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.