I will send the hornet before you to drive the Hivites and Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before you.
- KJV And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
- NKJV And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you.
- NASB And I will send hornets ahead of you so that they will drive out the Hivites, the Canaanites, and the Hittites from you.
- NLT I will send terror ahead of you to drive out the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God would send 'the hornet' to drive out the Canaanite peoples before Israel. Even small means accomplish God's purposes against His enemies.
Overview
The 'hornet' may be literal stinging insects or a vivid figure for the panic and dread God sends ahead of Israel; faithful interpreters differ. Either way, the point is that God uses unexpected, seemingly weak instruments to rout powerful nations. Israel's inheritance is secured by divine action, not human strength alone. This magnifies God's sovereignty, who needs no great army to accomplish His will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Deut 7:20Moreover, the LORD your God will send the hornet against them until even the survivors hiding from you have perished.
- Josh 24:11–12After this, you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The people of Jericho fought against you, as did the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 23:28 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.