Deuteronomy
Chapter 7
1 When God brings you to the land you are going to take over, and has driven out many nations ahead of you—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—seven nations bigger and stronger than you;
2 When God gives them to you, you must defeat them and completely destroy them; you must not make any agreements with them or show them mercy.
3 Do not marry them; don’t give your daughter to their son, and don’t take their daughter for your son.
4 They will lead your son away from following me, so they can worship other gods. Then God will become very angry with you and destroy you quickly.
5 Deal with them like this: destroy their altars, break their idols, cut down their sacred poles, and burn their carved images with fire.
6 You are a holy people to your God: your God has chosen you to be his own special people, more than anyone else in the world.
7 God did not love or choose you because you were the most people; you were actually the fewest of all.
8 Because God loved you and wanted to keep the promise made to your ancestors, God brought you out with great power and freed you from slavery under Pharaoh, the king of Egypt.
9 Understand then that God, your God, is the true God, the loyal God, who maintains his promise and kindness to those who love him and obey his commands for a thousand generations.
10 God pays back those who hate Him directly, to destroy them; He will not delay in repaying someone who hates Him, He will confront them.
11 You should follow the commands, rules, and decisions I give you today and obey them.
12 So if you listen to these rules and follow them, then God will keep the promise and kindness he swore to your ancestors.
13 God will love you, bless you, and make you many. He will bless your children and your land’s crops, your grain, wine, and oil, the calves of your cows, and the lambs of your sheep, in the land he promised to your ancestors to give to you.
14 You will be more blessed than any other people: none of you, man or woman, or your animals, will be unable to have children.
15 God will remove all sickness from you and won’t let you suffer from the terrible diseases of Egypt you know about. Instead, He will make those who hate you suffer from them.
16 You must destroy all the peoples God gives to you; show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, as it will trap you.
17 If you think to yourself, “These nations are too many for me; how can I drive them out?”
18 Do not fear them: but remember well what God did to Pharaoh and all of Egypt.
19 The big tests you saw, the miracles, the powerful acts, and the strong arm that God used to rescue you: God will do the same to all the people you fear.
20 God will send hornets to chase them away until all that are left and hiding from you are destroyed.
21 Do not be scared of them: for God, who is your God, is with you, a powerful and awesome God.
22 God will drive out those nations before you gradually; you cannot defeat them quickly, or wild animals will grow too numerous for you.
23 God will hand them over to you and wipe them out completely until they are gone.
24 God will hand their kings over to you, and you will erase their names from the earth; no one will be able to resist you until you have destroyed them.
25 Burn the carved idols of their gods: do not want the silver or gold on them or take it, so you won’t be trapped by it: it’s hated by God.
26 Do not bring anything hateful into your home, or you will be cursed like it. Hate it completely and find it totally disgusting, because it is cursed.