16 And (A)you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. (B)Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be (C)a snare to you.

17 “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ 18 (D)you shall not be afraid of them but you shall (E)remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, (F)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, (G)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 (H)in your midst, (I)a great and awesome God. 22 (J)The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once,[a] lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 (K)But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 And (L)he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall (M)make their name perish from under heaven. (N)No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. 25 The carved images of their gods (O)you shall burn with fire. You (P)shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be (Q)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[b] like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, (R)for it is devoted to destruction.

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Footnotes

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

16 You will destroy all the peoples that the Lord your God is handing over to you. Show them no pity. And don’t serve their gods because that would be a trap for you.

Against power and lack of trust

17 If you happen to think to yourself, These nations are greater than we are; how can we possibly possess their land? 18 don’t be afraid of them! Remember, instead, what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt: 19 the great trials that you saw with your own eyes, the signs and wonders, and the strong hand and outstretched arm the Lord your God used to rescue you. That’s what the Lord your God will do to any people you fear. 20 The Lord your God will send terror[a] on them until even the survivors and those hiding from you are destroyed. 21 Don’t dread these nations because the Lord your God, the great and awesome God, is with you and among you. (22 The Lord your God will drive out these nations before you bit by bit. You won’t be able to finish them off quickly; otherwise, the wild animals would become too much for you to handle.) 23 The Lord your God will lay these nations before you, throwing them into a huge panic until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe their names out from under the skies. No one will be able to stand before you; you will crush them.

25 Burn the images of their gods. Don’t desire the silver or the gold that is on them and take it for yourself, or you will be trapped by it. That is detestable to the Lord your God. 26 Don’t bring any detestable thing into your house, or you will be placed under the ban too, just like it is! You must utterly detest these kinds of things, despising them completely, because they are under the ban.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 7:20 Heb uncertain; perhaps wasp, plague, or pestilence