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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)