Deuteronomy 7:20

20 The Lord your God will also send terror among them so that even those who are alive and hiding from you will die.

Deuteronomy 7:20 Meaning and Commentary

Deuteronomy 7:20

Moreover, the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them,
&c.] Not a single one, but several of them, and which may be understood of creatures so called, which resemble wasps, only twice as large, an insect very bold and venomous; see ( Exodus 23:28 ) . Aben Ezra interprets it of the leprosy:

until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed;
such of the Canaanites who escaped the sword of the Israelites, and hid themselves in holes and caverns of the earth; these the hornets would find out and sting them to death, until they were all destroyed. Thus God can make use of small creatures, even insects, to destroy nations the most populous and mighty.

Deuteronomy 7:20 In-Context

18 But don't be afraid of them. Remember what the Lord your God did to all of Egypt and its king.

19 You saw for yourselves the troubles, signs, and miracles he did, how the Lord's great power and strength brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God will do the same thing to all the nations you now fear.

20 The Lord your God will also send terror among them so that even those who are alive and hiding from you will die.

21 Don't be afraid of them, because the Lord your God is with you; he is a great God and people are afraid of him.

22 When the Lord your God forces those nations out of the land, he will do it little by little ahead of you. You won't be able to destroy them all at once; otherwise, the wild animals will grow too many in number.