Deuteronomy 7:2

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you and you defeat them, you must devote them to complete destruction. Do not make a covenant with them or show them any mercy.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וּנְתָנָ֞ם יְהוָ֧ה אֱלֹהֶ֛יךָ לְפָנֶ֖יךָ וְהִכִּיתָ֑ם הַחֲרֵ֤ם תַּחֲרִים֙ אֹתָ֔ם לֹא־תִכְרֹ֥ת לָהֶ֛ם בְּרִ֖ית וְלֹ֥א תְחָנֵּֽם׃

Transliteration

And nātān them YHWH ʾĕlōhêkā before you and you hikkîtā them, haḥărēm taḥărîm them, not tikrōt to them bərît and not təḥānnēm.

Grammar Details

• *nātān*: Qal perfect 3rd masculine singular with 3rd masculine plural suffix - he gives/will give them
• *YHWH*: proper noun - divine name
• *ʾĕlōhêkā*: noun masculine plural construct with 2nd masculine singular suffix - your God
• *hikkîtā*: Hiphil perfect 2nd masculine singular with 3rd masculine plural suffix - you shall strike/defeat them
• *haḥărēm taḥărîm*: Hiphil infinitive absolute + Hiphil imperfect 2nd masculine singular - utterly destroy/devote to destruction
• *tikrōt*: Qal imperfect 2nd masculine singular - you shall make/cut
• *bərît*: noun feminine singular - covenant/agreement
• *təḥānnēm*: Qal imperfect 2nd masculine singular with 3rd masculine plural suffix - you shall show favor/be gracious

Word Meanings

• *nātān*: give/deliver/put
• *hikkîtā*: strike/defeat/smite
• *haḥărēm taḥărîm*: utterly destroy/completely destroy/devote to destruction
• *tikrōt*: cut/make/establish
• *bərît*: covenant/agreement/treaty
• *təḥānnēm*: show favor to them/be gracious to them/pity them

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  And when the LORD thy God shall liver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly stroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  And when the LORD your God shall deliver them before you; you shall strike them, and utterly destroy them; you shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them:

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  and when Jehovah thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

• Tyndale Bible (1526/1534)

  ad whe the Lorde thy God hath sett them before the that thou shuldest smyte them se that thou vtterly destroye them and make no couenaunt with them nor haue compassion on them.

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  and whan the LORDE thy God delyuereth the before ye, that thou mayest smyte them, thou shalt vtterly destroye them, so that thou make no couenaunt with them, nor shewe them fauoure, and shalt make no mariages with them:

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  And the Lord thy God shal giue them before thee, then thou shalt smite them: thou shalt vtterly destroy them: thou shalt make no couenant with them, nor haue compassion on them,

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  And when the Lorde thy God hath set them before thee, thou shalt smyte them, and vtterly destroy them, & make no couenaunt with them, nor haue compassion on them.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, [and] utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  and when Yahweh your God shall deliver them up before you, and you shall strike them; then you shall utterly destroy them: you shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them;

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  and 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.

• American Standard Version (1901)

  and when Jehovah thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;

• American Standard Version (1901)

  and when Jehovah thy God shall deliver them up before thee, and thou shalt smite them; then thou shalt utterly destroy them: thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  And when the Lord has given them up into your hands and you have overcome them, give them up to complete destruction: make no agreement with them, and have no mercy on them:

• World English Bible (2000)

  and when Yahweh your God shall deliver them up before you, and you shall strike them; then you shall utterly destroy them: you shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them;

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  and he delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy!

Referenced Verses

• Deut 23:14 : 14 You must have a tool among your equipment so that when you go outside the camp to relieve yourself, you can dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement.
• Josh 2:14 : 14 The men said to her, "Our lives for your lives! If you don't tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the LORD gives us the land."
• Exod 23:32-33 : 32 Do not make a covenant with them or with their gods. 33 They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me, because if you worship their gods, it will become a snare to you.
• Lev 27:28-29 : 28 Anything that is devoted to the LORD, whether a person, an animal, or a field from one's possession, cannot be sold or redeemed; everything devoted is most holy to the LORD. 29 No person who has been devoted to destruction for the LORD may be redeemed; they must be put to death.
• Judg 1:24 : 24 The spies saw a man coming out of the city and said to him, "Please show us how to enter the city, and we will treat you kindly."
• Judg 2:2 : 2 But you must not make a covenant with the people who live in this land. Instead, you are to break down their altars. Yet you have not obeyed me. What is this that you have done?'
• Deut 20:16-17 : 16 But in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—as the LORD your God has commanded you.
• 2 Sam 21:2 : 2 So the king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites but a remnant of the Amorites. The Israelites had sworn an oath to them, but Saul had tried to kill them in his zeal for Israel and Judah.)
• Num 33:52 : 52 you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you, destroy all their stone images and cast idols, and demolish all their high places.
• Deut 3:3 : 3 So the LORD our God also gave us Og, king of Bashan, and all his people. We struck them down until no survivors remained.
• Deut 7:23-24 : 23 But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great panic until they are destroyed. 24 He will hand their kings over to you, and you will wipe out their names from under the heavens. No one will be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them.
• Deut 13:8 : 8 whether those gods are nearby or far away, from one end of the earth to the other—
• Deut 20:10-11 : 10 When you approach a city to fight against it, offer it peace terms. 11 If it accepts your offer of peace and opens its gates to you, then all the people found in it shall serve you and work for you.
• Exod 34:12-16 : 12 Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, or they will become a snare in your midst. 13 Instead, you must destroy their altars, smash their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherah poles. 14 For you must not worship any other god, because the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. 15 Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat from their sacrifices. 16 And when you take some of their daughters as wives for your sons, their daughters will lead your sons to prostitute themselves to their gods.
• Gen 14:20 : 20 And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.' And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
• Josh 6:17-25 : 17 The city and all within it shall be devoted to the LORD for destruction. Only Rahab the prostitute and those with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers we sent. 18 But you must keep yourselves from taking any of the things devoted to destruction; otherwise, you will bring destruction upon the camp of Israel and trouble it. 19 All the silver, gold, bronze, and iron are holy to the LORD and must go into His treasury. 20 When the trumpets sounded, the people shouted. At the sound of the trumpet, when the people gave a great shout, the wall collapsed. Each person charged straight in, and they captured the city. 21 They devoted to destruction everything in the city—men and women, young and old, as well as oxen, sheep, and donkeys—by the edge of the sword. 22 But to the two men who had spied out the land, Joshua said, 'Go to the house of the prostitute and bring her out, along with everyone who belongs to her, just as you swore to her.' 23 So the young men who had scouted the land went in and brought out Rahab, along with her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her entire family and placed them outside the camp of Israel. 24 Then they burned the city and everything in it with fire. However, they put the silver, gold, bronze, and iron items into the treasury of the LORD's house. 25 Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, along with her family and everyone belonging to her, and she has lived among the Israelites to this day because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
• Josh 8:24 : 24 When Israel finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open field and in the wilderness where they had pursued them, and they had all fallen by the edge of the sword until they were completely destroyed, all Israel returned to Ai and struck it down with the sword.
• Josh 9:18-21 : 18 But the Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the assembly had sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. And the whole assembly grumbled against the leaders. 19 But all the leaders said to the assembly, 'We have sworn an oath to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them.' 20 This is what we will do to them: We will let them live so that no wrath will fall on us for breaking the oath we swore to them. 21 They also said, 'Let them live, but let them be woodcutters and water carriers for the entire assembly,' just as the leaders had directed.
• Josh 9:24 : 24 They answered Joshua, 'Your servants were clearly told how the LORD your God had commanded His servant Moses to give you this entire land and destroy all its inhabitants before you. So we feared greatly for our lives because of you, and that is why we did this.'
• Josh 10:24-25 : 24 When they brought out these kings to Joshua, he summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the warriors who had gone with him, 'Come forward and put your feet on the necks of these kings.' So they came forward and placed their feet on their necks. 25 Then Joshua said to them, 'Do not be afraid or discouraged. Be strong and courageous, for this is what the LORD will do to all the enemies you fight against.'
• Josh 10:28 : 28 That same day, Joshua captured Makkedah and put it to the sword, along with its king. He completely destroyed everyone in it, leaving no survivors. He treated the king of Makkedah as he had treated the king of Jericho.
• Josh 10:30 : 30 The LORD gave Libnah into Israel's hands, along with its king. Joshua put the city and everyone in it to the sword, leaving no survivors. He treated its king as he had treated the king of Jericho.
• Josh 10:32 : 32 The LORD gave Lachish into Israel's hands, and they captured it on the second day. They put it to the sword, along with everyone in it, just as they had done to Libnah.
• Josh 10:40 : 40 So Joshua conquered the whole country—the hill country, the Negev, the lowland, and the slopes—along with all their kings. He left no survivors but devoted every living thing to destruction, just as the LORD, the God of Israel, had commanded.
• Josh 10:42 : 42 Joshua captured all these kings and their lands at one time because the LORD, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.
• Josh 11:11-12 : 11 They struck down everyone in the city with the sword, completely destroying them. Not a single living thing was left, and Joshua burned Hazor with fire. 12 Joshua captured all the cities of these kings and their kings as well. He struck them down with the sword and completely destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded.
• Josh 21:44 : 44 The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. Not one of their enemies could stand against them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hands.
• Judg 1:4 : 4 Judah went up, and the LORD gave the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hands. They struck down ten thousand men at Bezek.
• Exod 22:20 : 20 You must not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.