Deuteronomy 7:17
in Deuteronomy 7You may say in your heart, “These nations are greater than we are; how can we drive them out?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
If thou shalt say in thy heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
KJV
If thou shalt say in thine heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
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This verse in Deuteronomy 7
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
thine eye shall have no pity
on Deuteronomy 7:16-17
The command of verse 2 returns in shorter form and gains a clause that names what the chapter is guarding against, neither shalt thou serve their gods, for that will be a snare unto thee. Verse 17 then puts the objection in the hearer's own heart, these nations are more than I, how can I dispossess them, which is the report the spies brought back at Numbers 13:31. Chapter 1:26-33 has already told that story, so a reader meets the same fear twice in this book, once as history and once as a question waiting for an answer.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
9 Know therefore that the L ORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v9
If thou shall say in thine heart,.... Should have secret thoughts arise in the heart, misgivings of heart, fears and doubts there, which, though not outwardly expressed, might be inwardly retained: these nations are more than I; seven to one, and perhaps anyone of them as powerful as Israel: how can I dispossess them? of the land they inherit, and take possession of it.
We are apt to think that the most numerous must needs be victorious: but, to fortify Israel against this temptation, Moses reminds them of the destruction of Pharaoh and all the power of Egypt,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
That people accordingly were truly happy as a nation, and found every promise which the faithful God made to them amply fulfilled, so long as they adhered to that obedience which was required of them.
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תֹאמַר֙ | tomar | you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| בִּלְבָ֣בְךָ֔ | bilvavekha | in heart your | H3824 → | 252 times |
| רַבִּ֛ים | rabim | [are] great | H7227 → | 454 times |
| הַגּוֹיִ֥ם | hagoyim | the nations | H1471 → | 561 times |
| הָאֵ֖לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| מִמֶּ֑נִּי | mimeni | more than I | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| אֵיכָ֥ה | ʾeikhah | how? | H349 → | 82 times |
| אוּכַ֖ל | ʾukhal | will I be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לְהוֹרִישָֽׁם׃ | lehorisham | to dispossess them | H3423 → | 231 times |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
תֹאמַר֙you will say
tomarH559 →5305 times
בִּלְבָ֣בְךָ֔in heart your
bilvavekhaH3824 →252 times
רַבִּ֛ים[are] great
rabimH7227 →454 times
הַגּוֹיִ֥םthe nations
hagoyimH1471 →561 times
הָאֵ֖לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
מִמֶּ֑נִּיmore than I
mimeniH4480 →1188 times
אֵיכָ֥הhow?
ʾeikhahH349 →82 times
אוּכַ֖לwill I be able
ʾukhalH3201 →194 times
לְהוֹרִישָֽׁם׃to dispossess them
lehorishamH3423 →231 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 8:17You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 9:4
When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD…
- 1 Corinthians 4:7
For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
- Daniel 4:30
the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?”
- Isaiah 10:8–14
“Are not all my commanders kings?” he says.
- Deuteronomy 9:4
Through
Numbers 13:32So they gave the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had spied out: “The land we explored devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw there are great in stature.
it leads to
- Amos 2:9
Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and…
- Numbers 14:36–37
So the men Moses had sent to spy out the land, who had returned and made the whole congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report about the land—
- Amos 2:9
Through
Deuteronomy 18:21You may ask in your heart, “How can we recognize a message that the LORD has not spoken?”
it leads to
- 1 John 4:1–3
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- 1 John 4:1–3
Through
Deuteronomy 15:9Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:15
You are to pay his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he may cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of…
- Deuteronomy 24:15
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.