Then you must strike every fortified city and every major town, cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs of water and ruin every good field with stones.”
Deuteronomy 20:19 - Tree of Life Version “When you lay siege to a city for a long time, making war against it to capture it, you are not to destroy its trees by swinging an axe at them. For from them you may eat, so you shall not chop them down. For is the tree of the field human, that it should enter the siege before you? Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 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 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) 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 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 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 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. |
Then you must strike every fortified city and every major town, cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs of water and ruin every good field with stones.”
They destroyed the cities. Also each man threw his stone onto every good field and covered it. They stopped up all the springs of water and cut down all the good trees—until nothing was left except Kir-hareseth with the stones of its wall. However, the slingers encircled it and struck it down.
For thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot: “Chop down her trees! Raise a siege ramp at Jerusalem. This city must be punished— in her midst is only oppression.
Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came up to it and found nothing on it except leaves only. And He said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree shriveled up at once.
Already the axe is laid at the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire!
You are to do this so they will not teach you to do all the abominations as they have done for their gods, and so you would sin against Adonai your God.
You may destroy and chop down only the trees that you know are not trees for food, so that you may build siege equipment against the city that is making war with you until its downfall.
The Egyptians treated us badly, afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us.