Deuteronomy 7

1When Jehovah thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and shall cast out many nations before thee, the Hittite, and the Girgashite, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

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

2and when Jehovah thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;

2and when the LORD your God hands them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Make no treaties with them and show them no mercy.

3neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son.

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

4For he will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of Jehovah be kindled against you, and he will destroy thee quickly.

4For they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods. Then the LORD’s anger will burn against you and he will quickly destroy you.

5But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

5This is how you must treat them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred stone pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their carved idols with fire.

6For thou art a holy people unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.

6For you are a holy people to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his own special treasure.

7Jehovah did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all peoples:

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

8but because Jehovah loveth you, and because he would keep the oath which he sware unto your fathers, hath Jehovah brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

8But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

9Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations,

9Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

10and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

10But he repays those who hate him to their face by destroying them; he will not hesitate to repay those who hate him to their face.

11Thou shalt therefore keep the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command thee this day, to do them.

11So be careful to obey the commands, decrees, and laws I give you today.

12And it shall come to pass, because ye hearken to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that Jehovah thy God will keep with thee the covenant and the lovingkindness which he sware unto thy fathers:

12If 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.

13and he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee; he will also bless the fruit of thy body and the fruit of thy ground, thy grain and thy new wine and thine oil, the increase of thy cattle and the young of thy flock, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

13He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land—your grain, new wine, and olive oil—the calves of your herds, and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.

14Thou shalt be blessed above all peoples: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.

14You 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.

15And Jehovah will take away from thee all sickness; and none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, will he put upon thee, but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.

15The LORD will keep you free from every disease. He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt, but he will bring them on all who hate you.

16And thou shalt consume all the peoples that Jehovah thy God shall deliver unto thee; thine eye shall not pity them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee.

16You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a trap for you.

17If thou shalt say in thy heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?

17You may say to yourselves, 'These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?'

18thou shalt not be afraid of them: thou shalt well remember what Jehovah thy God did unto Pharaoh, and unto all Egypt;

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

19the great trials which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, whereby Jehovah thy God brought thee out: so shall Jehovah thy God do unto all the peoples of whom thou art afraid.

19You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand 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.

20Moreover Jehovah thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves, perish from before thee.

20Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished.

21Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a great God and a terrible.

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

22And Jehovah thy God will cast out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

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

23But Jehovah thy God will deliver them up before thee, and will discomfit them with a great discomfiture, until they be destroyed.

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

24And he will deliver their kings into thy hand, and thou shalt make their name to perish from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.

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

25The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; for it is an abomination to Jehovah thy God.

25You must burn the images of their gods in the fire. Do not desire the silver or gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be trapped by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God.

26And thou shalt not bring an abomination into thy house, and become a devoted thing like unto it: thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a devoted thing.

26Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.