You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
Parallel translations
- WEB You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
- KJV Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
- NKJV You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.
- NASB You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
- NLT “Make no treaties with them or their gods.
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
Israel must make no covenant with the Canaanite nations or their gods. Spiritual fidelity forbids any binding alliance with idolatry.
Overview
Covenants in the ancient world carried religious obligations, so a treaty with these nations would entangle Israel with their gods. God therefore forbids such alliances to keep His people from compromise. This guards the exclusive bond between Israel and the LORD. The principle that God's people must not be unequally yoked with idolatry continues into the New Testament call to undivided devotion to Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Deut 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.
- Exod 34:12Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, lest they become a snare in your midst.
- Exod 34:15Do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you, and you will eat their sacrifices.
- Ps 106:35but they mingled with the nations and adopted their customs.
- Deut 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.
- 2 Cor 6:15What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
- Num 25:1–2While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,
- Josh 9:14–23Then the men of Israel sampled their provisions, but did not seek the counsel of the LORD.
- 2 Sam 21:1–2During the reign of David there was a famine for three successive years, and David sought the face of the LORD. And the LORD said, “It is because of the blood shed by Saul and his family, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
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 23:32 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.