16. You must destroy all the people the Lord your God hands over to you. Do not feel sorry for them. Do not worship their gods. They will trap you.
17. You might say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. We can’t force them out.”
18. But don’t be afraid of them. Remember what the Lord your God did to all of Egypt and its king.
19. You saw for yourselves the troubles, signs and miracles he did. You saw how the Lord’s great power and strength brought you out of Egypt. The Lord your God will do the same thing to all the nations you now fear.
20. The Lord your God will also send hornets to attack them. Even those who are alive and hiding from you will die.
21. Don’t be afraid of them. The Lord your God is with you. He is a great God and people are afraid of him.
22. The Lord your God will force those nations out of the land. They will leave little by little ahead of you. Don’t destroy them all at once. Otherwise, the wild animals will grow too many in number.
23. But the Lord your God will hand those nations over to you. He will confuse them until they are destroyed.