I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the animals of the field multiply against you.
Parallel translations
- KJV I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.
- BSB I will not drive them out before you in a single year; otherwise the land would become desolate and wild animals would multiply against you.
- NKJV I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beasts of the field become too numerous for you.
- NASB I will not drive them out from you in a single year, so that the land will not become desolate and the animals of the field become too numerous for you.
- NLT But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals would multiply and threaten you.
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 not expel the nations all at once, lest the land grow wild and overrun by beasts. His timing is wise and measured for His people's good.
Overview
A sudden, total conquest would leave the land untended and dangerous, so God paces the displacement to match Israel's ability to settle it. This reveals divine wisdom and patience in fulfilling His promises. God's care includes the practical welfare of His people, not only their spiritual standing. It reminds believers that God's slower providences often serve purposes we cannot immediately see.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Deut 7:22Yahweh your God will cast out those nations before you little by little. You may not consume them at once, lest the animals of the field increase on you.
- Judg 3:1–4Now these are the nations which Yahweh left, to test Israel by them, even as many as had not known all the wars of Canaan;
- Josh 17:12–13Yet the children of Manasseh couldn’t drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
- Josh 15:63As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah couldn’t drive them out; but the Jebusites live with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.
- Josh 16:10They didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell in the territory of Ephraim to this day, and have become servants to do forced labor.
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 23:29 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.