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Deuteronomy 7
Contemporary English Version
Deuteronomy 7
Contemporary English Version
Force the Other Nations Out of the Land
(Exodus 34.11-16)
Moses said:
7 (A) People of Israel, the Lord your God will help you take the land of the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. These seven nations have more people and are stronger than Israel, but when you attack them, 2 the Lord will force them out of the land. Then you must destroy them without mercy. Don't make any peace treaties with them, 3 and don't let your sons and daughters marry any of them. 4 If you do, those people will lead your descendants to worship other gods and to turn their backs on the Lord. That will make him very angry, and he will quickly destroy Israel.
5 (B) So when you conquer these nations, tear down the altars where they worship their gods. Break up their sacred stones, cut down the poles that they use in worshiping the goddess Asherah, and throw their idols in the fire.
The Lord's Chosen People
Moses said:
6 (C) Israel, you are the chosen people of the Lord your God. There are many nations on this earth, but he chose only Israel to be his very own. 7 You were the weakest of all nations, 8 but the Lord chose you because he loves you and because he had made a promise to your ancestors. Then with his mighty arm, he rescued you from the king of Egypt, who had made you his slaves.
9 (D) You know that the Lord your God is the only true God. So love him and obey his commands, and he will faithfully keep his agreement with you and your descendants for a thousand generations. 10 But if you turn against the Lord, he will quickly destroy you. 11 So be sure to obey his laws and teachings I am giving you today.
The Lord Will Bless You if You Obey
(Deuteronomy 28.1-14; Leviticus 26.3-13)
Moses said to Israel:
12 (E) If you completely obey these laws, the Lord your God will be loyal and keep the agreement he made with you, just as he promised our ancestors. 13 The Lord will love you and bless you by giving you many children and plenty of food, wine, and olive oil. Your herds of cattle will have many calves, and your flocks of sheep will have many lambs. 14 God will bless you more than any other nation—your families will grow and your livestock increase. 15 You will no longer suffer with the same horrible diseases that you sometimes had in Egypt. You will be healthy, but the Lord will make your enemies suffer from those diseases.
Destroy the Nations and Their Gods
Moses said to Israel:
16 When the Lord helps you defeat your enemies, you must destroy them without pity! And don't get trapped into worshiping their gods.
17 You may be thinking, “How can we destroy these nations? They are more powerful than we are.” 18 But stop worrying! Just remember what the Lord your God did to Egypt and its king. 19 You saw how the Lord used his tremendous power to work great miracles and bring you out of Egypt. And he will again work miracles for you when you face these enemies you fear so much. 20 Some of them may try to survive by hiding from you, but the Lord will make them panic, and soon they will be dead.[a] 21 So don't be frightened when you meet them in battle. The Lord your God is great and fearsome, and he will fight at your side.
22 As you attack these nations, the Lord will force them out little by little. He won't let you get rid of them all at once—if he did, there wouldn't be enough people living in the land to keep down the number of wild animals. 23-24 But when you attack your enemies, the Lord will make them panic, and you will easily destroy them. You will defeat their kings one after another until they are gone, and no one will remember they ever lived.
25 After you conquer a nation, burn their idols. Don't get trapped into wanting the silver or gold on an idol. Even the metal on an idol is disgusting to the Lord, 26 so destroy it. If you bring it home with you, both you and your house will be destroyed. Stay away from those disgusting idols!
Footnotes
- 7.20 make them … dead: Or “send hornets to kill them.”
Deuteronomy 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Deuteronomy 7
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Israel to Destroy Idolatrous Nations
7 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land(A) you are entering to possess,(B) and He drives out many nations before you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you— 2 and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy. 3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,(C) 4 because they will turn your sons away from Me to worship other gods. Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you. 5 Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles,(D) and burn up their carved images. 6 For you are a holy people(E) belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be His own possession(F) out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
7 “The Lord was devoted to you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But because the Lord loved(G) you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed(H) you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands.(I) 10 But He directly pays back[a] and destroys those who hate Him.(J) He will not hesitate to directly pay back[b] the one who hates Him. 11 So keep the command—the statutes and ordinances—that I am giving you to follow today.
12 “If you listen to and are careful to keep these ordinances, the Lord your God will keep His covenant loyalty with you, as He swore to your fathers.(K) 13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will bless your descendants,[c](L) and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil—the young of your herds, and the newborn of your flocks, in the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you. 14 You will be blessed above all peoples; there will be no infertile male or female among you or your livestock. 15 The Lord will remove all sickness from you; He will not put on you(M) all the terrible diseases of Egypt that you know about, but He will inflict them on all who hate you. 16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God is delivering over to you and not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
17 “If you say to yourself, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I drive them out?’ 18 do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt: 19 the great trials that you saw, the signs and wonders, the strong hand and outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you fear. 20 The Lord your God will also send the hornet against them until all the survivors and those hiding from you perish.(N) 21 Don’t be terrified of them, for the Lord your God, a great and awesome God, is among you. 22 The Lord your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will become too numerous for you.(O) 23 The Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them. 25 You must burn up the carved images of their gods. Don’t covet the silver and gold on the images and take it for yourself, or else you will be ensnared by it, for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God. 26 You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction like it. You are to utterly detest and abhor it, because it is set apart for destruction.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 7:10 Lit He pays back to their faces
- Deuteronomy 7:10 Lit to pay back to their faces
- Deuteronomy 7:13 Lit bless the fruit of your womb
Deuteronomy 7
New King James Version
Deuteronomy 7
New King James Version
A Chosen People(A)
7 “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, 2 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. 3 (G)Nor shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their son, nor take their daughter for your son. 4 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. 5 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.
6 “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. 7 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; 8 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.
9 “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
- Deuteronomy 7:5 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- Deuteronomy 7:6 set-apart
- Deuteronomy 7:8 slavery
- Deuteronomy 7:10 delay
- Deuteronomy 7:13 cause you to increase
- Deuteronomy 7:13 promised
- Deuteronomy 7:16 consume
- Deuteronomy 7:22 consume
- Deuteronomy 7:24 before
- Deuteronomy 7:25 desire
- Deuteronomy 7:26 devoted or banned
Deuteronomy 7
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Deuteronomy 7
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Israel to Destroy Idolatrous Nations
7 ‘When the Lord your God brings you into the land(A) you are entering to possess,(B) and he drives out many nations before you – the Hethites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations(C) more numerous and powerful than you(D) – 2 and when the Lord your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy(E) them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.(F) 3 You must not intermarry with them, and you must not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,(G) 4 because they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods.(H) Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you,(I) and he will swiftly destroy you. 5 Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles,(J) and burn their carved images. 6 For you are a holy people(K) belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be his own possession(L) out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
7 ‘The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. 8 But because the Lord loved(M) you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed(N) you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands.(O) 10 But he directly pays back[a] and destroys those who hate him.(P) He will not hesitate to pay back directly[b] the one who hates him. 11 So keep the command – the statutes and ordinances – that I am giving you to follow today.
12 ‘If you listen to and are careful to keep these ordinances, the Lord your God will keep his covenant loyalty with you, as he swore to your ancestors.(Q) 13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will bless your offspring,[c](R) and the produce of your land – your grain, new wine, and fresh oil – the young of your herds, and the newborn of your flocks, in the land he swore to your ancestors that he would give you. 14 You will be blessed above all peoples; there will be no infertile male or female among you or your livestock. 15 The Lord will remove all disease from you; he will not put on you(S) all the terrible diseases of Egypt that you know about, but he will inflict them on all who hate you. 16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God is delivering over to you and not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
17 ‘If you say to yourself, “These nations are greater than I; how can I drive them out? ” 18 do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt: 19 the great trials that you saw, the signs and wonders, the strong hand and outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you fear. 20 The Lord your God will also send hornets against them until all the survivors and those hiding from you perish.(T) 21 Don’t be terrified of them, for the Lord your God, a great and awesome God, is among you. 22 The Lord your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will become too numerous for you.(U) 23 The Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them. 25 Burn the carved images of their gods. Don’t covet the silver and gold on the images and take it for yourself, or else you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring any detestable thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction like it. You are to abhor and detest it utterly because it is set apart for destruction.
Deuteronomy 7
New International Version
Deuteronomy 7
New International Version
Driving Out the Nations
7 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— 2 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) 3 Do not intermarry with them.(N) Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 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. 5 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) 6 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)
7 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) 8 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. 9 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
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 7:5 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in Deuteronomy
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
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New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised (CSBA)
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New International Version (NIV) 
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