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¶ When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land into which thou must enter to inherit it and has cast out many Gentiles before thee, the Hittite and the Girgashite and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

and when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them nor show mercy unto them.

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

For they will turn away thy son from following me that they may serve other gods; and the anger of the LORD will be kindled upon you and destroy thee suddenly.

But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall destroy their altars and break down their images and cut down their groves and burn their graven images in the fire.

For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God; the LORD thy God has chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, different from all the peoples that are upon the face of the earth.

Not because ye were more than the other peoples has the LORD desired you and chosen you; for ye were the fewest of all the peoples;

but because the LORD loved you and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, has the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand and ransomed you out of the house of slavery from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

Know, therefore, that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy with those that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations

10 and repays him that hates him to his face, to destroy him; he will not be slack to him that hates him; he will repay him to his face.

11 Keep, therefore, the commandments and statutes and rights, which I command thee this day, to do them.

12 ¶ And it shall come to pass, for having heard these rights and for having kept them by doing them that the LORD thy God shall keep the covenant with thee and the mercy which he swore unto thy fathers;

13 and he will love thee and bless thee and multiply thee; he will also bless the fruit of thy womb and the fruit of thy land, thy grain and thy wine and thine oil, the increase of thy cows and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he swore unto thy fathers to give thee.

14 Thou shalt be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be male or female barren among you or among your beasts.

15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee, but will lay them upon all those that hate thee.

16 And thou shalt consume all the peoples which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them; neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.

17 When thou shalt say in thy heart, These Gentiles are more than I; how can I dispossess them?

18 Do not be afraid of them; remember well what the LORD thy God did with Pharaoh and with all Egypt;

19 of the great trials which thine eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD thy God brought thee out; so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the peoples of whose presence thou art afraid.

20 Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them until those that are left and hide themselves from thee are destroyed.

21 Thou shalt not faint before them; for the LORD thy God is among you, a great and terrible God.

22 And the LORD thy God will put out those Gentiles before thee little by little; thou may not consume them at once lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

23 But the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction until they are destroyed.

24 And he shall deliver their kings into thy hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand before thee until thou hast destroyed them.

25 The graven images of their gods ye shall burn in the fire; thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them nor take it unto thee lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.

26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house lest thou become an anathema like it, but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is anathema.

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