Deuteronomy 7:20

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.)

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 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;
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.