A Chosen People(A)

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to (B)possess, and has cast out many (C)nations before you, (D)the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God delivers (E)them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. (F)You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them. (G)Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. For they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; (H)so the anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly. But thus you shall deal with them: you shall (I)destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their [a]wooden images, and burn their carved images with fire.

“For you are a [b]holy people to the Lord your God; (J)the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His (K)love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were (L)the least of all peoples; but (M)because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep (N)the oath which He swore to your fathers, (O)the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of [c]bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

“Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, (P)the faithful God (Q)who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 10 and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not [d]be (R)slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. 11 Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.

Blessings of Obedience(S)

12 “Then it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. 13 And He will (T)love you and bless you and [e]multiply you; (U)He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land of which He [f]swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female (V)barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with none of the (W)terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them on all those who hate you. 16 Also you shall [g]destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will (X)be a snare to you.

17 “If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’— 18 you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall (Y)remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: 19 (Z)the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So shall the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 (AA)Moreover the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. 21 You shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. 22 And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you (AB)little by little; you will be unable to [h]destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. 23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. 24 And (AC)He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; (AD)no one shall be able to stand [i]against you until you have destroyed them. 25 You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not (AE)covet[j] the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, (AF)for it is an [k]accursed thing.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 7:5 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
  2. Deuteronomy 7:6 set-apart
  3. Deuteronomy 7:8 slavery
  4. Deuteronomy 7:10 delay
  5. Deuteronomy 7:13 cause you to increase
  6. Deuteronomy 7:13 promised
  7. Deuteronomy 7:16 consume
  8. Deuteronomy 7:22 consume
  9. Deuteronomy 7:24 before
  10. Deuteronomy 7:25 desire
  11. Deuteronomy 7:26 devoted or banned

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.