Deuteronomy 7

1 When Yahweh your God brings you into the land that you go to possess, he will drive out many nations before you—the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites—seven nations greater and mightier than you.

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—

2 It is Yahweh your God who gives them over to you when you defeat them, and then you must completely destroy them. You will make no covenant with them, and show them no mercy.

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.

3 Neither will you arrange any marriages with them. You will not give your daughters to their sons, and you will not take their daughters for your sons.

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

4 For they will turn away your sons from following me, so that they may worship other gods. So the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you, and he will destroy you quickly.

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.

5 This is how you will deal with them: You will break down their altars, dash their stone pillars in pieces, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their cast idols.

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.

6 For you are a nation that is set apart to Yahweh your God. He has chosen you to be a people for him to possess, more than all the other peoples that are on the face of the earth.

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.

7 Yahweh did not set his love upon you or choose you because you were more in number than any people—for you were the fewest of all peoples—

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.

8 but because he loves you, and he wished to keep the oath that he had sworn to your fathers. This is why Yahweh has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

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.

9 Therefore know that Yahweh your God—he is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenants and faithfulness for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commandments,

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.

10 but repays those who hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will not be lenient on whoever hates him; he will repay him to his face.

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.

11 You will therefore keep the commandments, the statutes, and the decrees that I command you today, so that you will do them.

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

12 If you listen to these decrees, and keep and do them, it will happen that Yahweh your God will keep with you the covenant and the faithfulness that he swore to your fathers.

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.

13 He will love you, bless you, and multiply you; he will also bless the fruit of your body and the fruit of your ground, your grain, your new wine, and your oil, the multiplication of your cattle and the young of your flocks, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.

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.

14 You will be blessed more than all other peoples; there will not be a childless male or a barren female among you or among your cattle.

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

15 Yahweh will take away from you all sickness; none of the evil diseases of Egypt that you have known will he put on you, but he will put them on all those who hate you.

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.

16 You will consume all the peoples whom Yahweh your God will give over to you, and your eye will not pity them. You will not worship their gods, for that will be a trap for you.

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.

17 If you say in your heart, 'These nations are more numerous than I; how can I dispossess them?'—

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

18 do not be afraid of them; you will call to mind what Yahweh your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt;

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

19 the great sufferings that your eyes saw, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out. Yahweh your God will do the same to all the peoples whom you fear.

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.

20 Moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left and who hide themselves from you perish from your presence.

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

21 You will not be frightened at them, for Yahweh your God is among you, a great and fearsome God.

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

22 Yahweh your God will drive out those nations before you little by little. You will not defeat them all at once, or the wild animals would become very many around you.

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.

23 But Yahweh your God will give you victory over them when you meet them in battle; he will greatly confuse them until they are destroyed.

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

24 He will put their kings under your power, and you will make their name perish from under heaven. No one will be able to stand before you, until you have destroyed them.

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.

25 You will burn the carved figures of their gods—do not covet the silver or the gold that covers them and take it for yourself, because if you do, you will become trapped by it—for it is an abomination to Yahweh your God.

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.

26 You will not bring any abomination into your house and start to worship it. You will utterly detest and abhor it, for it is set apart for destruction.

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.