Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 7:23
But the LORD your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Israel on the plains of Moab, outlining God's promise to dismantle the Canaanite nations before their entry into the land. This declaration follows a warning about gradual displacement and precedes a guarantee of total royal defeat.
The words — The Hebrew verb וּ/נְתָנָ֛/ם (u./ne.ta.Na/m) literally means "he will deliver up," while וְ/הָמָ/ם֙ (ve./ha.Ma/m) paired with מְהוּמָ֣ה גְדֹלָ֔ה (me.hu.Mah ge.do.Lah) denotes "he will throw them into great confusion." These terms describe God's active intervention to destabilize enemy forces before their annihilation.
The thread — This motif of divine hand bringing confusion and destruction until perishing appears in Deuteronomy 2:15 and Deuteronomy 9:3, where God's presence acts as a consuming fire. It is echoed in Deuteronomy 8:20, which links national destruction to covenant disobedience.
Why it lands — The text asserts that military victory and enemy collapse originate solely from divine action, not human strategy. It demands recognition that obedience to the covenant is the only safeguard against sharing the fate of the nations God destroys.
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
But the Lord thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 2:15 Indeed, the LORD’s hand was against them, to eliminate them from the camp, until they had all perished.
- Deuteronomy 8:20 Like the nations that the LORD has destroyed before you, so you will perish if you do not obey the LORD your God.
- Deuteronomy 9:3 But understand that today the LORD your God goes across ahead of you as a consuming fire; He will destroy them and subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them swiftly, as the LORD has promised you.
- Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- Jeremiah 17:18 Let my persecutors be put to shame, but do not let me be put to shame. Let them be terrified, but do not let me be terrified. Bring upon them the day of disaster and shatter them with double destruction.
- Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the Day of the LORD is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:9 They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,