Deuteronomy 7:5 (LSB)

Passage

But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars and shatter their sacred pillars and cut their Asherim in pieces and burn their graven images with fire.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 7:3 Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons.

Deuteronomy 7:4 For they will turn your sons away from following Me, and they will serve other gods; then the anger of Yahweh will be kindled against you, and He will quickly destroy you.

Deuteronomy 7:5 But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars and shatter their sacred pillars and cut their Asherim in pieces and burn their graven images with fire.

Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a holy people to Yahweh your God; Yahweh your God has chosen you to be a people for His own treasured possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Deuteronomy 7:7 “Yahweh did not set His affection on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thus", "shall", "tear", "down", "altars", "shatter", and "sacred". 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 they will turn your sons away..." into verse 6's "For you are a holy people to...", 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.