Deuteronomy 20:19 - Revised Standard Version (RSV-CI)

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; for you may eat of them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field men that they should be besieged by you?

More versions

King James Version (Oxford) 1769

¹⁹ When 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:

Amplified Bible - Classic Edition

¹⁹ When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by using an ax on them, for you can eat their fruit; you must not cut them down, for is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you?

American Standard Version (1901)

¹⁹ When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees thereof by wielding an axe against them; for thou mayest eat of them, and thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?

Common English Bible

¹⁹ Now if you have been attacking a city for some time, fighting against it and trying to conquer it, don’t destroy its trees by cutting them down with axes. You can eat from those trees; don’t cut them down! Do you think a tree of the field is some sort of warrior to be attacked by you in battle?

Catholic Public Domain Version

¹⁹ When you will have besieged a city for a long time, and you will have encircled it with fortifications, so that you may fight against it, you shall not cut down trees from which one is able to eat, neither shall you cause devastation with axes to the surrounding region. For it is a tree, and not a man. It is not able to increase the number of those who are fighting against you.

Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version

¹⁹ When thou hast besieged a city a long time, and hath compassed it with bulwarks to take it, thou shalt not cut down the trees that may be eaten of: neither shalt thou spoil the country round about with axes. For it is a tree, and not a man: neither can it increase the number of them that fight against thee.

Deuteronomy 20:19 Cross References

2 Kings 3:19

and you shall conquer every fortified city, and every choice city, and shall fell every good tree, and stop up all springs of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones.”

2 Kings 3:25

And they overthrew the cities, and on every good piece of land every man threw a stone, until it was covered; they stopped every spring of water, and felled all the good trees; till only its stones were left in Kir-hareseth, and the slingers surrounded and conquered it.

Jeremiah 6:6

For thus says the Lord of hosts: “Hew down her trees; cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem. This is the city which must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her.

Matthew 21:19

And seeing a fig tree by the wayside he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once.

Matthew 3:10

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

Deuteronomy 20:18

that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices which they have done in the service of their gods, and so to sin against the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 20:20

Only the trees which 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.

Deuteronomy 26:6

And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage.