20:1 When you go to war against your enemies and see chariotry 1 and troops 2 who outnumber you, do not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, is with you. 20:2 As you move forward for battle, the priest 3 will approach and say to the soldiers, 4 20:3 “Listen, Israel! Today you are moving forward to do battle with your enemies. Do not be fainthearted. Do not fear and tremble or be terrified because of them, 20:4 for the Lord your God goes with you to fight on your behalf against your enemies to give you victory.” 5 20:5 Moreover, the officers are to say to the troops, 6 “Who among you 7 has built a new house and not dedicated 8 it? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else 9 dedicate it.
1 tn Heb “horse and chariot.”
2 tn Heb “people.”
3 sn The reference to the priest suggests also the presence of the ark of the covenant, the visible sign of God’s presence. The whole setting is clearly that of “holy war” or “Yahweh war,” in which God himself takes initiative as the true commander of the forces of Israel (cf. Exod 14:14-18; 15:3-10; Deut 3:22; 7:18-24; 31:6, 8).
4 tn Heb “and he will say to the people.” Cf. NIV, NCV, CEV “the army”; NRSV, NLT “the troops.”
5 tn Or “to save you” (so KJV, NASB, NCV); or “to deliver you.”
6 tn Heb “people” (also in vv. 8, 9).
7 tn Heb “Who [is] the man” (also in vv. 6, 7, 8).
8 tn The Hebrew term חָנַךְ (khanakh) occurs elsewhere only with respect to the dedication of Solomon’s temple (1 Kgs 8:63 = 2 Chr 7:5). There it has a religious connotation which, indeed, may be the case here as well. The noun form (חָנֻכָּה, khanukah) is associated with the consecration of the great temple altar (2 Chr 7:9) and of the postexilic wall of Jerusalem (Neh 12:27). In Maccabean times the festival of Hanukkah was introduced to celebrate the rededication of the temple following its desecration by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (1 Macc 4:36-61).
9 tn Heb “another man.”