Deuteronomy 7:2-12

2 and when the LORD your God shall deliver them up before you, and you shall strike them; then you shall utterly destroy them: you shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them;

3 neither shall you make marriages with them; your daughter you shall not give to his son, nor his daughter shall you take to your son.

4 For he will turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and he will destroy you quickly.

5 But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their engraved images with fire.

6 For you are a holy people to the LORD your God: the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the eretz.

7 The LORD didn't set his love on you, nor choose you, because you were more in number than any people; for you were the fewest of all peoples:

8 but because the LORD loves you, and because he would keep the oath which he swore to your fathers, has the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Par`oh king of Mitzrayim.

9 Know therefore that the LORD your God, he is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness with them who love him and keep his mitzvot to a thousand generations,

10 and repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him who hates him, he will repay him to his face.

11 You shall therefore keep the mitzvah, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command you this day, to do them.

12 It shall happen, because you listen to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you the covenant and the lovingkindness which he swore to your fathers:

Deuteronomy 7:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 7

In this chapter the Israelites are exhorted to destroy the seven nations of the land of Canaan, when they entered into it, and to make no alliances with them of any kind, nor suffer any remains of idolatry to continue, De 7:1-5 to observe which, and other commands of God, they are urged from the consideration of their being freely chosen of God above all other people, and of their being redeemed out of the house of bondage, and of the Lord's being a covenant keeping God to them, De 7:6-11 and it is promised them, for their further encouragement to keep the commands of God, that they should have an increase of all temporal good things, and no evils and calamities should come upon them, De 6:12-16, and, lest they should be disheartened at the numbers and might of their enemies, they are put in mind of what God had done for them in Egypt, and of what he had promised to do for them now, De 7:17-20 and they are assured that the nations should be cast out before them by little and little, until they were utterly destroyed, De 7:21-24 and the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to destroy their images, and not admit anything of that sort to be brought into their houses, De 7:25,26.