Deuteronomy 7:20-26

20 Moreover, ¹the 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 ²in your midst, ³a great and awesome God.

22 ⁴The 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 ⁵But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed.

24 And ⁶he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall ⁷make their name perish from under heaven. ⁸No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.

25 The carved images of their gods ⁹you shall burn with fire. You ¹⁰shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be ¹¹ensnared 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, ¹²for it is devoted to destruction.

Deuteronomy 7:20-26 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.

Cross References

• 1. 7:20 Ex. 23:28; Josh. 24:12
• 2. 7:21 ch. 6:15; Num. 11:20; 14:14; Josh. 3:10
• 3. 7:21 ch. 10:17; Neh. 1:5; 4:14; 9:32; [ch. 28:58]
• 4. 7:22 Ex. 23:29, 30
• 5. 7:23 ver. 2
• 6. 7:24 Josh. 10:24, 42; 11:12; See Josh. 12:1
• 7. 7:24 See ch. 9:14
• 8. 7:24 ch. 11:25; Josh. 1:5; 10:8; 23:9
• 9. 7:25 ver. 5; ch. 12:3; [Ex. 32:20; 1 Chr. 14:12]
• 10. 7:25 [Josh. 7:1, 21]
• 11. 7:25 See ver. 16
• 12. 7:26 ch. 13:17; Lev. 27:28; Josh. 6:17, 18; 7:1; [Mic. 4:13]

Footnotes

• [a] 7:22 Or 'quickly'
• [b] 7:26 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); twice in this verse