1 The Lord your God will bring you into the land. You are entering that land to own it. As you go in, he will force out these nations: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. These seven nations are stronger than you.
2 The Lord your God will hand these nations over to you. You will defeat them. You must destroy them completely. Do not make a peace treaty with them. Do not show them any mercy.
3 Do not marry any of them. Don’t let your daughters marry their sons. And don’t let your sons marry their daughters.
4 Those people will turn your children away from me. Your children will begin serving other gods. The Lord will be very angry with you. And he will quickly destroy you.
5 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.
6 You are holy people. You belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you from all the people on earth. You are his very own.
7 The Lord did not care for you and choose you because there were many of you. You are the smallest nation of all.