Deuteronomy 7:16

Exhortation to Destroy Canaanite Paganism

7:16 You must destroy ¹  all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship ²  their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

Deuteronomy 13:8

13:8 You must not give in to him or even listen to him; do not feel sympathy for him or spare him or cover up for him.

Deuteronomy 25:12

25:12 then you must cut off her hand – do not pity her.

Ezekiel 16:5

16:5 No eye took pity on you to do even one of these things for you to spare you; ³  you were thrown out into the open field ⁴  because you were detested on the day you were born.

¹ tn Heb “devour” (so NRSV); KJV, NAB, NASB “consume.” The verbal form (a perfect with vav consecutive) is understood here as having an imperatival or obligatory nuance (cf. the instructions and commands that follow). Another option is to take the statement as a continuation of the preceding conditional promises and translate “and you will destroy.”

² tn Or “serve” (so KJV, NIV, NRSV).

³ sn These verbs, “pity” and “spare,” echo the judgment oracles in 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10.

⁴ sn A similar concept is found in Deut 32:10.