Deuteronomy 7:7 (DRB)

Passage

Not because you surpass all nations in number, is the Lord joined unto you, and hath chosen you, for you are the fewest of any people:

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 7:5 But thus rather shall you deal with them: Destroy their altars, and break their statues, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven things.

Deuteronomy 7:6 Because thou art a holy people to the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee, to be his peculiar people of all peoples that are upon the earth.

Deuteronomy 7:7 Not because you surpass all nations in number, is the Lord joined unto you, and hath chosen you, for you are the fewest of any people:

Deuteronomy 7:8 But because the Lord hath loved you, and hath kept his oath, which he swore to your fathers: and hath brought you out with a strong hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, out of the hand of Pharao the king of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 7:9 And thou shalt know that the Lord thy God, he is a strong and faithful God, keeping his covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments, unto a thousand generations:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "surpass", "nations", "number", "lord", "joined", "hath", "chosen", and "fewest". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "surpass" and "nations", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 6's "Because thou art a holy people to..." into verse 8's "But because the Lord hath loved you...", so "surpass" 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 "surpass" and "nations" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.