Deuteronomy 7:21

THE MESSAGE

So don't be intimidated by them. God , your God, is among you— God majestic, God awesome. God , your God, will get rid of these nations, bit by bit. You won't be permitted to wipe them out all at once lest the wild animals take over and overwhelm you. But God , your God, will move them out of your way—he'll throw them into a huge panic until there's nothing left of them. He'll turn their kings over to you and you'll remove all trace of them under Heaven. Not one person will be able to stand up to you; you'll put an end to them all.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
You shall not be scared of them; for the LORD your God is in the midst of you, a great and awesome God.

King James Version
Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

Lexham English Bible
You must not be in dread from the presence of them, because Yahweh your God, who is in your midst, is a great and awesome God.

English Standard Version
You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

New Century Version
Don't be afraid of them, because the Lord your God is with you; he is a great God and people are afraid of him.

New English Translation
You must not tremble in their presence, for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a great and awesome God.

Amplified Bible
"You shall not dread them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

New American Standard Bible
"You are not to be terrified of them, because the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Thou shalt not feare them: for the Lorde thy God is among you, a God mightie & dreadful.

Legacy Standard Bible
You shall not dread them, for Yahweh your God is in your midst, a great and fearsome God.

Contemporary English Version
So don't be frightened when you meet them in battle. The Lord your God is great and fearsome, and he will fight at your side.

Complete Jewish Bible
You are not to be frightened of them, because Adonai your God is there with you, a God great and fearsome.

Darby Translation
Thou shalt not be afraid of them; for Jehovah thy God is in thy midst, a God great and terrible.

Easy-to-Read Version
Don't be afraid of them, because the Lord your God is with you. He is a great and awesome God.

George Lamsa Translation
You shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is among you, a great and terrible God.

Good News Translation
So do not be afraid of these people. The Lord your God is with you; he is a great God and one to be feared.

Christian Standard Bible®
Don’t be terrified of them, for the Lord your God, a great and awesome God, is among you.

Literal Translation
You shall not tremble before them, for Jehovah your God is among you, a mighty and fearful God.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Be not thou afrayed of them: for the LORDE thy God is in the myddes of the, euen the mightie and fearfull God.

American Standard Version
Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for Jehovah thy God is in the midst of thee, a great God and a terrible.

Bible in Basic English
Have no fear of them: for the Lord your God is with you, a great God greatly to be feared.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thou shalt not feare the: for the Lord thy God is among you, a mightie God and a terrible.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Thou shalt not be affrighted at them; for the LORD thy God is in the midst of thee, a God great and awful.

King James Version (1611)
Thou shalt not bee affrighted at them: for the Lord thy God is among you, a mightie God, and terrible.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Thou shalt not be wounded before them, because the Lord thy God in the midst of thee is a great and powerful God.

English Revised Version
Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is in the midst of thee, a great God and a terrible.

Berean Standard Bible
Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thou schalt not drede hem, for thi Lord is in the myddis of thee, grete God, and ferdful.

Young's Literal Translation
thou art not terrified by their presence, for Jehovah thy God [is] in thy midst, a God great and fearful.

Update Bible Version
You shall not be afraid of them; for Yahweh your God is in the midst of you, a great and awesome God.

Webster's Bible Translation
Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God [is] among you, a mighty God and terrible.

World English Bible
You shall not be scared of them; for Yahweh your God is in the midst of you, a great and awesome God.

New King James Version
You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you.

New Living Translation
"No, do not be afraid of those nations, for the Lord your God is among you, and he is a great and awesome God.

New Life Bible
You will not be afraid of them. For the Lord your God is among you, a great and powerful God.

New Revised Standard
Have no dread of them, for the Lord your God, who is present with you, is a great and awesome God.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Thou shalt not be affrighted at their presence, - for Yahweh thy God in thy midst is a Go great and to be revered.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Thou shalt not fear them, because the Lord thy God is in the midst of thee, a God mighty and terrible:

Revised Standard Version
You shall not be in dread of them; for the LORD your God is in the midst of you, a great and terrible God.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"You shall not dread them, for the LORD your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.

Contextual Overview

¹²And this is what will happen: When you, on your part, will obey these directives, keeping and following them, God , on his part, will keep the covenant of loyal love that he made with your ancestors: He will love you, he will bless you, he will increase you. He will bless the babies from your womb and the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil from your fields; he'll bless the calves from your herds and lambs from your flocks in the country he promised your ancestors that he'd give you. You'll be blessed beyond all other peoples: no sterility or barrenness in you or your animals. God will get rid of all sickness. And all the evil afflictions you experienced in Egypt he'll put not on you but on those who hate you. You'll make mincemeat of all the peoples that God , your God, hands over to you. Don't feel sorry for them. And don't worship their gods—they'll trap you for sure. You're going to think to yourselves, "Oh! We're outnumbered ten to one by these nations! We'll never even make a dent in them!" But I'm telling you, Don't be afraid. Remember, yes, remember in detail what God , your God, did to Pharaoh and all Egypt. Remember the great contests to which you were eyewitnesses: the miracle-signs, the wonders, God 's mighty hand as he stretched out his arm and took you out of there. God , your God, is going to do the same thing to these people you're now so afraid of. And to top it off, the Hornet. God will unleash the Hornet on them until every survivor-in-hiding is dead. So don't be intimidated by them. God , your God, is among you— God majestic, God awesome. God , your God, will get rid of these nations, bit by bit. You won't be permitted to wipe them out all at once lest the wild animals take over and overwhelm you. But God , your God, will move them out of your way—he'll throw them into a huge panic until there's nothing left of them. He'll turn their kings over to you and you'll remove all trace of them under Heaven. Not one person will be able to stand up to you; you'll put an end to them all. Make sure you set fire to their carved gods. Don't get greedy for the veneer of silver and gold on them and take it for yourselves—you'll get trapped by it for sure. God hates it; it's an abomination to God , your God. And don't dare bring one of these abominations home or you'll end up just like it, burned up as a holy destruction. No: It is forbidden! Hate it. Abominate it. Destroy it and preserve God 's holiness. ¹⁴ When God , your God, brings you into the country that you are about to enter and take over, he will clear out the superpowers that were there before you: the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Those seven nations are all bigger and stronger than you are. God , your God, will turn them over to you and you will conquer them. You must completely destroy them, offering them up as a holy destruction to God . Don't make a treaty with them. Don't let them off in any way. Don't marry them: Don't give your daughters to their sons and don't take their daughters for your sons—before you know it they'd involve you in worshiping their gods, and God would explode in anger, putting a quick end to you. Here's what you are to do: Tear apart their altars stone by stone, smash their phallic pillars, chop down their sex-and-religion Asherah groves, set fire to their carved god-images. Do this because you are a people set apart as holy to God , your God. God , your God, chose you out of all the people on Earth for himself as a cherished, personal treasure. God wasn't attracted to you and didn't choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors. God stepped in and mightily bought you back out of that world of slavery, freed you from the iron grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know this: God , your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations. But he also pays back those who hate him, pays them the wages of death; he isn't slow to pay them off—those who hate him, he pays right on time. So keep the command and the rules and regulations that I command you today. Do them. And this is what will happen: When you, on your part, will obey these directives, keeping and following them, God , on his part, will keep the covenant of loyal love that he made with your ancestors: He will love you, he will bless you, he will increase you. He will bless the babies from your womb and the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil from your fields; he'll bless the calves from your herds and lambs from your flocks in the country he promised your ancestors that he'd give you. You'll be blessed beyond all other peoples: no sterility or barrenness in you or your animals. God will get rid of all sickness. And all the evil afflictions you experienced in Egypt he'll put not on you but on those who hate you. You'll make mincemeat of all the peoples that God , your God, hands over to you. Don't feel sorry for them. And don't worship their gods—they'll trap you for sure. You're going to think to yourselves, "Oh! We're outnumbered ten to one by these nations! We'll never even make a dent in them!" But I'm telling you, Don't be afraid. Remember, yes, remember in detail what God , your God, did to Pharaoh and all Egypt. Remember the great contests to which you were eyewitnesses: the miracle-signs, the wonders, God 's mighty hand as he stretched out his arm and took you out of there. God , your God, is going to do the same thing to these people you're now so afraid of. And to top it off, the Hornet. God will unleash the Hornet on them until every survivor-in-hiding is dead. So don't be intimidated by them. God , your God, is among you— God majestic, God awesome. God , your God, will get rid of these nations, bit by bit. You won't be permitted to wipe them out all at once lest the wild animals take over and overwhelm you. But God , your God, will move them out of your way—he'll throw them into a huge panic until there's nothing left of them. He'll turn their kings over to you and you'll remove all trace of them under Heaven. Not one person will be able to stand up to you; you'll put an end to them all. Make sure you set fire to their carved gods. Don't get greedy for the veneer of silver and gold on them and take it for yourselves—you'll get trapped by it for sure. God hates it; it's an abomination to God , your God. And don't dare bring one of these abominations home or you'll end up just like it, burned up as a holy destruction. No: It is forbidden! Hate it. Abominate it. Destroy it and preserve God 's holiness. ¹⁵ When God , your God, brings you into the country that you are about to enter and take over, he will clear out the superpowers that were there before you: the Hittite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Those seven nations are all bigger and stronger than you are. God , your God, will turn them over to you and you will conquer them. You must completely destroy them, offering them up as a holy destruction to God . Don't make a treaty with them. Don't let them off in any way. Don't marry them: Don't give your daughters to their sons and don't take their daughters for your sons—before you know it they'd involve you in worshiping their gods, and God would explode in anger, putting a quick end to you. Here's what you are to do: Tear apart their altars stone by stone, smash their phallic pillars, chop down their sex-and-religion Asherah groves, set fire to their carved god-images. Do this because you are a people set apart as holy to God , your God. God , your God, chose you out of all the people on Earth for himself as a cherished, personal treasure. God wasn't attracted to you and didn't choose you because you were big and important—the fact is, there was almost nothing to you. He did it out of sheer love, keeping the promise he made to your ancestors. God stepped in and mightily bought you back out of that world of slavery, freed you from the iron grip of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know this: God , your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations. But he also pays back those who hate him, pays them the wages of death; he isn't slow to pay them off—those who hate him, he pays right on time. So keep the command and the rules and regulations that I command you today. Do them. And this is what will happen: When you, on your part, will obey these directives, keeping and following them, God , on his part, will keep the covenant of loyal love that he made with your ancestors: He will love you, he will bless you, he will increase you. He will bless the babies from your womb and the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil from your fields; he'll bless the calves from your herds and lambs from your flocks in the country he promised your ancestors that he'd give you. You'll be blessed beyond all other peoples: no sterility or barrenness in you or your animals. God will get rid of all sickness. And all the evil afflictions you experienced in Egypt he'll put not on you but on those who hate you. ¹⁶ You'll make mincemeat of all the peoples that God , your God, hands over to you. Don't feel sorry for them. And don't worship their gods—they'll trap you for sure. ¹⁷You're going to think to yourselves, "Oh! We're outnumbered ten to one by these nations! We'll never even make a dent in them!" But I'm telling you, Don't be afraid. Remember, yes, remember in detail what God , your God, did to Pharaoh and all Egypt. Remember the great contests to which you were eyewitnesses: the miracle-signs, the wonders, God 's mighty hand as he stretched out his arm and took you out of there. God , your God, is going to do the same thing to these people you're now so afraid of. ²⁰ And to top it off, the Hornet. God will unleash the Hornet on them until every survivor-in-hiding is dead. ²¹So don't be intimidated by them. God , your God, is among you— God majestic, God awesome. God , your God, will get rid of these nations, bit by bit. You won't be permitted to wipe them out all at once lest the wild animals take over and overwhelm you. But God , your God, will move them out of your way—he'll throw them into a huge panic until there's nothing left of them. He'll turn their kings over to you and you'll remove all trace of them under Heaven. Not one person will be able to stand up to you; you'll put an end to them all. ²⁵Make sure you set fire to their carved gods. Don't get greedy for the veneer of silver and gold on them and take it for yourselves—you'll get trapped by it for sure. God hates it; it's an abomination to God , your God. And don't dare bring one of these abominations home or you'll end up just like it, burned up as a holy destruction. No: It is forbidden! Hate it. Abominate it. Destroy it and preserve God 's holiness.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the Lord: Numbers 9:20, Numbers 14:9, Numbers 14:14, Numbers 14:42, Numbers 16:3, Numbers 23:21, Joshua 3:10, 2 Chronicles 32:8, Psalms 46:5, Psalms 46:7, Psalms 46:11, Isaiah 8:9, Isaiah 8:10, Zechariah 2:10, Zechariah 2:11, 1 Corinthians 14:25

a mighty God: Deuteronomy 10:17, Deuteronomy 25:8, 1 Samuel 4:8, Nehemiah 1:5, Nehemiah 4:14, Nehemiah 9:32, Zechariah 12:2-5

Reciprocal: Genesis 18:14 - Is Psalms 47:2 - is terrible Psalms 99:3 - thy great Jeremiah 32:18 - the Great

Cross-References

Genesis 6:13
God said to Noah, "It's all over. It's the end of the human race. The violence is everywhere; I'm making a clean sweep.

Genesis 6:17
"I'm going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.

Genesis 7:6
Noah was 600 years old when the floodwaters covered the Earth. Noah and his wife and sons and their wives boarded the ship to escape the flood. Clean and unclean animals, birds, and all the crawling creatures came in pairs to Noah and to the ship, male and female, just as God had commanded Noah. In seven days the floodwaters came.

Genesis 7:17
The flood continued forty days and the waters rose and lifted the ship high over the Earth. The waters kept rising, the flood deepened on the Earth, the ship floated on the surface. The flood got worse until all the highest mountains were covered—the high-water mark reached twenty feet above the crest of the mountains. Everything died. Anything that moved—dead. Birds, farm animals, wild animals, the entire teeming exuberance of life—dead. And all people—dead. Every living, breathing creature that lived on dry land died; he wiped out the whole works—people and animals, crawling creatures and flying birds, every last one of them, gone. Only Noah and his company on the ship lived.

Isaiah 24:19
The Landscape Will Be a Moonscape Danger ahead! God 's about to ravish the earth and leave it in ruins, Rip everything out by the roots and send everyone scurrying: priests and laypeople alike, owners and workers alike, celebrities and nobodies alike, buyers and sellers alike, bankers and beggars alike, the haves and have-nots alike. The landscape will be a moonscape, totally wasted. And why? Because God says so. He's issued the orders. The earth turns gaunt and gray, the world silent and sad, sky and land lifeless, colorless. Earth is polluted by its very own people, who have broken its laws, Disrupted its order, violated the sacred and eternal covenant. Therefore a curse, like a cancer, ravages the earth. Its people pay the price of their sacrilege. They dwindle away, dying out one by one. No more wine, no more vineyards, no more songs or singers. The laughter of castanets is gone, the shouts of celebrants, gone, the laughter of fiddles, gone. No more parties with toasts of champagne. Serious drinkers gag on their drinks. The chaotic cities are unlivable. Anarchy reigns. Every house is boarded up, condemned. People riot in the streets for wine, but the good times are gone forever— no more joy for this old world. The city is dead and deserted, bulldozed into piles of rubble. That's the way it will be on this earth. This is the fate of all nations: An olive tree shaken clean of its olives, a grapevine picked clean of its grapes. But there are some who will break into glad song. Out of the west they'll shout of God 's majesty. Yes, from the east God 's glory will ascend. Every island of the sea Will broadcast God 's fame, the fame of the God of Israel. From the four winds and the seven seas we hear the singing: "All praise to the Righteous One!" But I said, "That's all well and good for somebody, but all I can see is doom, doom, and more doom." All of them at one another's throats, yes, all of them at one another's throats. Terror and pits and booby traps are everywhere, whoever you are. If you run from the terror, you'll fall into the pit. If you climb out of the pit, you'll get caught in the trap. Chaos pours out of the skies. The foundations of earth are crumbling. Earth is smashed to pieces, earth is ripped to shreds, earth is wobbling out of control, Earth staggers like a drunk, sways like a shack in a high wind. Its piled-up sins are too much for it. It collapses and won't get up again. That's when God will call on the carpet rebel powers in the skies and Rebel kings on earth. They'll be rounded up like prisoners in a jail, Corralled and locked up in a jail, and then sentenced and put to hard labor. Shamefaced moon will cower, humiliated, red-faced sun will skulk, disgraced, Because God -of-the-Angel-Armies will take over, ruling from Mount Zion and Jerusalem, Splendid and glorious before all his leaders.

Zephaniah 1:3
"Men and women and animals, including birds and fish— Anything and everything that causes sin—will go, but especially people.

Romans 8:22
All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it's not only around us; it's within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We're also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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.