Driving Out the Nations
1When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally.7:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. 3Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. 5This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles7:5 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in Deuteronomy and burn their idols in the fire. 6For you are a people holy 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 people, his treasured possession.
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 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 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. 10But
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.
11Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.
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. 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. 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. 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 inflict them on all who hate you. 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 snare to you.
17You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?” 18But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. 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, the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. 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 the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 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 up against you; you will destroy them. 25The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the Lord your God. 26Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.
做上帝的子民
1“你们的上帝耶和华带领你们进入将要占领的土地时，必从你们面前赶走赫人、革迦撒人、亚摩利人、迦南人、比利洗人、希未人和耶布斯人这七个比你们强大的民族。 2当你们的上帝耶和华把他们交在你们手里、使你们打败他们后，你们必须彻底毁灭他们。不可与他们立约，不可怜悯他们。 3不可与他们通婚，不可让你们的儿女与他们的儿女通婚， 4因为他们会让你们的儿女离弃耶和华去拜其他神明，以致耶和华向你们发怒，迅速毁灭你们。 5你们要这样对待他们：拆毁他们的祭坛，打碎他们的神柱，砍下他们的亚舍拉神像，焚烧他们的偶像。 6因为你们是你们的上帝耶和华的圣民，祂从天下万族中拣选你们做祂宝贵的子民。
7“耶和华喜爱你们、拣选你们，不是因为你们的人口比别的民族多——其实你们在万族中是最小的—— 8而是因为祂爱你们，遵守祂向你们祖先所起的誓。因此，祂用大能的手把你们从受奴役之地领出来，从埃及王法老手中救赎了你们。 9所以你们要知道，你们的上帝耶和华是上帝，是信实的上帝，祂向爱祂、遵守祂诫命的人守约、施慈爱直到千代。 10但祂必毫不迟延地当面报应、毁灭那些恨祂的人。 11所以，你们要谨遵我今天吩咐你们的诫命、律例和典章。
遵守诫命必蒙福
12“如果你们听从并谨遵这些典章，你们的上帝耶和华就会信守祂给你们祖先的誓约，以慈爱待你们。 13祂会爱你们，赐福给你们，使你们在祂向你们祖先起誓要赐给你们的土地上人丁兴旺，牛羊成群，收获丰富的谷物、新酒和油。 14天下万族之中，你们是最蒙福的，你们的男人、女人和牲畜没有不能生育的。 15耶和华要使你们免患疾病，免遭你们在埃及所见的恶疾，祂要把那些恶疾降在一切憎恶你们的人身上。 16你们必须灭绝你们的上帝耶和华交在你们手里的各族，不可怜悯他们，不可供奉他们的神明，因为那样会使你们陷入网罗。
17“也许你们心里会说，‘这些民族都比我们强大，我们怎能赶走他们呢？’ 18不要怕他们，要牢记你们的上帝耶和华曾如何对付法老和整个埃及， 19你们亲眼目睹祂如何降下大灾难、行神迹奇事、伸出臂膀和大能的手领你们离开埃及，祂也要这样对付你们所惧怕的各族。 20你们的上帝耶和华还要派黄蜂去攻击他们，直到躲藏起来的残存者也全部灭亡。 21不要惧怕他们，因为你们的上帝耶和华住在你们当中，祂是伟大而可畏的上帝。 22你们的上帝耶和华将在你们前面逐渐赶走那些民族，你们不可急速地灭尽他们，否则你们周围的野兽会大增，危害你们。 23你们的上帝耶和华要将他们交给你们，使他们惊恐万状，直到被灭绝。 24祂要将他们的王交在你们手中，无人能抵挡你们，你们要毁灭他们，使他们的名字从世上绝迹。 25你们要烧毁他们的神像，不可贪图神像上的金银，不可将那些金银据为己有，免得你们因此陷入网罗；因为那是你们的上帝耶和华所憎恶的。 26不可把可憎之物带到家里，否则你们会像它们一样被毁灭。你们要极其憎恶、厌弃它们，因为它们是当毁灭之物。
