Deuteronomy 7:5 (DBY)

Passage

But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and shatter their statues, and hew down their Asherahs, and burn their graven images with fire.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 7:3 And thou shalt make no marriages with them: thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor take his daughter for thy son;

Deuteronomy 7:4 for he will turn away thy son from following me, and they will serve other gods, and the anger of Jehovah will be kindled against you, and he will destroy thee quickly.

Deuteronomy 7:5 But thus shall ye deal with them: ye shall break down their altars, and shatter their statues, and hew down their Asherahs, and burn their graven images with fire.

Deuteronomy 7:6 For a holy people art thou unto Jehovah thy God: Jehovah thy God hath chosen thee to be unto him a people for a possession, above all the peoples that are upon the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 7:7 Not because ye were more in number than all the peoples, hath Jehovah been attached to you and chosen you, for ye are the fewest of all the peoples;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thus", "shall", "deal", "break", "down", "altars", and "shatter". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thus" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 4's "for he will turn away thy son..." into verse 6's "For a holy people art thou unto...", so "thus" and "shall" 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 "thus" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.