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The Lord Will Drive Out Many Nations

The Lord your God will bring you into the land. You are going to enter it and take it as your own. He’ll drive out many nations to make room for you. He’ll drive out the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Those seven nations are larger and stronger than you are. The Lord your God will hand them over to you. You will win the battle over them. You must completely destroy them. Don’t make a peace treaty with them. Don’t show them any mercy. Don’t marry any of their people. Don’t give your daughters to their sons. And don’t take their daughters for your sons. If you do, those people will turn your children away from serving the Lord. Then your children will serve other gods. The Lord will be very angry with you. He will quickly destroy you. So here is what you must do to those people. Break down their altars. Smash their sacred stones. Cut down the poles they use to worship the female god named Asherah. Burn the statues of their gods in the fire. You are a holy nation. The Lord your God has set you apart for himself. He has chosen you to be his special treasure. He chose you out of all the nations on the face of the earth to be his people.

The Lord chose you because he loved you very much. He didn’t choose you because you had more people than other nations. In fact, you had the smallest number of all. The Lord chose you because he loved you. He wanted to keep the promise he had made to your people of long ago. That’s why he used his mighty hand to bring you out of Egypt. He bought you back from the land where you were slaves. He set you free from the power of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. So I want you to realize that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God. He keeps his covenant for all time to come. He keeps it with those who love him and obey his commandments. He shows them his love. 10 But he will pay back those who hate him. He’ll destroy them. He’ll quickly pay back those who hate him. 11 So be careful to obey the commands, rules and laws I’m giving you today.

12 Pay attention to the laws of the Lord your God. Be careful to obey them. Then he will keep his covenant of love with you. That’s what he promised to your people of long ago. 13 The Lord will love you and bless you. He’ll cause there to be many of you. He’ll give you many children. He’ll bless the crops of your land. He’ll give you plenty of grain, olive oil and fresh wine. He’ll bless your herds with many calves. He’ll give your flocks many lambs. He’ll do all these things for you in the land of Canaan. It’s the land he promised your people of long ago that he would give you. 14 He will bless you more than any other nation. All your men and women will have children. All your livestock will have little ones. 15 The Lord will keep you from getting sick. He won’t send on you any of the horrible sicknesses you saw all around you in Egypt. But he’ll send them on everyone who hates you. 16 You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Don’t feel sorry for them. Don’t serve their gods. If you do, they will be a trap for you.

17 You might say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” 18 But don’t be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all the Egyptians. 19 With your own eyes you saw what the Lord did to them. You saw the signs and amazing things he did. He reached out his mighty hand and powerful arm. The Lord your God used all those things to bring you out. You are now afraid of the nations that are in the land the Lord promised you. But the Lord your God will do to them the same things he did to Egypt. 20 The Lord your God will also send hornets among those nations. Some of the people left alive will hide from you. But even they will die. 21 So don’t be terrified by them. The Lord your God is with you. He is a great and wonderful God. 22 The Lord your God will drive out those nations to make room for you. But he will do it little by little. You won’t be allowed to get rid of them all at once. If you did, wild animals would multiply all around you. 23 But the Lord your God will hand those nations over to you. He will throw them into a panic until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you. You will wipe out their names from the earth. No one will be able to stand up against you. You will destroy them. 25 Burn the statues of their gods in the fire. Don’t wish for the silver and gold on those statues. Don’t take it for yourselves. If you do, it will be a trap for you. The Lord your God hates it. 26 Don’t bring anything he hates into your house. If you do, you will be completely destroyed along with it. So hate it with all your heart. It is set apart to be destroyed.

Driving Out the Nations

When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess(A) and drives out before you many nations(B)—the Hittites,(C) Girgashites,(D) Amorites,(E) Canaanites, Perizzites,(F) Hivites(G) and Jebusites,(H) seven nations larger and stronger than you— and when the Lord your God has delivered(I) them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy(J) them totally.[a](K) Make no treaty(L) with them, and show them no mercy.(M) Do not intermarry with them.(N) Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,(O) and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy(P) you. This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles[b](Q) and burn their idols in the fire.(R) For you are a people holy(S) to the Lord your God.(T) The Lord your God has chosen(U) you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.(V)

The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous(W) than other peoples, for you were the fewest(X) of all peoples.(Y) But it was because the Lord loved(Z) you and kept the oath he swore(AA) to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand(AB) and redeemed(AC) you from the land of slavery,(AD) from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;(AE) he is the faithful God,(AF) keeping his covenant of love(AG) to a thousand generations(AH) of those who love him and keep his commandments.(AI) 10 But

those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
    he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.(AJ)

11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors.(AK) 13 He will love you and bless you(AL) and increase your numbers.(AM) He will bless the fruit of your womb,(AN) the crops of your land—your grain, new wine(AO) and olive oil(AP)—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.(AQ) 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young.(AR) 15 The Lord will keep you free from every disease.(AS) He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt,(AT) but he will inflict them on all who hate you.(AU) 16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you.(AV) Do not look on them with pity(AW) and do not serve their gods,(AX) for that will be a snare(AY) to you.

17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?(AZ) 18 But do not be afraid(BA) of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.(BB) 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand(BC) and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.(BD) 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet(BE) among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you,(BF) is a great and awesome God.(BG) 22 The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little.(BH) You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. 23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.(BI) 24 He will give their kings(BJ) into your hand,(BK) and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you;(BL) you will destroy them.(BM) 25 The images of their gods you are to burn(BN) in the fire. Do not covet(BO) the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared(BP) by it, for it is detestable(BQ) to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction.(BR) Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 7:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26.
  2. Deuteronomy 7:5 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in Deuteronomy