Deuteronomy 7:22 (KJV)

Passage

And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 7:20 Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 7:21 Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.

Deuteronomy 7:22 And the LORD thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.

Deuteronomy 7:23 But the LORD thy God shall deliver them unto thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they be destroyed.

Deuteronomy 7:24 And he shall deliver their kings into thine hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou have destroyed them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "lord", "nations", "before", "thee", "little", "thou", and "mayest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "lord" and "nations", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "Thou shalt not be affrighted at them..." into verse 23's "But the LORD thy God shall deliver...", so "lord" and "nations" 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 "lord" and "nations" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.