Deuteronomy 7:4 (WEB)

Passage

For he will turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods. So Yahweh’s anger would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

Nearby Context

Deuteronomy 7:2 and when Yahweh your God delivers them up before you, and you strike them; then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them.

Deuteronomy 7:3 You shall not make marriages with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son.

Deuteronomy 7:4 For he will turn away your son from following me, that they may serve other gods. So Yahweh’s anger would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.

Deuteronomy 7:5 But you shall deal with them like this. You shall break down their altars, dash their pillars in pieces, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their engraved 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 possession, above all peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "turn", "away", "following", "serve", "other", "gods", "yahweh", and "anger". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "turn" and "away", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "You shall not make marriages with them..." into verse 5's "But you shall deal with them like...", so "turn" and "away" 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 "turn" and "away" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.