Driving Out the Nations

7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possessb and drives out before you many nationsc—the Hittites,d Girgashites,e Amorites,f Canaanites, Perizzites,g Hivitesh and Jebusites,i seven nations larger and stronger than you—2 and when the Lord your God has deliveredj them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroyk them totally.a l Make no treatym with them, and show them no mercy.n 3 Do not intermarry with them.o Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,p and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroyq you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah polesb r and burn their idols in the fire.s 6 For you are a people holyt to the Lord your God.u The Lord your God has chosenv you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.w

7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerousx than other peoples, for you were the fewesty of all peoples.z 8 But it was because the Lord loveda you and kept the oath he sworeb to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty handc and redeemedd you from the land of slavery,e from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;f he is the faithful God,g keeping his covenant of loveh to a thousand generationsi of those who love him and keep his commandments.j 10 But

those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;

he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.k

11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors.l 13 He will love you and bless youm and increase your numbers.n He will bless the fruit of your womb,o the crops of your land—your grain, new winep and olive oilq—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.r 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young.s 15 The Lord will keep you free from every disease.t He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt,u but he will inflict them on all who hate you.v 16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you.w Do not look on them with pityx and do not serve their gods,y for that will be a snarez to you.

17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?a” 18 But do not be afraidb of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.c 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty handd and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.e 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornetf among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you,g is a great and awesome God.h 22 The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little.i You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. 23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.j 24 He will give their kingsk into your hand,l and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you;m you will destroy them.n 25 The images of their gods you are to burno in the fire. Do not covetp the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnaredq by it, for it is detestabler to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction.s Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.