Exodus 23:33
in Exodus 23They must not remain in your land, lest they cause you to sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me; for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
KJV
They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.
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This verse in Exodus 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Thou shalt make no covenant with them
on Exodus 23:32-33
The Book of the Covenant ends with a ban on treaties and a reason for it, that the gods of the land become a snare. Judges 2:1 to 2:3 has the angel of the LORD at Bochim quoting this instruction back to Israel, saying they had not obeyed his voice and that the gods of the land would be a snare, which lands on both verse 21 and verse 33. Moses writes all these words down at 24:4 and reads them to the people at 24:7, and they answer that all the LORD has said they will do.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. 7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. 8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
They shall not dwell in thy land,....
Thus they must avoid the reproach of intimacy with the worshippers of false gods and the danger of being drawn to worship with them. By familiar converse with idolaters, their dread and detestation of the sin would wear off; they would think it no harm, in compliment to their friends, to pay some respect to their gods, and so by degrees would be drawn into the fatal snare.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
They shall not dwell in thy land - They must be utterly expelled. The land was the Lord’s, and he had given it to the progenitors of this people, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The latter being obliged to leave it because of a famine, God is now conducting back his posterity, who alone had a Divine and natural right to it, and therefore their seeking to possess the inheritance of their fathers can be only criminal in the sight of those who are systematically opposed to the thing, because it is a part of Divine revelation.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵשְׁבוּ֙ | yeshevu | they will dwell | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּאַרְצְךָ֔ | beartzekha | in land your | H776 → | 2504 times |
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| יַחֲטִ֥יאוּ | yachatiu | they should cause to sin | H2398 → | 238 times |
| אֹתְךָ֖ | ʾotekha | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לִ֑י | li | to <the> me | ||
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תַעֲבֹד֙ | taavod | you will serve | H5647 → | 288 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔ם | ʾeloheihem | gods their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְךָ֖ | lekha | for <the> you | ||
| לְמוֹקֵֽשׁ׃ פ | lemokesh | <into> a snare | H4170 → | 27 times |
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יֵשְׁבוּ֙they will dwell
yeshevuH3427 →1079 times
בְּאַרְצְךָ֔in land your
beartzekhaH776 →2504 times
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
יַחֲטִ֥יאוּthey should cause to sin
yachatiuH2398 →238 times
אֹתְךָ֖<obj.> you
ʾotekhaH853 →10935 times
לִ֑יto <the> me
li
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
תַעֲבֹד֙you will serve
taavodH5647 →288 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אֱלֹ֣הֵיהֶ֔םgods their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
יִהְיֶ֥הit will become
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְךָ֖for <the> you
lekha
לְמוֹקֵֽשׁ׃ פ<into> a snare
lemokeshH4170 →27 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
Joshua 23:13know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:16
You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Judges 2:2–3
and you are not to make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall tear down their altars.’ Yet you have not obeyed My voice. What is this you have done?
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 7:16
Through
Judges 2:3So now I tell you that I will not drive out these people before you; they will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a snare to you.”
it leads to
- Numbers 33:55
But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides; they will harass you…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 23:13
know for sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and…
- Numbers 33:55
Through
Deuteronomy 7:16You must destroy all the peoples the LORD your God will deliver to you. Do not look on them with pity. Do not worship their gods, for that will be a snare to you.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:2
and when the LORD your God has delivered them over to you to defeat them, then you must devote them to complete destruction. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 8:27
From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
- Deuteronomy 13:8
you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.
- Deuteronomy 19:21
You must show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
- Deuteronomy 7:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.