Deuteronomy 7:10 (ASV)

Passage

and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 7:8 but because Jehovah loveth you, and because he would keep the oath which he sware unto your fathers, hath Jehovah brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that Jehovah thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and lovingkindness with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations,

Deuteronomy 7:10 and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.

Deuteronomy 7:11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandment, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which I command thee this day, to do them.

Deuteronomy 7:12 And it shall come to pass, because ye hearken to these ordinances, and keep and do them, that Jehovah thy God will keep with thee the covenant and the lovingkindness which he sware unto thy fathers:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "repayeth", "hate", "face", "destroy", "slack", and "hateth". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "repayeth" and "hate", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "Know therefore that Jehovah thy God he..." into verse 11's "Thou shalt therefore keep the commandment and...", so "repayeth" and "hate" belong inside that flow. In Deuteronomy context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "repayeth" and "hate" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.