Deuteronomy 7:5

THE MESSAGE

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.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their engraved images with fire.

King James Version
But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

Lexham English Bible
But this is what you must do to them: you shall break down their altars, and their stone pillars you shall smash, and their Asherah poles you shall hew down, and you shall burn their idols with fire.

English Standard Version
But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.

New Century Version
This is what you must do to those people: Tear down their altars, smash their holy stone pillars, cut down their Asherah idols, and burn their idols in the fire.

New English Translation
Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their sacred Asherah poles, and burn up their idols.

Amplified Bible
"But this is how you shall deal with them: you shall tear down their altars and smash to pieces their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah), and burn their carved or sculpted images in the fire.

New American Standard Bible
"But this is what you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, smash their memorial stones, cut their Asherim to pieces, and burn their carved images in the fire.

Geneva Bible (1587)
But thus ye shal deale with them, Ye shal ouerthrowe their altars, and breake downe their pillars, and ye shall cut downe their groues, and burne their grauen images with fire.

Legacy Standard Bible
But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars and shatter their sacred pillars and cut their Asherim in pieces and burn their graven images with fire.

Contemporary English Version
So when you conquer these nations, tear down the altars where they worship their gods. Break up their sacred stones, cut down the poles that they use in worshiping the goddess Asherah, and throw their idols in the fire.

Complete Jewish Bible
No, treat them this way: break down their altars, smash their standing-stones to pieces, cut down their sacred poles and burn up their carved images completely.

Darby Translation
But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and shatter their statues, and hew down their Asherahs, and burn their graven images with fire.

Easy-to-Read Version
"This is what you must do to those nations: You must smash their altars and break their memorial stones into pieces. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their statues.

George Lamsa Translation
But thus shall you deal with them: you shall destroy their altars and break down their statues and cut down their ornaments and burn their graven images with fire.

Good News Translation
So then, tear down their altars, break their sacred stone pillars in pieces, cut down their symbols of the goddess Asherah, and burn their idols.

Christian Standard Bible®
Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their carved images.

Literal Translation
But you shall deal with them in this way: you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces the cult-stones; and you shall cut down their Asherahs; and you will burn their carved images with fire.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
But thus shal ye do with them: Ye shal ouerthrowe their altares, breake downe their pilers, cut downe their groues, & burne their ymages with fyre.

American Standard Version
But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

Bible in Basic English
But this is what you are to do to them: their altars are to be pulled down and their pillars broken, and their holy trees cut down and their images burned with fire.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
But thus ye shall deale with them: Ye shall ouerthrowe their aulters, & breake downe their pillers, cut downe their groues, and burne their grauen images with fire:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

King James Version (1611)
But thus shal ye deale with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and breake downe their images, and cut downe their groues, and burne their grauen images with fire.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
But thus shall ye do to them; ye shall destroy their altars, and shall break down their pillars, and shall cut down their groves, and shall burn with fire the graven images of their gods.

English Revised Version
But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

Berean Standard Bible
Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
But rather thou schalt do these thingis to hem; destrie ye the auteris `of hem, and breke ye ymagis `of metal, and kitte ye doun wodis, and brenne ye grauun ymagis.

Young's Literal Translation
`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;

Update Bible Version
But thus you shall deal with them: you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and cut down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

Webster's Bible Translation
But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.

World English Bible
But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their engraved images with fire.

New King James Version
But thus you shall deal with them: you shall destroy their altars, and break down their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images, [fn] and burn their carved images with fire.

New Living Translation
This is what you must do. You must break down their pagan altars and shatter their sacred pillars. Cut down their Asherah poles and burn their idols.

New Life Bible
But do this to them: Break down their altars. Crush their objects of worship. Cut down their female goddess Asherim. And burn their false gods with fire.

New Revised Standard
But this is how you must deal with them: break down their altars, smash their pillars, hew down their sacred poles, and burn their idols with fire.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Verily, thus, shall ye do unto them: Their altars, shall ye tear down, And their pillars, shall ye break in pieces, - And their sacred stems, shall ye hew down, And their carved images, a shall ye burn up in the fire.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But thus rather shall you deal with them: Destroy their altars, and break their statues, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven things.

Revised Standard Version
But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars, and hew down their Ashe'rim, and burn their graven images with fire.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire.

Contextual Overview

¹When 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. ³Don'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. ⁵ 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. ⁶ 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. ⁷ 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. ¹¹ So keep the command and the rules and regulations that I command you today. Do them.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

destroy: Deuteronomy 12:2, Deuteronomy 12:3, Exodus 23:24, Exodus 34:13, 2 Kings 23:6-14

images: Heb. statues, or pillars, Deuteronomy 16:22, Leviticus 26:1

and cut: Judges 6:25, Judges 6:26

burn: Deuteronomy 7:25, Deuteronomy 9:21, Exodus 32:20

Reciprocal: Genesis 35:4 - hid them Deuteronomy 20:18 - General 2 Samuel 5:21 - David 1 Kings 15:13 - destroyed 2 Kings 10:27 - brake down the image 2 Kings 13:6 - and there remained 2 Kings 18:4 - brake 2 Kings 23:14 - he brake 1 Chronicles 14:12 - were burned 2 Chronicles 14:3 - For he took 2 Chronicles 15:16 - cut down 2 Chronicles 25:14 - his gods 2 Chronicles 31:1 - brake 2 Chronicles 33:22 - for Amon sacrificed 2 Chronicles 34:4 - brake down

Cross-References

Genesis 6:22
Noah did everything God commanded him to do.

Exodus 39:32
That completed the work of The Dwelling, the Tent of Meeting. The People of Israel did what God had commanded Moses. They did it all.

Exodus 40:16
Moses did everything God commanded. He did it all.

Matthew 3:15
But Jesus insisted. "Do it. God's work, putting things right all these centuries, is coming together right now in this baptism." So John did it.

Luke 8:21
He replied, "My mother and brothers are the ones who hear and do God's Word. Obedience is thicker than blood."

John 2:5
She went ahead anyway, telling the servants, "Whatever he tells you, do it."

John 13:17
Washing His Disciples' Feet Just before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that the time had come to leave this world to go to the Father. Having loved his dear companions, he continued to love them right to the end. It was suppertime. The Devil by now had Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, firmly in his grip, all set for the betrayal. Jesus knew that the Father had put him in complete charge of everything, that he came from God and was on his way back to God. So he got up from the supper table, set aside his robe, and put on an apron. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the feet of the disciples, drying them with his apron. When he got to Simon Peter, Peter said, "Master, you wash my feet?" Jesus answered, "You don't understand now what I'm doing, but it will be clear enough to you later." Peter persisted, "You're not going to wash my feet—ever!" Jesus said, "If I don't wash you, you can't be part of what I'm doing." "Master!" said Peter. "Not only my feet, then. Wash my hands! Wash my head!" Jesus said, "If you've had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you're clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you're clean. But not every one of you." (He knew who was betraying him. That's why he said, "Not every one of you.") After he had finished washing their feet, he took his robe, put it back on, and went back to his place at the table. Then he said, "Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher' and ‘Master,' and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other's feet. I've laid down a pattern for you. What I've done, you do. I'm only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

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 Maimonides e 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.

e Hilchot Obede Cochabim, c. 8. sect. 3, 4. Vid. Misn. Avodah Zarah, c. 3. sect. 7.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

See Deuteronomy 6:10 note.

Deuteronomy 7:5

Their groves - Render, their idols of wood: the reference is to the wooden trunk used as a representation of Ashtaroth; see Deuteronomy 7:13 and Exodus 34:13 note.

Deuteronomy 7:7

The fewest of all people - God chose for Himself Israel, when as yet but a single family, or rather a single person, Abraham; though there were already numerous nations and powerful kingdoms in the earth. Increase Deuteronomy 1:10; Deuteronomy 10:22 had taken place because of the very blessing of God spoken of in Deuteronomy 7:8.

Deuteronomy 7:10

Repayeth them that hate him to their face - i. e., punishes His enemies in their own proper persons.