Exodus 34:12
in Exodus 34Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, lest they become a snare in your midst.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
KJV
Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee:
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This verse in Exodus 34
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The precepts contained in these verses are, for the most part, identical in substance with some of those which follow the Ten Commandments and are recorded in “the Book of the covenant” (Exo. 20–23; see Exo 24:7). Exo 34:13 Cut down their groves - This is the first reference to what is commonly known as grove-worship. The original word for “grove” in this connection אשׁרה 'ăshêrāh is different from that so rendered in Gen 21:
This site's exposition
Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant
on Exodus 34:12-13
Verse 10 has God making a covenant and verse 12 forbids Israel to make one, so the same word carries the promise and the prohibition two verses apart. The danger named is a snare, which is a trap a man walks into rather than one he chooses. Israel is told to break the altars and the images and cut down the groves, so the order is to remove the apparatus and not merely to stay away from it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
When the Lord handed over to you the land of the Canaanites, he said, "Take care, therefore, not to make a covenant with these inhabitants of the land that you are to enter; else they will immediately become a snare among you." Now we believe …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
It is a sin that thou art prone to and that will easily beset thee, and therefore be very cautious, and carefully abstain from all appearances of it and advances towards it. Make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land. " If God, in kindness to them, drove out the Canaanites, they ought, in duty to God, not to harbour them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes
Take heed to thyself,....
It should seem there was nothing particularly curious in the framing of them, for there was no great time taken; Moses had them ready presently, to take up with him, next morning.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Moses bowed . . . and worshipped--In the East, people bow the head to royalty, and are silent when it passes by, while in the West, they take off their hats and shout.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Of all the commandments mentioned previously He did not say I am commanding thee.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִשָּׁ֣מֶר | hishamer | take heed | H8104 → | 468 times |
| לְךָ֗ | lekha | to <the> yourself | ||
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| תִּכְרֹ֤ת | tikhrot | you should make | H3772 → | 288 times |
| בְּרִית֙ | berit | a covenant | H1285 → | 284 times |
| לְיוֹשֵׁ֣ב | leyoshev | to [the] inhabitant[s] of | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בָּ֣א | ba' | [are] about to go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עָלֶ֑יהָ | ʾaleiha | to it | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פֶּן־ | pen- | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | he should become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְמוֹקֵ֖שׁ | lemokesh | <into> a snare | H4170 → | 27 times |
| בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃ | bekirbecha | in midst your | H7130 → | 227 times |
הִשָּׁ֣מֶרtake heed
hishamerH8104 →468 times
לְךָ֗to <the> yourself
lekha
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
תִּכְרֹ֤תyou should make
tikhrotH3772 →288 times
בְּרִית֙a covenant
beritH1285 →284 times
לְיוֹשֵׁ֣בto [the] inhabitant[s] of
leyoshevH3427 →1079 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אַתָּ֖הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
בָּ֣א[are] about to go
ba'H935 →2568 times
עָלֶ֑יהָto it
ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times
פֶּן־lest
pen-H6435 →133 times
יִהְיֶ֥הhe should become
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְמוֹקֵ֖שׁ<into> a snare
lemokeshH4170 →27 times
בְּקִרְבֶּֽךָ׃in midst your
bekirbechaH7130 →227 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 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
- Exodus 23:33
They 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.”
- 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 25:12
you are to cut off her hand. You must show her no pity.
- 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.
- Exodus 23:33
Through
Deuteronomy 7:2and 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.
it leads to
- Judges 2:2
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?
- Exodus 23:32–33
You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
- Deuteronomy 20:16–17
However, in the cities of the nations that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you must not leave alive anything that breathes.
- Judges 2:2
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 81.4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Four Last Books of Moses Arranged in the Form of a Harmony; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.