A Chosen People

“When the (A)Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, (B)the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations (C)more numerous and mightier than you, (D)and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must (E)devote them to complete destruction.[a] (F)You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. (G)You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. (H)Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you (I)quickly. But thus shall you deal with them: (J)you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their (K)pillars and chop down their (L)Asherim and (M)burn their carved images with fire.

“For (N)you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be (O)a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but (P)it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping (Q)the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, (R)the faithful God (S)who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and (T)repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. (U)He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 (V)You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

12 (W)“And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you (X)the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. 13 He will (Y)love you, bless you, and multiply you. (Z)He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples. (AA)There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil (AB)diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. 16 And (AC)you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. (AD)Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be (AE)a snare to you.

17 “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ 18 (AF)you shall not be afraid of them but you shall (AG)remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, (AH)the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 Moreover, (AI)the Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. 21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is (AJ)in your midst, (AK)a great and awesome God. 22 (AL)The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once,[b] lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 (AM)But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 And (AN)he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall (AO)make their name perish from under heaven. (AP)No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. 25 The carved images of their gods (AQ)you shall burn with fire. You (AR)shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be (AS)ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction[c] like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, (AT)for it is devoted to destruction.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 7:2 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
  2. Deuteronomy 7:22 Or quickly
  3. Deuteronomy 7:26 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); twice in this verse

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.