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for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’(A) The officers shall also speak to the [a]soldiers, saying, ‘What man is there who has built a new house and has not yet [b]dedicated it? [c]Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would dedicate it. What man has planted a vineyard and has not put it to use [harvesting its fruit]? Let him go and return to his house, otherwise he might die in the battle and another man would begin to use its fruit.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 20:5 Lit people and so throughout.
  2. Deuteronomy 20:5 I.e. to the temple. The rabbis said that ownership of a house was required for dedication. Here, dedication seems to have established ownership when the original owner died.
  3. Deuteronomy 20:5 The point of the admonitions in vv 5-8 is that with the Lord’s help, Israel would have no need of a large military force, and the officers could afford to dismiss anyone who was not completely prepared for battle.

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