Deuteronomy 7:21 (LSB)

Passage

You shall not dread them, for Yahweh your God is in your midst, a great and fearsome God.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 7:19 the great trials which your eyes saw and the signs and the wonders and the mighty hand and the outstretched arm by which Yahweh your God brought you out. So shall Yahweh your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid.

Deuteronomy 7:20 Moreover, Yahweh your God will send the hornet against them until those who remain and hide themselves from you perish.

Deuteronomy 7:21 You shall not dread them, for Yahweh your God is in your midst, a great and fearsome God.

Deuteronomy 7:22 And Yahweh your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, lest the wild beasts become too numerous for you.

Deuteronomy 7:23 But Yahweh your God will give them over before you and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "dread", "yahweh", "midst", "great", and "fearsome". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "dread", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 20's "Moreover Yahweh your God will send the..." into verse 22's "And Yahweh your God will clear away...", so "shall" and "dread" 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 "shall" and "dread" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.