Deuteronomy 7

1 When the LORD your God brings you into the land that you are entering to possess, and He drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you—

The Lord your God is going to lead you into the land that you are taking over in order to own it, and will drive out ahead of you many other nations: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations that are larger and stronger than you.

2 and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.

When the Lord your God has handed them over to you to defeat them, then you must set them apart for destruction. Don't make any peace treaty with them and don't show them any mercy.

3 Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,

Don't intermarry with them. Don't let your daughters marry their sons or have their daughters marry your sons,

4 because they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods. Then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and He will swiftly destroy you.

because they will lead your children away from following me to worship other gods. Then the Lord will be angry with you, and he will quickly come and kill you.

5 Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.

On the contrary, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, knock down their idolatrous pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn down their idols.

6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.

For you are the Lord your God's holy people. The Lord your God has chosen you to be his own special people, valued above all other peoples on the earth.

7 The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.

It wasn't because there were so many of you that the Lord loved you more than any other nation, in fact he chose you though there were so few of you.

8 But because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers, He brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

However, because the Lord loved you and kept the promise he gave to your forefathers, He led you out by his power and rescued you from the prison-house of slavery, from the rule of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.

That's why you can be sure that the Lord your God is the true God, the faithful God who keeps his agreement based on trustworthy love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

10 But those who hate Him He repays to their faces with destruction; He will not hesitate to repay to his face the one who hates Him.

But he doesn't hesitate to pay back those who hate him by destroying them.

11 So keep the commandments and statutes and ordinances that I am giving you to follow this day.

So keep the commandments and rules and regulations that I'm giving you to follow today.

12 If you listen to these ordinances and keep them carefully, then the LORD your God will keep His covenant and the loving devotion that He swore to your fathers.

If you listen to these regulations and are careful to observe them, then the Lord your God will keep his agreement and the trustworthy love that he promised to your forefathers.

13 He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb and the produce of your land—your grain, new wine, and oil, the young of your herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your fathers to give you.

He will love you and bless you and give you many descendants. He will bless your children and the crops your land produces—your grain, new wine, and olive oil, the calves of your cattle herds and the lambs of your flocks—in the land that he promised your forefathers to give you.

14 You will be blessed above all peoples; among you there will be no barren man or woman or livestock.

You will be blessed more than any other nation; none of you will be childless, and none of your livestock will fail to have young.

15 And the LORD will remove from you all sickness. He will not lay upon you any of the terrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but He will inflict them on all who hate you.

The Lord will keep you from having any kind of sickness. He will not let you have any of the terrible diseases you saw in Egypt, but he will let all who hate you suffer from them.

16 You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

You are to destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Don't look on them with sympathy. Don't worship their gods, for that will end up being a trap to you.

17 You may say in your heart, “These nations are greater than we are; how can we drive them out?”

You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than us. How on earth can we drive them out?”

18 But do not be afraid of them. Be sure to remember what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt:

But don't be afraid of them. Make sure you remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and the whole of Egypt:

19 the great trials that you saw, the signs and wonders, and the mighty hand and outstretched arm by which the LORD your God brought you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.

the amazing tests you witnessed, the signs and miracles, the great power and incredible strength the Lord your God used to lead you out. The Lord your God is going to deal with all the nations you're currently afraid of in the same way.

20 Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them until even the survivors hiding from you have perished.

On top of this, the Lord your God will send the hornet against them until anyone who has survived and anyone hiding from you have been killed.

21 Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.

Don't be frightened of these nations, for the Lord your God, who is with you, is a powerful and awesome God.

22 The LORD your God will drive out these nations before you little by little. You will not be enabled to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply around you.

The Lord your God will drive out these nations ahead of you in stages. You won't be able to get rid of them all at the same time, or you'd be overwhelmed by wild animals.

23 But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed.

But the Lord your God will hand them over to you and throw them into a terrible panic, until they are wiped out.

24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you; you will annihilate them.

He will give their defeated kings to you to be killed, and even their names will be forgotten. No one will be able to withstand you; you will completely destroy them.

25 You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.

You must burn the idols of their god. Don't desire the silver and gold that covers them. Don't take it or otherwise it will be a trap for you because the Lord your God detests anything to do with idols.

26 And you must not bring any detestable thing into your house, or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. You are to utterly detest and abhor it, because it is set apart for destruction.

Don't bring any detestable idol into your house, otherwise you will treated just like it—by being set apart for destruction. You are to treat idols as totally despicable, and stay far away from them, because they are set apart for destruction.