Exhortation to Destroy Canaanite Paganism

7:16 You must destroy33 all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship34 their gods, for that will be a snare to you. 7:17 If you think, “These nations are more numerous than I—how can I dispossess them?” 7:18 you must not fear them. You must carefully recall35 what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and all Egypt, 7:19 the great judgments36 you saw, the signs and wonders, the strength and power37 by which he38 brought you out—thus the Lord your God will do to all the people you fear. 7:20 Furthermore, the Lord your God will release hornets39 among them until the very last ones who hide from you40 perish. 7:21 You must not tremble in their presence, for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a great and awesome God. 7:22 He,41 the God who leads you, will expel the nations little by little. You will not be allowed to destroy them all at once lest the wild animals overrun you. 7:23 The Lord your God will give them over to you; he will throw them into a great panic42 until they are destroyed. 7:24 He will hand over their kings to you and you will erase their very names from memory.43 Nobody will be able to resist you until you destroy them. 7:25 You must burn the images of their gods, but do not covet the silver and gold that covers them so much that you take it for yourself and thus become ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent44 to the Lord your God. 7:26 You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house and thereby become an object of divine wrath45 along with it.46 You must absolutely detest47 and abhor it,48 for it is an object of divine wrath.