Deuteronomy 7:15-25

15 And Yahweh will turn away from you all the illness and all the harmful diseases of Egypt that you experienced; he will not lay them on you, but he will lay them on all [of] those who hate you.
16 And you shall devour all of the peoples [that] Yahweh your God [is] giving to you; {you shall not pity them}, and you shall not serve their gods, [which] will be a snare for you.
17 "If you think in your heart, 'These nations [are] more numerous than I, so how can I dispossess them?'
18 [then remember] you must not be afraid of them; you must well remember what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all [of] Egypt:
19 the great trials that your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the [workings of] the strong hand and the outstretched arm [by] which Yahweh your God brought you out; so Yahweh your God will do to all [of] the peoples {because of whom} you [are] in fear {before them}.
20 And, moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornets among them until [both] the survivors and the fugitives {are destroyed} {before you}.
21 You must not [be in dread] from the presence of them, because Yahweh your God, [who is] in your midst, [is] a great and awesome God.
22 And Yahweh your God will clear away these nations {from before you} little by little; you will not be able to finish them off quickly, {lest} the {wild animals} {multiply} {against you}.
23 But Yahweh your God will {give them to you}, and he will throw them into great panic {until they are destroyed}.
24 And he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall blot out their names from under the heaven; anyone will not [be able to] stand {against you} {until you destroy them}.
25 You shall burn the images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet [the] silver or gold [that is] on them, and [so] you take [it] for yourself, so that you are not ensnared by it, for it [is] a detestable thing to Yahweh your God.

Deuteronomy 7:15-25 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.

Footnotes 16

  • [a]. Literally "your eye shall not take pity on them"
  • [b]. Literally "from them"
  • [c]. Literally "from their presence"
  • [d]. Hebrew "hornet"
  • [e]. Literally "the destroying of"
  • [f]. Literally "from your faces"
  • [g]. Literally "from your faces"
  • [h]. Literally "so that not"
  • [i]. Literally "animals of the field"
  • [j]. Literally "will become numerous"
  • [k]. Literally "on you"
  • [l]. Literally "give them to your face"
  • [m]. Literally "until their destroying"
  • [n]. Hebrew "name"
  • [o]. Literally "in your faces"
  • [p]. Literally "until your destroying them"
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