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「你們的上帝耶和華帶領你們進入將要佔領的土地時，必從你們面前趕走赫人、革迦撒人、亞摩利人、迦南人、比利洗人、希未人和耶布斯人這七個比你們強大的民族。 2當你們的上帝耶和華把他們交在你們手裡、使你們打敗他們後，你們必須徹底毀滅他們。不可與他們立約，不可憐憫他們。 3不可與他們通婚，不可讓你們的兒女與他們的兒女通婚， 4因為他們會讓你們的兒女離棄耶和華去拜其他神明，以致耶和華向你們發怒，迅速毀滅你們。 5你們要這樣對待他們：拆毀他們的祭壇，打碎他們的神柱，砍下他們的亞舍拉神像，焚燒他們的偶像。 6因為你們是你們的上帝耶和華的聖民，祂從天下萬族中揀選你們做祂寶貴的子民。
7「耶和華喜愛你們、揀選你們，不是因為你們的人口比別的民族多——其實你們在萬族中是最小的—— 8而是因為祂愛你們，遵守祂向你們祖先所起的誓。因此，祂用大能的手把你們從受奴役之地領出來，從埃及王法老手中救贖了你們。 9所以你們要知道，你們的上帝耶和華是上帝，是信實的上帝，祂向愛祂、遵守祂誡命的人守約、施慈愛直到千代。 10但祂必毫不遲延地當面報應、毀滅那些恨祂的人。 11所以，你們要謹遵我今天吩咐你們的誡命、律例和典章。
遵守誡命必蒙福
12「如果你們聽從並謹遵這些典章，你們的上帝耶和華就會信守祂給你們祖先的誓約，以慈愛待你們。 13祂會愛你們，賜福給你們，使你們在祂向你們祖先起誓要賜給你們的土地上人丁興旺，牛羊成群，收穫豐富的穀物、新酒和油。 14天下萬族之中，你們是最蒙福的，你們的男人、女人和牲畜沒有不能生育的。 15耶和華要使你們免患疾病，免遭你們在埃及所見的惡疾，祂要把那些惡疾降在一切憎惡你們的人身上。 16你們必須滅絕你們的上帝耶和華交在你們手裡的各族，不可憐憫他們，不可供奉他們的神明，因為那樣會使你們陷入網羅。
17「也許你們心裡會說，『這些民族都比我們強大，我們怎能趕走他們呢？』 18不要怕他們，要牢記你們的上帝耶和華曾如何對付法老和整個埃及， 19你們親眼目睹祂如何降下大災難、行神蹟奇事、伸出臂膀和大能的手領你們離開埃及，祂也要這樣對付你們所懼怕的各族。 20你們的上帝耶和華還要派黃蜂去攻擊他們，直到躲藏起來的殘存者也全部滅亡。 21不要懼怕他們，因為你們的上帝耶和華住在你們當中，祂是偉大而可畏的上帝。 22你們的上帝耶和華將在你們前面逐漸趕走那些民族，你們不可急速地滅盡他們，否則你們周圍的野獸會大增，危害你們。 23你們的上帝耶和華要將他們交給你們，使他們驚恐萬狀，直到被滅絕。 24祂要將他們的王交在你們手中，無人能抵擋你們，你們要毀滅他們，使他們的名字從世上絕跡。 25你們要燒毀他們的神像，不可貪圖神像上的金銀，不可將那些金銀據為己有，免得你們因此陷入網羅；因為那是你們的上帝耶和華所憎惡的。 26不可把可憎之物帶到家裡，否則你們會像它們一樣被毀滅。你們要極其憎惡、厭棄它們，因為它們是當毀滅之物。
