Then I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from you—not by your sword nor your bow.
Parallel translations
- WEB I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; not with your sword, nor with your bow.
- KJV And I sent the hornet before you, which drave them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites; but not with thy sword, nor with thy bow.
- BSB I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you, but not by your own sword or bow.
- NKJV I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, also the two kings of the Amorites, but not with your sword or with your bow.
- NLT And I sent terror ahead of you to drive out the two kings of the Amorites. It was not your swords or bows that brought you victory.
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 sent the hornet ahead of Israel to drive out their enemies, including two Amorite kings, so that the victory was not by Israel's sword or bow. It matters because it stresses that the conquest was God's work, not human might.
Overview
The 'hornet' (Exodus 23:28; Deuteronomy 7:20) is variously understood as literal insects or a figure for the panic and dread God sent before Israel; faithful interpreters differ. Either way, the point is plain: Israel did not win the land by their own weapons but by God's intervention. This guards against pride and directs all glory for salvation to God alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Exod 23:28I will send the hornet before you, which will drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before you.
- Deut 7:20Moreover Yahweh your God will send the hornet among them, until those who are left, and hide themselves, perish from before you.
- Ps 44:3–6For they didn’t get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face, because you were favorable to them.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 24:12 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
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