Deuteronomy 7

All 26 verses in the Clear Bible Translation. Tap a verse to compare the KJV and read what it means.

Read Deuteronomy 7 in the Bible reader, with audio →

1. 1When the LORD your God brings you into the land you are about to enter and take possession of, he will drive out many nations ahead of you — the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites — 7 nations that are larger and more powerful than you.
2. 2When the LORD your God hands them over to you and you defeat them, you must completely destroy them. Don't make any covenant with them, and don't show them mercy.
3. 3Don't intermarry with them. Don't give your daughters to their sons, and don't take their daughters for your sons.
4. 4Because they will lead your children away from following me, and your children will end up serving other gods. Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you quickly.
5. 5Instead, here's what you must do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, chop down their Asherah poles, and burn their carved idols in the fire.
6. 6You are a people set apart as holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD your God chose you to be his own treasured people.
7. 7The LORD didn't set his love on you and choose you because you were the largest nation — in fact, you were the smallest of all peoples.
8. 8It was because the LORD loved you and because he was keeping the oath he swore to your ancestors. That's why the LORD brought you out with his mighty hand and rescued you from slavery, from the grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9. 9So understand this: the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his covenant and shows mercy to those who love him and obey his commandments, for a thousand generations.
10. 10But those who hate him, he repays directly and destroys. He doesn't hesitate — he pays back anyone who hates him to their face.
11. 11So be careful to follow the commandments, statutes, and laws that I'm giving you today.
12. 12If you listen to these laws and faithfully obey them, the LORD your God will keep the covenant and the mercy he promised to your ancestors.
13. 13He will love you, bless you, and make your numbers grow. He will bless your children, your crops — your grain, your wine, and your olive oil — and the offspring of your herds and flocks, in the land he swore to your ancestors he would give you.
14. 14You will be blessed more than any other people. None of your men or women will be unable to have children, and none of your livestock will be barren.
15. 15The LORD will keep you free from every disease. He won't inflict on you any of the terrible diseases you saw in Egypt, but he will bring them on everyone who hates you.
16. 16You must destroy every people group the LORD your God hands over to you. Don't feel sorry for them, and don't worship their gods — that would become a trap for you.
17. 17You might think to yourself, 'These nations are stronger than we are. How can we possibly drive them out?'
18. 18Don't be afraid of them. Instead, remember clearly what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all of Egypt —
19. 19the great temptations you witnessed with your own eyes, the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm the LORD your God used to bring you out. The LORD your God will do the same to all the people you fear.
20. 20On top of that, the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until even those who survive and hide from you are wiped out.
21. 21Don't be terrified of them, because the LORD your God is right there among you — a great and awesome God.
22. 22The LORD your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You won't be able to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals would multiply and overrun you.
23. 23But the LORD your God will hand them over to you and throw them into total chaos until they are destroyed.
24. 24He will deliver their kings into your hands, and you will wipe out their very names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand against you — you will destroy them all.
25. 25Burn the carved images of their gods in the fire. Don't be tempted by the silver or gold on them, and don't take it for yourself, or it will become a trap for you. It is an abomination to the LORD your God.
26. 26Don't bring any of these disgusting things into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction just like them. You must completely detest and utterly despise them, because they are set apart for destruction.