Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 7:21
Do not be terrified by them, for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, issuing a command regarding the nations they are about to displace as they prepare to enter the Promised Land.
The words — תַעֲרֹ֖ץ (ta.'a.Rotz) renders literally as "you must be terrified," and אֵ֥ל ('el) means "a God," grounding the prohibition against fear in the declaration of divine presence.
The thread — The designation "great and awesome God" appears in Deuteronomy 10:17, Nehemiah 1:5, and Nehemiah 9:32 as a repeated scriptural formula identifying Yahweh's sovereign character.
Why it lands — The text states that God dwells among the people and possesses overwhelming power, which requires the reader to cease fearing human opposition and proceed with the commanded task.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the Lord thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.
- Nehemiah 1:5 Then I said: “O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion with those who love Him and keep His commandments,
- Nehemiah 9:32 So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders, our priests and prophets, our ancestors and all Your people, from the days of the kings of Assyria until today.
- Joshua 3:10 He continued, “This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will surely drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.
- Nehemiah 4:14 After I had made an inspection, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”
- Isaiah 8:9 Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
- Numbers 23:21 He considers no disaster for Jacob; He sees no trouble for Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of the King is among them.
- 1 Samuel 4:8 Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness.
- 2 Chronicles 32:8 With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people were strengthened by the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
- Psalms 46:5 God is within her; she will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.