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You Are God’s People

The Lord your God will bring you into the land that you are entering and that you will ·have as your own [possess]. As you go in, he will ·force out [clear away/out] these nations: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—seven nations that are stronger than you. The Lord your God will hand these nations over to you, and when you ·defeat [L strike] them, you must ·destroy them completely [devote them to the Lord; 20:15–18; Josh. 6:17]. Do not ·make [L cut] a ·peace treaty [covenant] with them or show them any mercy. Do not marry any of them, or let your daughters marry their sons, or let your sons marry their daughters. If you do, those people will turn your children away from me, to begin serving other gods. Then the Lord will be very angry with you, and he will quickly destroy you. This is what you must do to those people: Tear down their altars, smash their holy stone pillars, cut down their ·Asherah idols [L Asherah; 7:5; Judg. 3:7], and burn their idols in the fire. You are holy people who belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on earth ·to be his very own [as his treasured/special possession; Ex. 19:5].

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Warnings

(A)When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to take possession of it, and He drives away many nations from before you, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, (B)seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when the Lord your God turns them over to you and you [a]defeat them, (C)you shall [b]utterly destroy them. (D)You shall not make a covenant with them (E)nor be gracious to them. Furthermore, (F)you shall not intermarry with them: you shall not give your [c]daughters to [d]their sons, nor shall you take [e]their daughters for your [f]sons. For [g]they will turn your [h]sons away from [i]following Me, and they will serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and (G)He will quickly destroy you. But this is what you shall do to them: (H)you shall tear down their altars, smash their memorial stones, cut their [j]Asherim to pieces, and burn their carved images in the fire. For you are (I)a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be (J)a people for His personal possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the [k]earth.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 7:2 Lit strike
  2. Deuteronomy 7:2 Or certainly devote to the ban
  3. Deuteronomy 7:3 Lit daughter
  4. Deuteronomy 7:3 Lit his son
  5. Deuteronomy 7:3 Lit his daughter
  6. Deuteronomy 7:3 Lit son
  7. Deuteronomy 7:4 Lit he
  8. Deuteronomy 7:4 Lit son
  9. Deuteronomy 7:4 Lit after
  10. Deuteronomy 7:5 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
  11. Deuteronomy 7:6 Lit ground