Deuteronomy 20:19 BSB

Deuteronomy 20:19

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?

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

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?

KJV

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:

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Commentary

4 voices

Clement of Alexandria

The Stromata Book 2 (215)

The Logos in his goodness, richly equipped with love of humankind, teaches that it is not right to cut down cultivated trees, still less to cut crops for purposes of vandalism before harvest, and even less still to destroy, root and branch, cultivated fruit, whether of the land or of the soul. It does not even allow the razing of enemy land. Yes, and farmers find their profit from the law.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)

When thou shalt besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it,.... Before it will surrender; it holding out the siege a considerable time: the Hebrew text says, "many days" (c); which the Targum of Jonathan interprets of all the seven days, to make war against it, in order to subdue it on the sabbath day.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

That reason, for the tree of the field is man's (the word life we supply), all the ancient versions, the Septuagint, Targums, &c., read, For is the tree of the field a man? Or the tree of the field is not a man, that it should come against thee in the siege, or retire from thee into the bulwark.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

But fruit-bearing trees were to be carefully spared; and, indeed, in warm countries like India, where the people live much more on fruit than we do, the destruction of a fruit tree is considered a sort of sacrilege.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

29 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
כִּֽי־	ki-	if	H3588 →
תָצ֣וּר	ta.Tzur	you will lay siege	H6696 →
אֶל־	'el-	to	H413 →
עִיר֩	'ir	a city	H5892 →
יָמִ֨ים	ya.Mim	days	H3117 →
רַבִּ֜ים	ra.Bim	many	H7227 →
לְֽהִלָּחֵ֧ם	le.hi.la.Chem	to fight	H3898 →
עָלֶ֣יהָ	'a.Lei.ha	on it	H5921 →
לְתָפְשָׂ֗הּ	le.ta.fe.Sah	to capture it	H8610 →
לֹֽא־	lo'-	not	H3808 →
תַשְׁחִ֤ית	tash.Chit	you will destroy	H7843 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
עֵצָהּ֙	'e.Tzah	tree[s] its	H6086 →
לִנְדֹּ֤חַ	lin.Do.ach	by wielding	H5080 →
עָלָיו֙	'a.Lav	on it	H5921 →
גַּרְזֶ֔ן	gar.Zen	an axe	H1631 →
כִּ֚י	ki	for	H3588 →
מִמֶּ֣נּוּ	mi.Me.nu	from it	H4480 →
תֹאכֵ֔ל	to.Khel	you will eat	H398 →
וְאֹת֖וֹ	ve.'o.To	and <obj.> it	H853 →
לֹ֣א	lo'	not	H3808 →
תִכְרֹ֑ת	tikh.Rot	you will cut down	H3772 →
כִּ֤י	ki	for	H3588 →
הָֽאָדָם֙	ha.'a.Dam	¿ human	H120 →
עֵ֣ץ	'etz	[is] [the] tree of	H6086 →
הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה	ha.sa.Deh	the field	H7704 →
לָבֹ֥א	la.Vo'	to go	H935 →
מִפָּנֶ֖יךָ	mi.pa.Nei.kha	from before you	H6440 →
בַּמָּצֽוֹר׃	ba.ma.Tzor	in <the> state of siege	H4692 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Matthew 3:10
The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
leads to
- John 15:6
  If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers. Such branches are gathered up, thrown into the fire, and burned.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Luke 3:9
  The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Luke 13:6–9
  Then Jesus told this parable: “A man had a fig tree that was planted in his vineyard. He went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Matthew 7:19
  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
- John 15:2
  He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.
Through
Matthew 21:19
Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. “May you never bear fruit again!” He said. And immediately the tree withered.
leads to
- Mark 11:14
  Then He said to the tree, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again.” And His disciples heard this statement.
- Titus 1:16
  They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
Through
Deuteronomy 26:6
But the Egyptians mistreated us and afflicted us, putting us to hard labor.
leads to
- Exodus 1:11
  So the Egyptians appointed taskmasters over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. As a result, they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.

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About Deuteronomy

Moses Comes Down from Mount Sinai — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

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01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Deuteronomy

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Deuteronomy