Deuteronomy 20:18-20
21st Century King James Version
18 that they teach you not to do according to all their abominations which they have done unto their gods, so ye should sin against the Lord your God.
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 ax against them, for thou mayest eat of them; and thou shalt not cut them down to employ them in the seige, for the tree of the field is man’s life.
20 Only the trees which thou knowest are not trees for meat, thou shalt destroy and cut them down; and thou shalt build bulwarks against the city that maketh war with thee, until it be subdued.
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Deuteronomy 20:18-20
New International Version
18 Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods,(A) and you will sin(B) against the Lord your God.
19 When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them?[a] 20 However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees(C) and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 20:19 Or down to use in the siege, for the fruit trees are for the benefit of people.
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