Exodus 23:33 Made Simple

KJV ORIGINAL

They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

Close to the original. Clear modern English.

✦ MADE SIMPLE

They must not live in your land, or they will cause you to sin against me. If you worship their gods, it will definitely become a trap for you.

⚡ THE BOTTOM LINE

God is warning the Israelites not to let foreign nations remain in their promised land because their false religions would lead them away from worshiping the true God.

📚 Historical Context

This command was given to Moses as part of God's instructions for when the Israelites would enter the Promised Land of Canaan. The Canaanite peoples practiced idolatry and various religious rituals that were completely opposed to worshiping the one true God. God knew that if these nations remained among His people, the Israelites would gradually be influenced to adopt their pagan practices and turn away from Him.

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Judges 21:5

The Israelites asked, 'Which of all the tribes of Israel didn't come with us to worship the LORD?' They had made a serious promise that anyone who didn't come to the LORD at Mizpeh would definitely be killed.

Exodus 3:12

And God said, 'I will definitely be with you. Here's how you'll know that I sent you: after you bring the people out of Egypt, you will all worship God on this very mountain.'

2 Samuel 24:24

But the king said to Araunah, 'No, I will definitely buy it from you at a fair price. I won't offer sacrifices to the LORD my God with something that cost me nothing.' So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

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