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23 My angel will go before you and bring you to the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites; and I will wipe them out. 24 Therefore, you shall not bow down to their gods and serve them, nor shall you act as they do; rather, you must demolish them and smash their sacred stones.[a](A) 25 You shall serve the Lord, your God; then he will bless your food and drink, and I will remove sickness from your midst; 26 no woman in your land will be barren or miscarry; and I will give you a full span of life.

27 I will have the terror of me precede you, so that I will throw into panic every nation you reach.(B) I will make all your enemies turn from you in flight, 28 and ahead of you I will send hornets[b] to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them all out before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals multiply against you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have grown numerous enough to take possession of the land. 31 (C)I will set your boundaries from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines,[c] and from the wilderness to the Euphrates; all who dwell in this land I will hand over to you and you shall drive them out before you. 32 You shall not make a covenant with them or their gods. 33 They must not live in your land. For if you serve their gods, this will become a snare to you.(D)

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Footnotes

  1. 23:24 Sacred stones: objects that symbolized the presence of Canaanite deities. In general, standing stones served as memorials for deities, persons, or significant events such as military victories or covenant-making. See 24:4.
  2. 23:28 Hornets: the Hebrew sir’ah is a disputed term, but according to ancient interpreters it refers to hornets that were unleashed against the enemy to sting them and cause panic (cf. Dt 7:20; Jos 24:12; Wis 12:8). Others associate the word with plagues or troublesome afflictions.
  3. 23:31 The sea of the Philistines: the Mediterranean. Only in the time of David and Solomon did the territory of Israel come near to reaching such distant borders.

23 My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites,(A) and I will wipe them out. 24 Do not bow down before their gods or worship(B) them or follow their practices.(C) You must demolish(D) them and break their sacred stones(E) to pieces. 25 Worship the Lord your God,(F) and his blessing(G) will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness(H) from among you, 26 and none will miscarry or be barren(I) in your land. I will give you a full life span.(J)

27 “I will send my terror(K) ahead of you and throw into confusion(L) every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.(M) 28 I will send the hornet(N) ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites(O) out of your way. 29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals(P) too numerous for you. 30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession(Q) of the land.

31 “I will establish your borders from the Red Sea[a] to the Mediterranean Sea,[b] and from the desert to the Euphrates River.(R) I will give into your hands the people who live in the land, and you will drive them out(S) before you. 32 Do not make a covenant(T) with them or with their gods. 33 Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare(U) to you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 23:31 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Exodus 23:31 Hebrew to the Sea of the Philistines

11 As for you, observe what I am commanding you today.(A)

See, I am about to drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 12 (B)Take care not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land that you are to enter; lest they become a snare among you. 13 Tear down their altars; smash their sacred stones, and cut down their asherahs.[a] 14 You shall not bow down to any other god, for the Lord—“Jealous”[b] his name—is a jealous God. 15 Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land; else, when they prostitute themselves with their gods and sacrifice to them, one of them may invite you and you may partake of the sacrifice. 16 And when you take their daughters as wives for your sons, and their daughters prostitute themselves with their gods, they will make your sons do the same.

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Footnotes

  1. 34:13 Asherah was the name of a Canaanite goddess. In her honor wooden poles (asherot) were erected, just as stone pillars (massebot) were erected in honor of the god Baal. Both were placed near the altar in a Canaanite shrine.
  2. 34:14 Jealous: see note on 20:5. Some, by a slight emendation, render, “The Lord is jealous for his name.” Cf. Ez 39:25.

11 Obey what I command(A) you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.(B) 12 Be careful not to make a treaty(C) with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare(D) among you. 13 Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles.[a](E) 14 Do not worship any other god,(F) for the Lord, whose name(G) is Jealous, is a jealous God.(H)

15 “Be careful not to make a treaty(I) with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute(J) themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices.(K) 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives(L) for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods,(M) they will lead your sons to do the same.

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Footnotes

  1. Exodus 34:13 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah

51 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you go across the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 dispossess all the inhabitants of the land before you; destroy all their stone figures, destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places.(A)

53 You will take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54 You will apportion the land among yourselves by lot, clan by clan, assigning a large heritage to a large clan and a small heritage to a small clan.(B) Wherever anyone’s lot falls, there will his possession be; you will apportion these shares within your ancestral tribe.

55 But if you do not dispossess the inhabitants of the land before you, those whom you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will harass you in the land where you live,(C) 56 and I will treat you as I had intended to treat them.

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51 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,(A) 52 drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places.(B) 53 Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess.(C) 54 Distribute the land by lot,(D) according to your clans.(E) To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one.(F) Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs. Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.(G)

55 “‘But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns(H) in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. 56 And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.(I)’”

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