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.”
Parallel translations
- WEB They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against me, for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
- 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.
- NKJV They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.”
- NASB They shall not live in your land, otherwise they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it is certain to be a snare to you.”
- NLT They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you serve their gods, you will be caught in the trap of idolatry.”
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
The Canaanites must not remain in the land, lest they lure Israel into sin and idolatry, becoming a snare. Tolerated evil inevitably corrupts.
Overview
God warns that coexistence with idolaters would draw Israel into serving false gods, leading to ruin. The word 'snare' pictures a trap that captures gradually and fatally. Israel's later history tragically confirmed this danger when they spared the nations and adopted their worship. The lesson endures: compromise with sin ensnares, and God's people are called to wholehearted holiness, made possible through Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Ps 106:36They worshiped their idols, which became a snare to them.
- 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.
- 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.
- Josh 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 thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that the LORD your God has given you.
- Judg 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.”
- Deut 12:30be careful not to be ensnared by their ways after they have been destroyed before you. Do not inquire about their gods, asking, “How do these nations serve their gods? I will do likewise.”
- 2 Tim 2:26Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.
- 1 Sam 18:21“I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”
- 2 Chr 33:9So Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem astray, so that they did greater evil than the nations that the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
- 1 Kgs 14:16So He will give Israel over on account of the sins Jeroboam has committed and has caused Israel to commit.”
- Deut 7:2–3and 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.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 23:33 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.