“When you lend someone something, you must not take as security any part of the stones used to grind flour. That would be the same as taking away their food.
“When you are making war against a city, you might surround that city for a long time. You must not cut down the fruit trees around that city. You may eat the fruit from these trees, but you must not cut them down. These trees are not the enemy, so don’t make war against them.
O Babylon, the music of people playing harps and other instruments, flutes and trumpets will never be heard in you again. No worker doing any job will ever be found in you again. The sound of a millstone will never be heard in you again.
“When a man is newly married, he must not be sent into the army. And he must not be given any other special work. For one year he must be free to stay home and make his new wife happy.
“Someone might kidnap another Israelite—one of their own people. And that kidnapper might sell that person as a slave. If that happens, that kidnapper must be killed. You must remove this evil from your group.