding, no trembling here. 4 The Lord your God is here in the midst of you, and will fight on your side against your adversaries, to deliver you in the hour of peril. 5 And then, in the hearing of the whole army, each chieftain will make this proclamation to the men of his own company: Is there anyone here who has built a new house, and not yet handselled it? Let him go back home; shall he be slain in battle, and leave another to handsel it?[1] 6 Is there anyone here who has planted a vineyard, and not shared the first vintage of it with his neighbours?[2] Let him go back home; shall he be slain in battle, and another take his place? 7 Is there anyone here that is betrothed to a maid, and has not taken her to himself? Let him go back home; shall he be slain in battle, and leave her to wed another? 8 And when so much is said, let them add this further proclamation: Is there anyone here whose spirits are daunted by terror? Let him go back home, or he will daunt the spirits of his brethren, and make them cowards too. 9 And now, having said their say, let the chieftains keep silent, and let each of them set about marshalling his company for battle.

1 Si exieris ad bellum contra hostes tuos, et videris equitatus et currus, et majorem quam tu habeas adversarii exercitus multitudinem, non timebis eos: quia Dominus Deus tuus tecum est, qui eduxit te de terra Ægypti. 2 Appropinquante autem jam prælio, stabit sacerdos ante aciem, et sic loquetur ad populum: 3 Audi, Israël: vos hodie contra inimicos vestros pugnam committitis: non pertimescat cor vestrum, nolite metuere, nolite cedere, nec formidetis eos: 4 quia Dominus Deus vester in medio vestri est, et pro vobis contra adversarios dimicabit, ut eruat vos de periculo. 5 Duces quoque per singulas turmas audiente exercitu proclamabunt: Quis est homo qui ædificavit domum novam, et non dedicavit eam? vadat, et revertatur in domum suam, ne forte moriatur in bello, et alius dedicet eam. 6 Quis est homo qui plantavit vineam, et necdum fecit eam esse communem, de qua vesci omnibus liceat? vadat, et revertatur in domum suam, ne forte moriatur in bello, et alius homo ejus fungatur officio. 7 Quis est homo, qui despondit uxorem, et non accepit eam? vadat, et revertatur in domum suam, ne forte moriatur in bello, et alius homo accipiat eam. 8 His dictis addent reliqua, et loquentur ad populum: Quis est homo formidolosus, et corde pavido? vadat, et revertatur in domum suam, ne pavere faciat corda fratrum suorum, sicut ipse timore perterritus est. 9 Cumque siluerint duces exercitus, et finem loquendi fecerint, unusquisque suos ad bellandum cuneos præparabit.

10 ἐὰν δὲ προσέλθῃς πρὸς πόλιν ἐκπολεμῆσαι αὐτήν καὶ ἐκκαλέσῃ αὐτοὺς με{T'} εἰρήνης 11 ἐὰν μὲν εἰρηνικὰ ἀποκριθῶσίν σοι καὶ ἀνοίξωσίν σοι ἔσται πᾶς ὁ λαὸς οἱ εὑρεθέντες ἐν αὐτῇ ἔσονταί σοι φορολόγητοι καὶ ὑπήκοοί σου 12 ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ὑπακούσωσίν σοι καὶ ποιήσωσιν πρὸς σὲ πόλεμον περικαθιεῖς αὐτήν 13 καὶ παραδώσει αὐτὴν κύριος ὁ θεός σου εἰς τὰς χεῖράς σου καὶ πατάξεις πᾶν ἀρσενικὸν αὐτῆς ἐν φόνῳ μαχαίρας 14 πλὴν τῶν γυναικῶν καὶ τῆς ἀποσκευῆς καὶ πάντα τὰ κτήνη καὶ πάντα ὅσα ἂν ὑπάρχῃ ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀπαρτίαν προνομεύσεις σεαυτῷ καὶ φάγῃ πᾶσαν τὴν προνομὴν τῶν ἐχθρῶν σου ὧν κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι 15 οὕτως ποιήσεις πάσας τὰς πόλεις τὰς μακρὰν οὔσας ἀπὸ σοῦ σφόδρα αἳ οὐχὶ ἐκ τῶν πόλεων τῶν ἐθνῶν τούτων 16 ἰδοὺ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν πόλεων τῶν ἐθνῶν τούτων ὧν κύριος ὁ θεός σου δίδωσίν σοι κληρονομεῖν τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν οὐ ζωγρήσετε ἀ{P'} αὐτῶν πᾶν ἐμπνέον 17 ἀλ{L'} ἢ ἀναθέματι ἀναθεματιεῖτε αὐτούς τὸν Χετταῖον καὶ Αμορραῖον καὶ Χαναναῖον καὶ Φερεζαῖον καὶ Ευαῖον καὶ Ιεβουσαῖον καὶ Γεργεσαῖον ὃν τρόπον ἐνετείλατό σοι κύριος ὁ θεός σου 18 ἵνα μὴ διδάξωσιν ὑμᾶς ποιεῖν πάντα τὰ βδελύγματα αὐτῶν ὅσα ἐποίησαν τοῖς θεοῖς αὐτῶν καὶ ἁμαρτήσεσθε ἐναντίον κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ὑμῶν

10 When thou dost lay siege to a city, first of all thou shalt offer terms of peace. 11 If these are accepted, and the gates opened to thee, the lives of all the citizens shall be spared, and they shall become thy subjects, paying thee tribute. 12 But if they refuse to listen, and offer battle, go forward to the assault; 13 and when the Lord makes thee master of it, put only the men folk to the sword, 14 not the women and children, not the cattle or anything else that the city contains. Divide the spoil among the host, and enjoy as thou wilt all the plunder the Lord thy God has allowed thee to take from thy enemies. 15 All this, when thou art concerned with some city far away from thee, not one of those in which thou art to find a dwelling. 16 But in the cities that are to be thy own, no living thing must be left. 17 All of them must be put to the sword, Hethite and Amorrhite and Chanaanite and Pherezite and Hevite and Jebusite, as the Lord thy God has bidden thee; 18 or they will teach your race to perform such detestable worship as they perform in honour of their own gods, and be false to the Lord.

10 Siquando accesseris ad expugnandam civitatem, offeres ei primum pacem. 11 Si receperit, et aperuerit tibi portas, cunctus populus, qui in ea est, salvabitur, et serviet tibi sub tributo. 12 Sin autem fœdus inire noluerit, et cœperit contra te bellum, oppugnabis eam. 13 Cumque tradiderit Dominus Deus tuus illam in manu tua, percuties omne quod in ea generis masculini est, in ore gladii, 14 absque mulieribus et infantibus, jumentis et ceteris quæ in civitate sunt. Omnem prædam exercitui divides, et comedes de spoliis hostium tuorum, quæ Dominus Deus tuus dederit tibi. 15 Sic facies cunctis civitatibus, quæ a te procul valde sunt, et non sunt de his urbibus, quas in possessionem accepturus es. 16 De his autem civitatibus, quæ dabuntur tibi, nullum omnino permittes vivere: 17 sed interficies in ore gladii, Hethæum videlicet, et Amorrhæum, et Chananæum, Pherezæum, et Hevæum, et Jebusæum, sicut præcepit tibi Dominus Deus tuus: 18 ne forte doceant vos facere cunctas abominationes, quas ipsi operati sunt diis suis, et peccetis in Dominum Deum vestrum.

19 ἐὰν δὲ περικαθίσῃς περὶ πόλιν ἡμέρας πλείους ἐκπολεμῆσαι αὐτὴν εἰς κατάλημψιν αὐτῆς οὐχὶ ἐξολεθρεύσεις τὰ δένδρα αὐτῆς ἐπιβαλεῖν ἐ{P'} αὐτὰ σίδηρον ἀλ{L'} ἢ ἀ{P'} αὐτοῦ φάγῃ αὐτὸ δὲ οὐκ ἐκκόψεις μὴ ἄνθρωπος τὸ ξύλον τὸ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ εἰσελθεῖν ἀπὸ προσώπου σου εἰς τὸν χάρακα 20 ἀλλὰ ξύλον ὃ ἐπίστασαι ὅτι οὐ καρπόβρωτόν ἐστιν τοῦτο ἐξολεθρεύσεις καὶ ἐκκόψεις καὶ οἰκοδομήσεις χαράκωσιν ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ἥτις ποιεῖ πρὸς σὲ τὸν πόλεμον ἕως ἂν παραδοθῇ

19 When a city must be taken by force of arms, and thou hast been a long time besieging it, do not lay waste the whole countryside with thy axe, and destroy the trees that yield food. Trees are not men, to increase the number of the city’s defenders. 20 Spare the fruit-trees, and be content to cut down such wild trees as are fit for other use; and so build engines to reduce the city that defies thee.[3]

19 Quando obsederis civitatem multo tempore, et munitionibus circumdederis ut expugnes eam, non succides arbores, de quibus vesci potest, nec securibus per circuitum debes vastare regionem: quoniam lignum est, et non homo, nec potest bellantium contra te augere numerum. 20 Si qua autem ligna non sunt pomifera, sed agrestia, et in ceteros apta usus, succide, et instrue machinas, donec capias civitatem, quæ contra te dimicat.

[1] It is not clear whether this implies a religious dedication; we do not read elsewhere of houses being so treated. Cf. I Mac. 3.56.

[2] There is no reference in the Hebrew text to this exercise of public hospitality.

[3] In verses 19-20 the meaning of the Hebrew text is not quite clear, and it has perhaps suffered from a slight corruption; the sense given to it in the Latin seems the most probable.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd