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When Hashem Eloheicha shall bring thee into ha’aretz whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out Goyim rabbim before thee, the Chitti, and the Girgashi, and the Emori, and the Kena’ani, and the Perizzi, and the Chivi, and the Yevusi, shivah Goyim greater and mightier than thou;

And when Hashem Eloheicha shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt strike them down, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no Brit with them, nor show mercy unto them;

Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy bat thou shalt not give unto his ben, nor his bat shalt thou take unto thy ben.

For they will turn away thy ben from following Me, that they may serve elohim acherim; so will the anger of Hashem be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their mizbechot, and break down their matzeivot (pillars), and cut down their Asherah [sacred trees], and burn their peselim with eish.

For thou art an Am Kodesh unto Hashem Eloheicha; Hashem Eloheicha hath chosen thee to be an Am Segullah (Treasured People) unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of ha’adamah.

Hashem did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of kol ha’ammim;

But because of Ahavat Hashem (because Hashem loved you), and because He would be shomer over haShevuah (the Oath) which He had sworn unto Avoteichem, hath Hashem brought you out with a yad chazakah, and redeemed you out of the bais avadim, from the hand of Pharaoh Melech Mitzrayim.

Know therefore that Hashem Eloheicha, He is HaElohim, the El HaNe’eman, which is shomer HaBrit and hath chesed with them that love Him and are shomer mitzvot to a thousand generations;

10 And repayeth them that are the soneh (hater, enemy) of Him to their face, to destroy them; He will not be slack to him that hateth Him, He will repay him to his face.

11 Thou shalt therefore be shomer mitzvot, and keep the chukkim, and the mishpatim, which I command thee today, to do them.

[EIKEV]

12 Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye give heed to these mishpatim, and are shomer, and do them, that Hashem Eloheicha shall be shomer over the Brit unto thee and the chesed which He swore unto Avoteicha;

13 And He will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee; He will also bless the pri of thy womb, and the pri of thy land, thy grain, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy cattle, and the flocks of thy sheep, in ha’aretz which He swore unto Avoteicha to give thee.

14 Baruch shalt thou be more than kol ha’amim; there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.

15 And Hashem will take away from thee every choli (disease), and will put none of the evil diseases of Mitzrayim, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.

16 And thou shalt consume kol haAm which Hashem Eloheicha shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them; neither shalt thou serve eloheihem (their g-ds); for that will be a snare unto thee.

17 If thou shalt say in thine lev, These Goyim are more than I; how can I dispossess them?

18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them; but shalt well remember what Hashem Eloheicha did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Mitzrayim;

19 The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the otot, and the mofetim, and the yad chazakah, and the stretched out zero’a, whereby Hashem Eloheicha brought thee out; so shall Hashem Eloheicha do unto kol ha’amim of whom thou art afraid.

20 Moreover Hashem Eloheicha will send the hornet swarm among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

21 Thou shalt not be afraid of them; for Hashem Eloheicha is among you, an El Gadol v’Norah.

22 And Hashem Eloheicha will put out those Goyim before thee m’at m’at (little by little); thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the sadeh increase upon thee.

23 But Hashem Eloheicha shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be shmad.

24 And He shall deliver their melachim into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their shem from under Shomayim; there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.

25 The peselim of eloheihem shall ye burn with eish; thou shalt not desire the kesef or zahav that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is a to’evah (abomination) to Hashem Eloheicha.

26 Neither shalt thou bring a to’evah (abomination) into thine bais, lest thou be a cherem like it; but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cherem.

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