Deuteronomy 20:19
New International Version
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?

New Living Translation
“When you are attacking a town and the war drags on, you must not cut down the trees with your axes. You may eat the fruit, but do not cut down the trees. Are the trees your enemies, that you should attack them?

English Standard Version
“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. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you?

Berean Standard Bible
When you lay siege to a city for an extended time while fighting against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their fruit. You must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human, that you should besiege them?

King James Bible
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:

New King James Version
“When you besiege a city for a long time, while making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; if you can eat of them, do not cut them down to use in the siege, for the tree of the field is man’s food.

New American Standard Bible
“When you besiege a city for a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, so you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a human, that it should be besieged by you?

NASB 1995
“When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you?

NASB 1977
“When you besiege a city a long time, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you?

Legacy Standard Bible
“If you besiege a city for many days, to make war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged by you?

Amplified Bible
“When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its [fruit-bearing] trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged (destroyed) by you?

Christian Standard Bible
“When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it in order to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can get food from them. Do not cut them down. Are trees of the field human, to come under siege by you?

Holman Christian Standard Bible
When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can get food from them. You must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human, to come under siege by you?

American Standard Version
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?

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And when you besiege a town for many days to fight against it and to conquer it, you shall not destroy its trees and do not lift up iron on them and cut them down, because you eat from them, for the trees of the field are not like a son of man so that they will flee from before you in trouble:

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And if thou shouldest besiege a city many days to prevail against it by war to take it, thou shalt not destroy its trees, by applying an iron tool to them, but thou shalt eat of it, and shalt not cut it down: Is the tree that is in the field a man, to enter before thee into the work of the siege?

Contemporary English Version
When you are attacking a town, don't chop down its fruit trees, not even if you have had the town surrounded for a long time. Fruit trees aren't your enemies, and they produce food that you can eat, so don't cut them down.

Douay-Rheims Bible
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.

English Revised Version
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?

GOD'S WORD® Translation
This is what you must do whenever you blockade a city for a long time in order to capture it in war. Don't harm any of its fruit trees with an ax. You can eat the fruit. Never cut those trees down, because the trees of the field are not people you have come to blockade.

Good News Translation
"When you are trying to capture a city, do not cut down its fruit trees, even though the siege lasts a long time. Eat the fruit, but do not destroy the trees; the trees are not your enemies.

International Standard Version
"When you attack a city and have to fight against it for many days, don't destroy its trees by cutting them down with an ax. You may eat from them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that you would come and attack them?

JPS Tanakh 1917
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, but thou shalt not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of thee?

Literal Standard Version
When you lay siege to a city [for] many days to fight against it, to capture it, you do not destroy its trees to force an axe against them, for you eat of them, and you do not cut them down—for the tree of the field [is] man’s—to go in at your presence in the siege.

Majority Standard Bible
When you lay siege to a city for an extended time while fighting against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their fruit. You must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human, that you should besiege them?

New American Bible
When you are at war with a city and have to lay siege to it for a long time before you capture it, you shall not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human beings, that they should be included in your siege?

NET Bible
If you besiege a city for a long time while attempting to capture it, you must not chop down its trees, for you may eat fruit from them and should not cut them down. A tree in the field is not human that you should besiege it!

New Revised Standard Version
If you besiege a town for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you must not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them. Although you may take food from them, you must not cut them down. Are trees in the field human beings that they should come under siege from you?

New Heart English Bible
When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them; for you may eat of them, and you shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged of you?

Webster's Bible Translation
When thou shalt besiege a city a long time in making war against it to take it, thou shalt not destroy the trees of it by forcing an ax 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:

World English Bible
When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; for you may eat of them. You shall not cut them down, for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged by you?

Young's Literal Translation
When thou layest siege unto a city many days, to fight against it, to capture it, thou dost not destroy its trees to force an axe against them, for of them thou dost eat, and them thou dost not cut down -- for man's is the tree of the field -- to go in at thy presence in the siege.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Laws of Warfare
18so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God. 19When you lay siege to a city for an extended time while fighting against it to capture it, you must not destroy its trees by putting an axe to them, because you can eat their fruit. You must not cut them down. Are the trees of the field human, that you should besiege them? 20But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce fruit. Use them to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 20:18
so that they cannot teach you to do all the detestable things they do for their gods, and so cause you to sin against the LORD your God.

Deuteronomy 20:20
But you may destroy the trees that you know do not produce fruit. Use them to build siege works against the city that is waging war against you, until it falls.

Jeremiah 6:6
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: "Cut down the trees and raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished; there is nothing but oppression in her midst.


Treasury of Scripture

When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy the trees thereof by forcing an ax against them: for you may eat of them, and you shall not cut them down (for the tree of the field is man's life) to employ them in the siege:

thou shalt not

Matthew 3:10
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

Matthew 7:15-20
Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves…

Matthew 21:19
And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

for the tree, etc.

Deuteronomy 26:6
And the Egyptians evil entreated us, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage:

to employ, etc.

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Deuteronomy 20
1. The priest's exhortation to encourage the people to battle
5. The officers' proclamation of who are to be dismissed from the war
10. How to use the cities that accept or refuse the proclamation of peace
16. What cities must be devoted
19. Trees must not be destroyed in the siege














Verse 19. - To employ them in the siege; literally, to come, i.e. that they should come into the siege before thee, i.e. either as thine adversary or to be used by thee for the siege. For the tree of the field is man's life. This may mean that the tree supplies food for the sustenance of man's life. But as the words stand in the text, they can only be rendered thus: "For the man s a tree of the field." This gives no good sense, or indeed, any sense at all; and hence it is proposed to alter the reading of the text so as to produce a meaning that shall be acceptable. From an early period the expedient has been resorted to of reading the clause interrogatively, and, instead of regarding it as parenthetical, connecting it with the following words, thus: "Is the tree of the field a man to come into siege before thee?" So the LXX., Rashi, etc. It has been thought that only a very slight change in the punctuation is required to justify this rendering (הֶאָדָם instead of הָאָדָם); but more than this is acquired: the subject and object are hereby reversed, and this is more than can be allowed. From an early period also it has been proposed to read the clause as a negation, "For the tree of the field is not a man to come into siege before thee." So the Targum of Onkelos, Abarbanel, Vulgate, etc. The sense here is substantially the same as in the preceding, and the same general objection applies to both. To both also it may be objected that by this way of taking the passage Moses is made to utter a sentiment at once puerile and irrelevant; for what need to declare formally, or in effect, that a tree is not a man? and what reason is there in this for not cutting down fruit trees any more than other trees? In the margin of the Authorized Version an alternative rendering is proposed, "O man, the tree of the field is to be employed in the siege." But admitting this as a possible rendering, it is exposed to the objection, on the one hand, that it is improbable that in a prosaic address like this an explanatory appeal would be introduced; and on the other, that it is inconceivable that Moses would in this casual and startling way anticipate what he goes on in the next sentence to express deliberately and clearly. The passage has probably suffered at the hands of a transcriber, and the text as we have it is corrupt. The sense put upon it in the Authorized Version is that suggested by Ibn Ezra, and in the absence of anything better this may be accepted. The fruit tree is man's life, as it furnishes that by which life is sustained, just as, in Deuteronomy 24:6, the millstone is called a man's life, inasmuch as it supplies the means of life.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
When
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

you lay siege
תָצ֣וּר (ṯā·ṣūr)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 6696: To confine, bind, besiege

to
אֶל־ (’el-)
Preposition
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

a city
עִיר֩ (‘îr)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 5892: Excitement

for an extended
רַבִּ֜ים (rab·bîm)
Adjective - masculine plural
Strong's 7227: Much, many, great

time
יָמִ֨ים (yā·mîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3117: A day

while fighting
לְֽהִלָּחֵ֧ם (lə·hil·lā·ḥêm)
Preposition-l | Verb - Nifal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 3898: To feed on, to consume, to battle

against it
עָלֶ֣יהָ (‘ā·le·hā)
Preposition | third person feminine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

to capture it,
לְתָפְשָׂ֗הּ (lə·ṯā·p̄ə·śāh)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 8610: To manipulate, seize, chiefly to capture, wield, to overlay, to use unwarrantably

you must not
לֹֽא־ (lō-)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

destroy
תַשְׁחִ֤ית (ṯaš·ḥîṯ)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 7843: Perhaps to go to ruin

its trees
עֵצָהּ֙ (‘ê·ṣāh)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

by putting
לִנְדֹּ֤חַ (lin·dō·aḥ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct
Strong's 5080: To impel, thrust, banish

an ax
גַּרְזֶ֔ן (gar·zen)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1631: An axe

to them,
עָלָיו֙ (‘ā·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

because
כִּ֚י (kî)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

you can eat their fruit.
תֹאכֵ֔ל (ṯō·ḵêl)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 398: To eat

You must not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

cut them down.
תִכְרֹ֑ת (ṯiḵ·rōṯ)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - second person masculine singular
Strong's 3772: To cut, to destroy, consume, to covenant

Are the trees
עֵ֣ץ (‘êṣ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 6086: Tree, trees, wood

of the field
הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה (haś·śā·ḏeh)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7704: Field, land

human,
הָֽאָדָם֙ (hā·’ā·ḏām)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 120: Ruddy, a human being

that you should besiege them?
בַּמָּצֽוֹר׃ (bam·mā·ṣō·wr)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4692: Something hemming in, a mound, a siege, distress, a fastness


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OT Law: Deuteronomy 20:19 When you shall besiege a city (Deut. De Du)
Deuteronomy 20:18
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