When you go to war against your enemy, and you see horse and chariot, people who outnumber you; do not be afraid of them, for Adonoy, your God, is with you, He Who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

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

When you go out to war [(the rationale of the juxtaposition: one lacking a limb does not go out to war)], against your foes [(Let them be as foes in your eyes: Do not pity them, for they will not pity you)], and you see horse and chariot [(In My eyes they are all like one horse)], a nation greater 'from you' [i.e., from your vantage point, not from Mine], do not fear them; for the L-rd your G-d is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.

Now, as you near the battle, the kohein shall approach and speak to the people.

And it shall be, when you are come near to the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak to the people, and shall say to them,

And it shall be, when you draw near to the battle [soon after leaving the boundary of your land], that the Cohein [the Cohein "anointed for war"] shall come forward, and he shall speak to the people [in the holy tongue].

He will say to them, ‘‘Hear, Yisroel! You are setting out today to battle against your enemies. Do not be faint hearted; or intimidated and do not panic, and do not be crushed before them;

Hear, O Yisra᾽el, you draw near today to do battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, nor be terrified because of them;

And he shall say to them: Hear, (Shema) O Israel [(Even if you had no other merit but that of reciting the Shema, it would suffice for your salvation)], you are drawing near today to do battle with your foes, [and not with your brethren, who would treat you with compassion (see II Chronicles 28:15)]. Let your hearts not faint [at the whinnying of the foes' horses], do not fear [the clashing of their shields], do not tremble [at the blaring of their trumpets], and do not break before them [i.e., before their battle cries].

Because Adonoy, your God, marches with you to do battle for you with your enemies to save you.’’

for the Lord your God is he that goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.

For it is the L-rd your G-d [(They come with the triumph of flesh and blood, and you come with the triumph of the L-rd)] which [viz., the encampment of the ark] goes with you to war for you with your foes, to save you.

The officers will address the people as follows, ‘‘Whichever man has built a new house and did not inaugurate it as a dwelling, let him go and return home lest he die in battle and another man will inaugurate it.

And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, What man is there that 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.

Then [the Cohanim shall say to the officers and] the officers shall speak to the people, saying: Who is the man that has built a new house and has not inhabited it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war and another man inhabit it [and the thought of this happening cause him distress].

And whichever man has planted a vineyard and did not redeem it[s fruit,] let him go and return home, lest he die in battle and another man redeem it.

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

And who is the man that has planted a vineyard and not redeemed it [in the fourth year (the fruits to be eaten in Jerusalem or redeemed for money to be spent for eating in Jerusalem)]? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war and another man redeem it.

And whichever man has betrothed a woman and not married her, let him go and return home, lest he die in battle and another man marry her.’’

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

And who is the man who has betrothed a woman and not taken her? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war [(If he does not heed the Cohein, he deserves to die)], and another man take her.

The officers will further address the people and say. ‘‘Whoever is afraid or faint hearted, let him go and return home, and let him not destroy the resolve of his brothers like his own resolve.’’

And the officers shall speak further to the people, and they shall say, What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? let him go and return to his house, lest his brethren’s heart melt like his heart.

Then the officers shall add [to the words of the Cohanim] to speak to the people, and they shall say: Who is the man that fears [According to one view, fear of combat; according to another, fear of (dying in battle because of) one's transgressions], and that is faint of heart? Let him go and return to his house and not melt the heart of his brothers as his own heart.

When the officers finish addressing the people; they will appoint army commanders at the head of the people.

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

And it shall be, when the officers finish speaking to the people, that they shall post sentinels at the head of the people, [before and behind, with iron staves in their hands, and empowered to "cripple" all who would flee, for the beginning of defeat is flight.]

When you near a city to do battle against it, you are to offer it peace.

When thou comest near to a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace to it.

If [in an optional war (as opposed to a war of mitzvah)] you draw near to a city to do battle with it, then you shall call out to it for peace.

Should it respond, ‘‘Peace!’’ and open for you, then all the people found in it will become your payers of tribute, and your servants.

And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open to thee, then it shall be, that all the people to be found in it shall be tributaries to thee, and they shall serve thee.

And it shall be, if it answers you for peace and opens itself to you, then all the people found in it [even those of the seven nations, whom you are (otherwise) commanded to destroy] shall be tribute to you and they shall serve you [They must accede to both.]

And if it does not settle for peace with you but engages in war against you, you shall lay siege to it.

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

But if it does not make peace with you, and it makes war with you [(If it does not make peace with you and you let it be, in the end it will make war with you)], then you shall besiege it, [even to cause famine, thirst, and mortal disease],

Adonoy, your God, will deliver it into your hand, and you will smite all its males by the sword.

and when the Lord thy God has delivered it into thy hands, thou shalt smite every male of it with the edge of the sword:

And the L-rd your G-d will deliver it into your hands [if you do as you have been charged], and you shall smite all of its [adult] males by the sword.

However, the women and the children, and the animals, and everything that will be in the city—all its booty—are you to plunder for yourself; you will eat the booty of your enemies that Adonoy, your God, gave you.

but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, all the spoil of it, shalt thou take to thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thy enemies, which the Lord thy God has given thee.

But the women, and the little ones, and the beasts, and all that is in the city, all of its spoil, shall you take for yourself, and you shall eat the spoil of your foes, which the L-rd your G-d has given you.

So will you do to all the cities, that are very distant from you, that are not among the cities of these nations.

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

So shall you do to all the cities which are very far from you, which are not of the cities of these nations.

However, from the cities of these peoples that Adonoy, your God, is giving you as inheritance, you are not to leave any person alive.

But of the cities of these peoples, which the Lord thy God gives thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breathes:

But from the cities of these people which the L-rd your G-d gives you as an inheritance you shall not allow any soul to live.

Rather annihilate are you to annihilate them: the Chittites and the Emorites, the Canaanites and the Perizites, the Chivites and the Yevusites; as Adonoy, your God, commanded you.

but thou shalt utterly destroy them; the Ḥitti, and the Emori, the Kena῾ani, and the Perizzi, the Ḥivvi, and the Yevusi; as the Lord thy God has commanded thee:

But you shall utterly destroy them: the Chitti, the Emori, the Canaani, the Perizi, the Chivi, and the Yevussi, as the L-rd your G-d commanded you [(The Girgashi is hereby included)].

In order that they do not teach you to do any of their abominations that they did for their gods, and you will sin to Adonoy, your God.

that they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done to their gods; so should you sin against the Lord your God.

So that they not teach you to do according to all their abominations which they performed unto their gods and you sin to the L-rd your G-d [(but if they repent and convert, you may accept them)].

If you besiege a city many days to wage war against it, to capture it, do not harm [any of] its trees by chopping it with an ax, because you eat from it you are not to cut it down; For, is the tree in the field a man to join the besieged to escape you?

When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy its trees by forcing an axe against them: for thou mayst eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by thee?

If you besiege a city [(in an optional war)] many days [("days" = two; "many days" = three — whence it is derived that gentile cities are not besieged fewer than three days before the Sabbath and that the peace overture is repeated for two or three days)], to make war upon it, to capture it, do not destroy its tree by wielding an axe against it. For from it shall you eat, but it shall you not cut down. For is the tree of the field a man, to come before you into the siege, [there to be afflicted with hunger and thirst like the people of the city? Why should you destroy it?]

Only a tree that you know that it is not a fruit tree may you harm or cut down; and you will build battlements against the city that is waging war against you until it is conquered.

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

Only a tree that you know not to be a food tree, it may you destroy and cut down and build siegeworks against the city that makes war with you until it is subdued.