Deuteronomy 20:11

Green's Literal Translation

And it shall be, if it answers peace to you, and shall open to you, then it shall be that all the people found in it shall be forced laborers for you, and shall serve you.

Parallel Translations

English Standard Version
And if it responds to you peaceably and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you.

Update Bible Version
And it shall be, if it answers peace to you, and opens to you, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become slave labor to you, and shall serve you.

English Revised Version
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.

New Century Version
If they accept your offer and open their gates to you, all the people of that city will become your slaves and work for you.

New English Translation
If it accepts your terms and submits to you, all the people found in it will become your slaves.

Webster's Bible Translation
And it shall be, if it shall make thee answer of peace, and open to thee, then it shall be, [that] all the people [that are] found therein, shall be tributaries to thee, and they shall serve thee.

World English Bible
It shall be, if it make you answer of peace, and open to you, then it shall be, that all the people who are found therein shall become tributary to you, and shall serve you.

Amplified Bible
"If that city accepts your terms of peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
If the citee resseyueth, and openeth to thee the yatis, al the puple that is ther ynne schal be saued, and schal serue thee vndur tribut.

Young's Literal Translation
and it hath been, if Peace it answer thee, and hath opened to thee, then it hath come to pass -- all the people who are found in it are to thee for tributaries, and have served thee.

Berean Standard Bible
If they accept your offer of peace and open their gates, all the people there will become forced laborers to serve you.

American Standard Version
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.

Bible in Basic English
And if it gives you back an answer of peace, opening its doors to you, then all the people in it may be put to forced work as your servants.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And if they aunswere thee agayne peaceably, and open vnto thee, then let all the people that is founde therin, be tributaries vnto thee, and serue thee.

Complete Jewish Bible
If it accepts the terms for peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people there are to be put to forced labor and work for you.

Darby Translation
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then all the people that are found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

Easy-to-Read Version
If they accept your offer and open their gates, all the people in that city will become your slaves and be forced to work for you.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that are found therein shall become tributary unto thee, and shall serve thee.

King James Version (1611)
And it shall be, if it make thee answere of peace, and open vnto thee, then it shalbe that all the people that is found therein, shall be tributaries vnto thee, and they shall serue thee.

New Life Bible
If they agree to make peace with you and open their gates to you, all the people who are found there will be made to work for you and serve you.

New Revised Standard
If it accepts your terms of peace and surrenders to you, then all the people in it shall serve you at forced labor.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and it shall be if peace, be the answer it giveth thee, and it open unto thee, then shall it be, that, all the people that are found therein, shall become thy tributaries and shall serve thee.

Geneva Bible (1587)
And if it answere thee againe peaceably, and open vnto thee, then let all the people that is founde therein, be tributaries vnto thee, and serue thee.

George Lamsa Translation
And if the city give you answer of peace, and it open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be servants and tributaries to you, and they shall serve you.

Good News Translation
If they open the gates and surrender, they are all to become your slaves and do forced labor for you.

Douay-Rheims Bible
If they receive it, and open the gates to thee, all the people that are therein, shall be saved, and shall serve thee paying tribute.

Revised Standard Version
And if its answer to you is peace and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
If then they should answer peaceably to thee, and open to thee, it shall be that all the people found in it shall be tributary and subject to thee.

Christian Standard Bible®
If it accepts your offer of peace and opens its gates to you, all the people found in it will become forced laborers for you and serve you.

Hebrew Names Version
It shall be, if it make you answer of shalom, and open to you, then it shall be, that all the people who are found therein shall become tributary to you, and shall serve you.

King James Version
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.

Lexham English Bible
And then if they accept your terms of peace and they surrender to you, and then all the people inhabiting it shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Yf they answere the peaceably, and open vnto the, then shal all ye people yt is founde therin, be tributaries vnto the, and serue ye.

New American Standard Bible
"And if it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and serve you.

New King James Version
And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you.

New Living Translation
If they accept your terms and open the gates to you, then all the people inside will serve you in forced labor.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now it will be that if it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall become your forced labor and shall serve you.

Contextual Overview

¹⁰ When you come near a city to fight against it, then call to it for peace. ¹¹ And it shall be, if it answers peace to you, and shall open to you, then it shall be that all the people found in it shall be forced laborers for you, and shall serve you. ¹² And if it shall not make peace with you, and shall make war with you, then you shall lay siege against it. ¹³ And Jehovah your God shall give it into your hand; and you shall strike every male of it by the mouth of the sword. ¹⁴ Only, the women, and the little ones, and the livestock, and all in the city, all its plunder, you shall seize for yourself. And you shall eat the plunder of your enemies which Jehovah your God has given to you. ¹⁵ So you shall do to all the cities very far away from you, which are not of the cities of these nations. ¹⁶ But of the cities of these peoples which Jehovah your God is giving to you as an inheritance, you shall not keep alive any that breathes. ¹⁷ But you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as Jehovah your God has commanded you; ¹⁸ so that they may not teach you to do according to all their filthy deeds which they have done for their gods; and you would sin against Jehovah your God. ¹⁹ When you shall lay siege to a city many days, to fight against it, to capture it, you shall not destroy its trees in order to force an axe against them. For you shall eat of them, and you shall not cut them down; for is the tree ofthe field a man, that it should be used by you to lay siege?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

tributaries: Leviticus 25:42-46, Joshua 9:22, Joshua 9:23, Joshua 9:27, Joshua 11:19, Joshua 11:20, Joshua 16:10, Judges 1:28, Judges 1:30-35, 1 Kings 9:21, 1 Kings 9:22, Psalms 120:7, Luke 19:14

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 2:26 - with words Deuteronomy 7:2 - make no Joshua 9:6 - We be Joshua 9:8 - General Joshua 9:15 - made peace Joshua 17:13 - put the Judges 11:12 - sent messengers 2 Samuel 20:18 - They were wont 2 Kings 6:22 - wouldest

Cross-References

Genesis 12:12
And it will be, when the Egyptians see you, then they will say, This is his wife, and they will kill me, and they will save you alive.

Genesis 20:1
And Abraham pulled up stakes from there to the land of the Negeb, and lived between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar.

Genesis 20:4
And Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, O Lord, will You slay even a righteous nation?

Genesis 22:12
And He said, Do not lay your hand on the boy, nor do anything to him. For now I know that you are a God-fearer, and you have not withheld your son, your only one, from Me.

Genesis 26:7
And the men of the place asked about his wife. And he said, She is my sister, for he was afraid to say, My wife, lest the men of the place kill me on account of Rebekah, for she was beautiful of form.

Genesis 42:18
And on the third day Joseph said to them, Do this and live. I fear God.

Nehemiah 5:15
The former governors that had been before me were too heavy on the people, and had taken bread and wine from them, besides forty shekels of silver. Yes, even their servants bore rule over the people. But I did not do this, because of the fear of God.

Job 1:1
There was a man in the land of Uz, his name was Job. And this man was perfect and upright, and fearing God, and turning away from evil.

Job 28:28
And to man He said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom! And to turn from evil is understanding.

Psalms 14:4
Have all doers of iniquity not known, eating My people as they eat bread? They have not called on Jehovah.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace,.... Comply with the terms of peace offered:

and open unto thee; the gates of the city and its garrisons, and deliver all into their hands:

then it shall be that all the people that is found therein; some having made their escape before the surrender of the city:

shall be tributaries unto thee: pay a yearly tax imposed upon them, as the Moabites sometimes did, and which was paid in lambs and rams with the wool, 2 Kings 3:4

and they shall serve thee; not as slaves, or be in continual bondage and servitude; but upon occasion be called out to any public service, as joining them against their enemies, rebuilding palaces and cities, or repairing walls of cities, and the like; and in general acknowledge their dominion over them, and their own subjection to them, by paying an annual tribute, or sending gifts unto them; thus the Moabites, Syrians, and Edomites, became the servants of David, 2 Samuel 8:2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Directions intended to prevent wanton destruction of life and property in sieges.

Deuteronomy 20:16

Forbearance, however, was not to be shown toward the Canaanite nations, which were to be utterly exterminated (compare Deuteronomy 7:1-4). The command did not apply to beasts as well as men (compare Joshua 11:11, Joshua 11:14).

Deuteronomy 20:19

The parenthesis may he more literally rendered “for man is a tree of the field,” i. e., has his life from the tree of the field, is supported in life by it (compare Deuteronomy 24:6). The Egyptians seem invariably to have cut down the fruit-trees in war.