Deuteronomy 7

1 When thy Lord God hath led thee into the land, into which thou shalt enter to wield, and hath done away many folks before thee, (the) Hittites, and Girgashites, and Amorites, Canaanites, and Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites; seven folks, of much greater number than thou art, and stronger than thou;

2 and when thy Lord God hath betaken them to thee, thou shalt smite them unto death, thou shalt not make with them a bond of peace, neither thou shalt have mercy upon them, (and when the Lord thy God hath delivered them unto thee, thou shalt strike them down unto the death, thou shalt not make a covenant, or a peace treaty, with them, nor shalt thou have mercy on them,)

3 neither thou shalt fellowship marriages with them; thou shalt not give thy daughter to his son, neither thou shalt take his daughter to thy son (nor shalt thou take his daughter for thy son);

4 for she shall deceive thy son, that he follow not me, that he serve more alien gods; and then the fierce vengeance of the Lord shall be wroth, and shall do away thee soon. (for she shall deceive thy son, so that he shall not follow me, and moreover, so that he serve foreign, or other, gods; and then the Lord shall be angry, and with fierce vengeance he shall swiftly do thee away.)

5 But rather thou shalt do these things to them; destroy ye their altars, and break ye their molten images of metal, and cut ye down their woods, and burn ye their graven images. (But rather thou shalt do these things to them; destroy ye their altars, and break ye up their metal idols, and cut ye down their sacred groves, or poles, and burn ye up their carved idols.)

6 For thou art an holy people to thy Lord God; thy Lord God chose thee, that thou be a special people to him, of all peoples that be on earth. (For thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God chose thee to be his special people, out of all the peoples that be on the earth.)

7 Not for ye overcame in number all folks, the Lord is joined to you, and chose you, since ye be fewer than all peoples; (The Lord is not joined to you, or chose you, because ye were greater in number than all the other nations, since ye be fewer than all the other peoples;)

8 but for the Lord loved you, and kept the oath which he swore to your fathers; and he led you out in [a] strong hand, and again-bought you from the house of servage, from the house of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. (but because the Lord loved you, and kept the oath which he swore to your fathers; and he led you out with a strong hand, and bought you back, that is, redeemed, or ransomed, you, from the house of servitude, or of slavery, from the hand, or the power, of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.)

9 And thou shalt know, that thy Lord God himself is a strong God, and faithful, and keepeth covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments, into a thousand generations; (And thou shalt know, that the Lord thy God himself is a strong God, and faithful, and keepeth covenant and mercy with those who love him, and with those who obey his commandments, unto a thousand generations;)

10 and he yieldeth anon to them that hate him, so that he destroy them, and defer, or tarry, no longer; restoring, or yielding, anon to them that that they deserve. (but that he yieldeth at once to those who hate him, to destroy them, and to defer, or to tarry, no longer; yea, swiftly yielding to them what they deserve.)

11 Therefore keep thou the commandments, and ceremonies, and dooms, which I command to thee today, that thou do them. (And so obey thou the commandments, and statutes, and laws, or judgements, which I command to thee today, yea, do thou them.)

12 If after that thou hearest these dooms, thou keepest, and doest them, thy Lord God shall keep to thee covenant, and mercy, which he swore to thy fathers. (If after that thou hearest these laws, or these judgements, thou obeyest, and doest them, then the Lord thy God shall keep the covenant with thee, which he swore to thy fathers, and show his mercy to thee.)

13 And he shall love thee, and multiply thee, and he shall bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy wheat, and thy vintage, thine oil, and thy droves of beasts, and the flocks of thy sheep, on the land for which he swore to thy fathers, that he should give it to thee. (And he shall love thee, and multiply thee, and he shall bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, yea, thy corn, and thy wine, thy oil, and thy herds of beasts, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he swore to thy fathers, that he would give thee.)

14 Thou shalt be blessed among all peoples; none barren of ever either kind shall be with thee, as well in men, as in thy flocks. (Thou shalt be blessed among all peoples; there shall be no barren among thee, male or female, in people, as well as in thy flocks.)

15 The Lord shall do away from thee all ache (The Lord shall take away all thy aches and pains); and he shall not bring to thee the full evil sicknesses of Egypt, that thou hast known, but to all thine enemies these sicknesses shall come.

16 And thou shalt devour, that is, destroy, all [the] peoples, which thy Lord God shall give (over) to thee; thine eye shall not spare them, neither thou shalt serve their gods, lest they be into the falling of thee (lest they be thy downfall).

17 If thou sayest in thine heart, These folks be more than I, how may I do away them? (If thou sayest in thy heart, These nations, or these peoples, be more than I, how can I do them away?)

18 do not thou dread, but have thou mind, what things thy Lord God did to Pharaoh, and all the Egyptians; (do not thou fear, but remember, what things the Lord thy God did to Pharaoh, and to all the Egyptians;)

19 he did to them the greatest vengeances, which thine eyes saw, and miracles, and great wonders, and the strong hand, and an arm stretched out, that thy Lord God should lead thee out (from) thence; so he shall do to all peoples which thou dreadest. (he did to them the greatest vengeances, which thine eyes saw, and miracles, and great wonders, with a strong hand, and an outstretched arm, so that the Lord thy God could lead thee out from there; so shall he do to all the peoples whom thou fearest.)

20 Furthermore and thy Lord God shall send venomous flies into them, till he do away, and destroy all men, that fled (from) thee, and they shall not be able to be hid. (And furthermore, the Lord thy God shall send venomous flies into them, until he do away, and destroy, all those who fled from thee, and they shall not be able to hide from them.)

21 Thou shalt not dread them, for thy Lord God is in the midst of thee, a great God, and fearful. (Thou shalt not fear them, for the Lord thy God is in the midst of thee, yea, a great and fearful God.)

22 He himself shall waste these nations in thy sight, (by) little and little, and by parts; thou shalt not be able to do away them (al)together (but thou shalt not be able to completely do them away), lest peradventure [the] beasts of the earth be multiplied against thee;

23 and thy Lord God shall give them to thee in thy sight, and he shall slay them, till they be done away utterly. (and the Lord thy God shall give them over to thee, and he shall kill them, until they be utterly done away.)

24 And he shall betake their kings into thine hands, and thou shalt destroy their names under heaven; none shall be able to against-stand thee, till thou all-break them.

25 Thou shalt burn in fire their graven images; thou shalt not covet the silver and gold, of which those images be made, neither thou shalt take of those anything to thee, lest thou offend therefore, for it is abomination of thy Lord God. (Thou shalt burn their carved images with fire; thou shalt not covet the silver and gold, which be on those idols, nor shalt thou take it for thyself, lest thou be caused to stumble because of it, for they be abominations to the Lord thy God.)

26 Neither thou shalt bring anything of the idol into thine house, lest thou be made cursed, as also that idol is; thou shalt loathe it as filth, and thou shalt have it as defouling, and as filths of abomination, for it is cursed. (Nor shalt thou bring any idol into thy house, lest thou be cursed, like that idol is cursed; thou shalt loathe it like filth, and thou shalt see it as defiled, and like the filths of abominations, for it is cursed.)

Deuteronomy 7 Commentary

Chapter 7

Intercourse with the Canaanites forbidden. (1-11) Promises if they were obedient. (12-26)

Verses 1-11 Here is a strict caution against all friendship and fellowship with idols and idolaters. Those who are in communion with God, must have no communication with the unfruitful works of darkness. Limiting the orders to destroy, to the nations here mentioned, plainly shows that after ages were not to draw this into a precedent. A proper understanding of the evil of sin, and of the mystery of a crucified Saviour, will enable us to perceive the justice of God in all his punishments, temporal and eternal. We must deal decidedly with our lusts that war against our souls; let us not show them any mercy, but mortify, and crucify, and utterly destroy them. Thousands in the world that now is, have been undone by ungodly marriages; for there is more likelihood that the good will be perverted, than that the bad will be converted. Those who, in choosing yoke-fellows, keep not within the bounds of a profession of religion, cannot promise themselves helps meet for them.

Verses 12-26 We are in danger of having fellowship with the works of darkness if we take pleasure in fellowship with those who do such works. Whatever brings us into a snare, brings us under a curse. Let us be constant to our duty, and we cannot question the constancy of God's mercy. Diseases are God's servants; they go where he sends them, and do what he bids them. It is therefore good for the health of our bodies, thoroughly to mortify the sin of our souls; which is our rule of duty. Yet sin is never totally destroyed in this world; and it actually prevails in us much more than it would do, if we were watchful and diligent. In all this the Lord acts according to the counsel of his own will; but that counsel being hid from us, forms no excuse for our sloth and negligence, of which it is in no degree the cause. We must not think, that because the deliverance of the church, and the destruction of the enemies of the soul, are not done immediately, therefore they will never be done. God will do his own work in his own method and time; and we may be sure that they are always the best. Thus corruption is driven out of the hearts of believers by little and little. The work of sanctification is carried on gradually; but at length there will be a complete victory. Pride, security, and other sins that are common effects of prosperity, are enemies more dangerous than beasts of the field, and more apt to increase upon us.

Chapter Summary

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.