| Back to Home Page | Back to Book Index
|
Deuteronomy Chapter
Seven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 7
In
this chapter the Israelites are exhorted to destroy the seven nations of the
land of Canaan, when they entered into it, and to make no alliances with them
of any kind, nor suffer any remains of idolatry to continue, Deuteronomy 7:1 to
observe which, and other commands of God, they are urged from the consideration
of their being freely chosen of God above all other people, and of their being
redeemed out of the house of bondage, and of the Lord's being a covenant
keeping God to them, Deuteronomy 7:6 and
it is promised them, for their further encouragement to keep the commands of
God, that they should have an increase of all temporal good things, and no
evils and calamities should come upon them, Deuteronomy 6:12,
and, lest they should be disheartened at the numbers and might of their
enemies, they are put in mind of what God had done for them in Egypt, and of
what he had promised to do for them now, Deuteronomy 7:17
and they are assured that the nations should be cast out before them by little
and little, until they were utterly destroyed, Deuteronomy 7:21
and the chapter is concluded with an exhortation to destroy their images, and
not admit anything of that sort to be brought into their houses, Deuteronomy 7:25.
Deuteronomy 7:1 “When the Lord your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has
cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the
Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the
Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you,
YLT
1`When Jehovah thy God doth
bring thee in unto the land whither thou art going in to possess it, and He
hath cast out many nations from thy presence, the Hittite, and the Girgashite,
and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the
Jebusite, seven nations more numerous and mighty than thou,
When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou
goest to possess it,.... The land of Canaan they were just now going into to take
possession of; their introduction into which is here, as in many other places,
ascribed not to themselves, or their leaders, but to the Lord as their covenant
God:
and hath cast out many nations before thee; even all that
were in it, the seven following:
the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the
Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites; the
Canaanites were a particular nation in the land of Canaan, which had their name
from Canaan himself; the rest were called from different sons of his; see Genesis 10:15, the
country of the Gergesenes, the same with the Girgashites, continued its name
unto the times of Christ, Matthew 8:28,
seven nations greater and mightier than thou; more in
number, and more robust in body, some being of a gigantic stature; there were
ten of these nations in Abraham's time, three of them were since sunk or
swallowed up among the rest, the Kenites, and Kenizires, and the Rephaim; for
instead of the Kadmonites the Hivites are here put, which seem to be the same.
Deuteronomy 7:2 2 and
when the Lord your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and
utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to
them.
YLT
2and Jehovah thy God hath
given them before thee, and thou hast smitten them -- thou dost utterly devote
them -- thou dost not make with them a covenant, nor dost thou favour them.
And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee,.... Into
their hands:
thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; men, women,
and children; which was ordered not merely to make way and room for the people
of Israel to inherit their land, but as a punishment for capital crimes they
had been guilty of, such as idolatry, incest, murder, &c. wherefore though
they were reprieved for a while for Israel's sake, till their time was come to
possess the land, they were at length righteously punished; which observed,
abates the seeming severity exercised upon them:
thou shalt make no covenant with them; to dwell in
their cities and houses, and enjoy their lands and estates, on any condition
whatever; and though they did make a league with the Gibeonites, that was
obtained by fraud, they pretending not to be of the land of Canaan, but to come
from a very distant country:
nor show mercy unto them; by sparing their lives,
bestowing any favours upon them, or giving them any help and assistance when in
distress: the Jews extend this to all other Heathen nations besides these
seven; wherefore, if an Israelite, as MaimonidesF26Hilchot Abodath
Cochabim, c. 10. sect. 1,2. says, should see a Gentile perishing, or plunged
into a river, he may not take him out, nor administer medicine to a sick
person. Hence JuvenalF1"Non monstrare vias", &c. Satyr
14. the poet upbraids them with their unkindness and incivility; and says that
Moses delivered it as a Jewish law, in a secret volume of his, perhaps
referring to this book of Deuteronomy, that the Jews might not direct a poor
traveller in his way unless he was one of their religion, nor one athirst to a
fountain of water; and which led TacitusF2Hist l. 5. c. 5. , the
Heathen historian, to make this remark upon them, that they entertained an
hostile hatred against all other people.
Deuteronomy 7:3 3 Nor
shall you make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to their
son, nor take their daughter for your son.
YLT
3`And thou dost not join in
marriage with them; thy daughter thou dost not give to his son, and his
daughter thou dost not take to thy son,
Neither shalt thou make marriages with them,.... Unless
they became proselytes, as Rahab, who was married by Salmon, and so those of
other nations, as Ruth the Moabitess, and so any captive taken in war;
otherwise it was not lawful, bad consequences have followed upon it, which it
is the design of this law to prevent; that is, being snared and drawn aside into
idolatry, which was the case of Solomon:
thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter
shalt thou take unto thy son; for, according to the Targum of Jonathan,
whosoever marries with them, it is as if he married with their idols: and this
law, according to the Jewish writersF3Maimon. Hilchot lssure Biah,
c. 12. sect. 1. , is binding with respect to other nations besides the seven;
and whosoever marries any Heathen, of whatsoever nation, is to be beaten.
Deuteronomy 7:4 4 For
they will turn your sons away from following Me, to serve other gods; so the
anger of the Lord will be aroused against you and destroy you suddenly.
YLT
4for he doth turn aside thy
son from after Me, and they have served other gods, and the anger of Jehovah
hath burned against you, and hath destroyed thee hastily.
For they will turn away thy son from following me,.... From the
pure worship of God, his word, statutes, and ordinances:
that they may serve other gods; worship their idols;
that is, the daughters of Heathens, married to the sons of Israelites, would
entice them from the worship of the true God to idolatry; so the Targum of
Jonathan; as Solomon's wives drew him aside: or "he will turn away thy
son"F4יסיר "faciet
recedere": Pagninus, Montanus; so Junius and Tremellius, Piscator,
Tigurine version, Vatablus, V. L. all in the singular number. ; meaning, as
Jarchi observes, that the son of an Heathen, that marries the daughter of an
Israelite, will turn away the son born of her to idolatry, called here the
grandfather's son; though Aben Ezra says this respects the son mentioned in the
preceding verse, that is, the son married to an Heathen woman, and not to a son
born in such marriage:
so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy
thee suddenly; by some immediate judgment striking dead at once; there being
nothing more provoking to God than idolatry, that being directly contrary to
his being, nature, perfections, honour, and glory, of which he is jealous.
Deuteronomy 7:5 5 But
thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down
their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images,[a] and burn
their carved images with fire.
YLT
5`But thus thou dost to
them: their altars ye break down, and their standing pillars ye shiver, and
their shrines ye cut down, and their graven images ye burn with fire;
But thus shall ye deal with them,.... The inhabitants of
the land of Canaan:
ye shall destroy their altars; on which they sacrificed
to their idols:
and break down their images; of their gods, and the
statues and pillars erected to the honour of them:
and cut down their groves; sacred to idols, which
were usually planted on hills, and about Heathen temples, and under which idols
were placed to be worshipped. The Targum of Jonathan calls them trees of their
adoration, under which they worshipped; though there was a worship paid to them,
not indeed directly to them, or for their sakes, but for the sake of the idols
they were sacred to, or were placed under them; so MaimonidesF5Hilchot
Obede Cochabim, c. 8. sect. 3, 4. Vid. Misn. Avodah Zarah, c. 3. sect. 7. says,
a tree which at first was planted to be worshipped is forbidden of any use (or
profit); and this is the אשרה, or "grove",
spoken of in the law, a tree planted and lopped, of which a graven image is
made for an idol; and so the tree that has been worshipped, though the body of
it is, not forbidden, all the shoots and leaves, and the branches, and the
fruits it produces all the time it is worshipped, are forbidden to be used:
though the word here used sometimes seems to signify, not a grove of trees, but
some image itself, since we read of it in the temple, 2 Kings 21:7,
and burn their graven images with fire; distinguished
from their molten images, which may be meant in a preceding clause, and which
are particularly mentioned as to be destroyed as well as these, Numbers 33:52.
Deuteronomy 7:6 6 “For
you are a holy people to the Lord your God;
the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special
treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.
YLT
6for a holy people [art]
thou to Jehovah thy God; on thee hath Jehovah thy God fixed, to be to Him for a
peculiar people, out of all the peoples who [are] on the face of the ground.
For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God,.... Not
sanctified in a spiritual sense, or having principles of grace and holiness in
them, from whence holy actions sprang, at least not all of them; but they were
separated from all other people in the world to the pure worship and service of
God in an external manner, and therefore were to avoid all idolatry, and every
appearance of it:
the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto
himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth; for special
service and worship, and to enjoy special privileges and benefits, civil and
religious; though they were not chosen to special grace here, and eternal glory
hereafter; at least not all of them, only a remnant, according to the election
of grace; yet they were typical of the chosen people of God in a special sense;
who are chosen out of the world to be a peculiar people, to be holy here and
happy hereafter; to enjoy communion with God in this life and that to come, as
well as to serve and glorify him now and for evermore.
Deuteronomy 7:7 7 The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in
number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples;
YLT
7`Not because of your being
more numerous than any of the peoples hath Jehovah delighted in you, and fixeth
on you, for ye [are] the least of all the peoples,
The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you,.... He had done
both, and the one as the effect and evidence of the other; he loved them, and
therefore he chose them; but neither of them:
because ye were more in number than any people; not for the
quantity of them, nor even for the quality of them:
for ye were the fewest of all people; fewer than
the Egyptians, from whence they came, and than the Canaanites they were going
to drive out and inherit their land, Deuteronomy 7:1.
Those whom God has loved with an everlasting love, and as a fruit of it has
chosen them in Christ before the world began to grace and glory, holiness and
happiness, are but a small number, a little flock; though many are called, few
are chosen; nor are they better than others, being by nature children of wrath
even as others, and as to their outward circumstances the poor of this world.
Deuteronomy 7:8 8 but
because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to
your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a
mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of
Pharaoh king of Egypt.
YLT
8but because of Jehovah's
loving you, and because of His keeping the oath which He hath sworn to your
fathers, hath Jehovah brought you out by a strong hand, and doth ransom you
from a house of servants, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
But because the Lord loved you,.... With an unmerited
love; he loved them, because he loved them; that is, because he would love
them; his love was not owing to any goodness in them, or done by them, or any
love in them to him, but to his own good will and pleasure:
and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your
fathers; the promise he had made, confirmed by an oath:
hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand; out of the
land of Egypt:
and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen; where they
were bondmen to the Egyptians:
from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt; who detained
them, and refused to let them go.
Deuteronomy 7:9 9 “Therefore
know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and
mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His
commandments;
YLT
9`And thou hast known that
Jehovah thy God He [is] God, the faithful God, keeping the covenant, and the
kindness, to those loving Him, and to those keeping His commands -- to a
thousand generations,
The
only true and living God, and not the idols of the Gentiles, who are false and
lifeless ones, and therefore not the proper objects of adoration:
the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy; as appeared
by fulfilling the promise made to their fathers, in bringing them out of Egypt,
and now them to the borders of the land of Canaan given them for an
inheritance:
with them that love him, and keep his commandments, to a thousand
generations; see Exodus 20:6 which
are not the causes or conditions of his covenant and mercy, nor of his keeping
them, but descriptive of the persons that enjoy the benefit thereof.
Deuteronomy 7:10 10 and
He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be
slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face.
YLT
10and repaying to those
hating Him, unto their face, to destroy them; He delayeth not to him who is
hating Him -- unto his face, He repayeth to him –
And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them,.... Openly,
publicly, and at once, they not being able to make any resistance. Onkelos
interprets it in their lifetime, and so Jarchi which agrees with the Targums of
Jonathan and Jerusalem: "or to his face";F6אל פניו "in faciem
ejus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Vatablus, Fagius; so Ainsworth.
the face of God; that is, he will punish them that hate him to his face, who
are audacious, bold, impudent sinners; sinners before the Lord, as the men of
Sodom were, Genesis 13:13,
he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to
his face; not defer the execution of his judgment and vengeance, which may
seem to slumber and linger, but will quickly and openly bring it upon the
sinner; this also the Chaldee paraphrases explain as before.
Deuteronomy 7:11 11 Therefore
you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, and the judgments which I command
you today, to observe them.
YLT
11and thou hast kept the
command, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I am commanding thee to-day
to do them.
Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and
the judgments,.... The laws, moral, ceremonial, and judicial, urged thereunto
both by promises and threatenings, in hopes of reward, and through fear of
punishment:
which I command thee this day, to do them; in the name
of the Lord, and by his authority; by virtue of which he made a new declaration
of them to put them in mind of them in order to observe them.
Deuteronomy 7:12 12 “Then
it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do
them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He
swore to your fathers.
YLT
12`And it hath been, because
ye hear these judgments, and have kept, and done them, that Jehovah thy God
hath kept to thee the covenant and the kindness which He hath sworn to thy
fathers,
Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments,
and keep and do them,.... Attentively listen to the declaration made of them, and be
careful to observe them:
that the Lord thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the
mercy which he sware unto thy fathers; to bring them into the
land of Canaan, and continue them in it; yea, to send the Messiah to them, and
bring him the salvation of Israel out of Zion; see Luke 1:68.
Deuteronomy 7:13 13 And
He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also bless the fruit
of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your new wine and your
oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flock, in the land
of which He swore to your fathers to give you.
YLT
13and hath loved thee, and
blessed thee, and multiplied thee, and hath blessed the fruit of thy womb, and
the fruit of thy ground, thy corn, and thy new wine, and thine oil, the
increase of thine oxen, and the wealth of thy flock, on the ground which He
hath sworn to thy fathers to give to thee.
And he will love thee,.... As he has done, and
rest in his love, and give further instances and proofs of it:
and bless thee, and multiply thee; that is bless thee with
a multiplication of offspring, which was what was often promised to Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob; that their seed should be as the stars of heaven, the dust of
the earth, and the sand of the sea:
he will also bless the fruit of thy womb; not only give
strength to conceive, but carry on the pregnancy, preserve the foetus, and
prevent miscarrying:
and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil; which were
the principal produce of it:
the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep: their larger
and lesser cattle, oxen and sheep: in the land which he sware unto thy fathers
to give thee; the land of Canaan, given in promise, and that established by an
oath.
Deuteronomy 7:14 14 You
shall be blessed above all peoples; there shall not be a male or female barren
among you or among your livestock.
YLT
14`Blessed art thou above all
the peoples, there is not in thee a barren man or a barren woman -- nor among
your cattle;
Thou shalt be blessed above all people,.... Even with
temporal blessings, besides those of a religious kind; they having the oracles
of God, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the
promises, Romans 3:1,
there shall not be male or female barren among you; which to be
was reckoned a reproach, and the contrary a blessing, Luke 1:25 Psalm 128:3.
or among your cattle; the Targum of Jonathan
is, nor thy beasts barren of wool, and milk, and lambs.
Deuteronomy 7:15 15 And
the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and will afflict you with
none of the terrible diseases of Egypt which you have known, but will lay them
on all those who hate you.
YLT
15and Jehovah hath turned
aside from thee every sickness, and none of the evil diseases of Egypt (which
thou hast known) doth He put on thee, and He hath put them on all hating thee.
And will take away from thee all sickness,.... Bodily
sickness and diseases, prevent the coming of them, or remove them when come:
and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt which thou knowest
upon thee; meaning either the plagues that were inflicted upon them to
oblige them to let the Israelites go, of which they had perfect knowledge; or
else some noxious and nauseous diseases, which were common among, and peculiar
to, the Egyptians, particularly what is called the botch of Egypt; see Exodus 15:26,
likewise the leprosy; See Gill on Leviticus 13:2; see
Gill on Deuteronomy 28:27.
but will lay them upon all them that hate thee; with which
God sometimes punishes his and his people's enemies; see Judges 5:9.
Deuteronomy 7:16 16 Also
you shall destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God
delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve
their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
YLT
16`And thou hast consumed all
the peoples whom Jehovah thy God is giving to thee; thine eye hath no pity on
them, and thou dost not serve their gods, for a snare it [is] to thee.
And thou shall consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall
deliver thee,.... All the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, which the Lord
should deliver into their hands; them they were not to spare, but utterly
destroy men, women, and children:
thine eye shall have no pity upon them; See Gill on Deuteronomy 7:2,
neither shall thou serve their gods, for that will be a snare unto
thee; which will bring into utter ruin and destruction; see Exodus 23:33.
Deuteronomy 7:17 17 “If
you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I
dispossess them?’—
YLT
17`When thou sayest in thine
heart, These nations [are] more numerous than I, how am I able to dispossess
them? –
If thou shall say in thine heart,.... Should have secret
thoughts arise in the heart, misgivings of heart, fears and doubts there,
which, though not outwardly expressed, might be inwardly retained:
these nations are more than I; seven to one, and
perhaps anyone of them as powerful as Israel:
how can I dispossess them? of the land they
inherit, and take possession of it.
Deuteronomy 7:18 18 you
shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt:
YLT
18thou art not afraid of
them; thou dost surely remember that which Jehovah thy God hath done to
Pharaoh, and to all Egypt,
Thou shalt not be afraid of them,.... Neither on account
of their number, nor their strength:
but shall well remember what the Lord thy God did unto Pharaoh,
and unto all Egypt; a people more numerous and potent than the Canaanites, among
whom the Lord wrought such wonderful things by his power, which obliged them to
let Israel go; and his power was now the same, he could do as great things to
the Canaanites as he had to the Egyptians; and as he had delivered them out of
the hands of the Egyptians, he could as easily deliver the Canaanites into
their hands, and put them into the possession of their country.
Deuteronomy 7:19 19 the
great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand
and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God
brought you out. So shall the Lord your God
do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.
YLT
19the great trials which
thine eyes have seen, and the signs, and the wonders, and the strong hand, and
the stretched-out arm, with which Jehovah thy God hath brought thee out; so
doth Jehovah thy God to all the peoples of whose presence thou art afraid.
The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the
wonders,.... The miracles wrought in Egypt; see Deuteronomy 4:34.
and the mighty hand, and stretched out arm, whereby the Lord thy
God brought thee out; that is, out of Egypt, which was an instance and proof of his
almighty power:
so shall the Lord thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art
afraid; not perform the same miraculous operations among them, but exert
the same power in the destruction of them, and in dispossessing them of their
land, as in destroying the Egyptians, and delivering Israel from among them.
Deuteronomy 7:20 20 Moreover
the Lord your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left,
who hide themselves from you, are destroyed.
YLT
20`And also the locust doth
Jehovah thy God send among them, till the destruction of those who are left,
and of those who are hidden from thy presence;
Moreover, the Lord thy God will send the hornet among them,.... Not a
single one, but several of them, and which may be understood of creatures so
called, which resemble wasps, only twice as large, an insect very bold and
venomous; see Exodus 23:28. Aben
Ezra interprets it of the leprosy:
until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be
destroyed; such of the Canaanites who escaped the sword of the Israelites,
and hid themselves in holes and caverns of the earth; these the hornets would
find out and sting them to death, until they were all destroyed. Thus God can
make use of small creatures, even insects, to destroy nations the most populous
and mighty.
Deuteronomy 7:21 21 You
shall not be terrified of them; for the Lord your God,
the great and awesome God, is among you.
YLT
21thou art not terrified by
their presence, for Jehovah thy God [is] in thy midst, a God great and fearful.
Thou shall not be affrighted at them,.... At their
numbers, nor at their gigantic stature:
for the Lord thy God is among you: in the tabernacle, in
the holy of holies, which was in the midst of them, and besides would give
proof of his powerful presence among them, in protecting them, and destroying
their enemies:
a mighty God and terrible; mighty to save his
people, and terrible to others.
Deuteronomy 7:22 22 And
the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little;
you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become
too numerous for you.
YLT
22`And Jehovah thy God hath
cast out these nations from thy presence little [by] little, (thou art not able
to consume them hastily, lest the beast of the field multiply against thee),
And the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by
little and little,.... Which is observed for their encouragement, who seeing that
all were not destroyed at once, might fear the work would never be thoroughly
accomplished; see Exodus 23:30,
thou mayest not consume them at once; though it was
in the power of their hands to do it, there being some wise reasons for sparing
them awhile, at least for not cutting them off all at once, and one follows:
lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee; through so
many places being waste without inhabitants, and there being none to destroy
these creatures; and who therefore in course would become more numerous, and so
more troublesome and distressing to the Israelites. The Targum of Jonathan
adds, by way of explanation,"when they shall come to devour their
carcasses,'the carcasses of the slain Canaanites; who, if destroyed at once,
would be so many, that they would lie unburied, which would invite the beasts
of the field to come out of their lurking places to feed upon them, and which
might lead them on to mischief among the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 7:23 23 But
the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat
upon them until they are destroyed.
YLT
23and Jehovah thy God hath
given them before thee, and destroyed them -- a great destruction -- till their
destruction;
But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee,....
Gradually, by little and little, until at length they should all come into
their hands: and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction until they be
destroyed; even all of them.
Deuteronomy 7:24 24 And
He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name
from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have
destroyed them.
YLT
24and He hath given their
kings into thy hand, and thou hast destroyed their name from under the heavens;
no man doth station himself in thy presence till thou hast destroyed them.
And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand,.... Who were
very numerous, for though there were but seven nations, there were more kings,
even one and thirty, Joshua 12:9,
thou shall destroy their name from under heaven; not only
destroy the name of the reigning kings, so as that they should not be
remembered and made mention of any more, but put an end to the name and race of
kings among them, so that they should never have any more, as they never had:
there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou
have destroyed them; the nations and their kings.
Deuteronomy 7:25 25 You
shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the
silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest
you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the Lord your God.
YLT
25`The graven images of their
gods ye do burn with fire; thou dost not desire the silver and gold on them,
nor hast thou taken [it] to thyself, lest thou be snared by it, for the
abomination of Jehovah thy God it [is];
The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire,.... Which is
repeated from Deuteronomy 7:5,
that it might be the more observed and strictly performed, and which unless
done, they could not expect the utter destruction of their enemies, who were
left in the land to try and prove them with respect to this very thing:
thou shall not desire the silver or gold that is on them: the raiment
of gold or silver with which they were bedecked, or the plates of gold and
silver with which they were covered, or any ornament about them, as chains and
the like, that were of either of these metals; see Ezekiel 16:16,
nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein; nor take it
into their possession, or bring it into their houses, as in the next verse,
lest they should be under a temptation to worship it, or keep it as a
superstitious relic:
for it is an abomination to the Lord thy God; not only the
idol itself, being put in the place of God, and so derogatory to his honour and
glory, but the gold and silver on it, being devoted to a superstitious and
idolatrous use; and even the taking of it, and appropriating it to a man's own
use, was an abomination, and resented by the Lord as such.
Deuteronomy 7:26 26 Nor
shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to
destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is
an accursed thing.
YLT
26and thou dost not bring in
an abomination unto thy house -- or thou hast been devoted like it; -- thou
dost utterly detest it, and thou dost utterly abominate it; for it [is]
devoted.
Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thy house,.... An idol,
so the Targum of Jonathan, the abominations of idols and their utensils, or
what is ministered to them, with anything that appertains to them, or is used
in the service of them, as well as the gold and silver upon them; this care was
taken as much as possible to prevent idolatry, and all appearance of it, and to
show what might lead on and be a temptation to it:
lest thou be a cursed thing like it; as an idol is, and so is
everyone that worships it; for what more exposes to the curse of God than
idolatry, a breach of the first table of the law? and therefore subjects a man
to the curse of it; nay, the bringing of an idol into a man's house brings a
curse into it, and makes him liable thereunto; for if the curse enters into the
house of the thief or perjurer, much more into the house of a man guilty of
idolatry in any degree of it; see Zechariah 5:3 but
thou shalt utterly detest it; the Targum of Jonathan adds, as the pollution of
an abominable thing:
and thou shalt utterly abhor it, for it is a cursed thing; devoted to
destruction; and to have anything to do with it is the way to entail a curse,
and bring to everlasting ruin and destruction; see Revelation 21:8.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)