You must destroy ¹  all the people whom the Lord your God is about to deliver over to you; you must not pity them or worship ²  their gods, for that will be a snare to you.

He, ¹  the God who leads you, will expel the nations little by little. You will not be allowed to destroy them all at once lest the wild animals overrun you.

Understand today that the Lord your God who goes before you is a devouring fire; he will defeat and subdue them before you. You will dispossess and destroy them quickly just as he ¹  has told you.

I prayed to him: ¹  O, Lord God, ²  do not destroy your people, your valued property ³  that you have powerfully redeemed, ⁴  whom you brought out of Egypt by your strength. ⁵ 

As for me, I stayed at the mountain as I did the first time, forty days and nights. The Lord listened to me that time as well and decided not to destroy you.

You must by all means destroy ¹  all the places where the nations you are about to dispossess worship their gods – on the high mountains and hills and under every leafy tree. ² 

When such a person ¹  hears the words of this oath he secretly ²  blesses himself ³  and says, “I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.” ⁴  This will destroy ⁵  the watered ground with the parched. ⁶ 

As for the Lord your God, he is about to cross over before you; he will destroy these nations before you and dispossess them. As for Joshua, he is about to cross before you just as the Lord has said.

The sword will make people childless outside, and terror will do so inside; they will destroy ¹  both the young man and the virgin, the infant and the gray-haired man.

When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us ¹  from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?” ² 

The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. ¹  I will no longer be with you, ²  unless you destroy what has contaminated you. ³ 

The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God. ¹  They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived. ² 

If ¹  you abandon the Lord and worship ²  foreign gods, he will turn against you; ³  he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, ⁴  though he once treated you well.” ⁵ 

So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don’t spare ¹  them. Put them to death – man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’”

So now swear to me in the Lord’s name ¹  that you will not kill ²  my descendants after me or destroy my name from the house of my father.”

I represent the peaceful and the faithful in Israel. You are attempting to destroy an important city ¹  in Israel. Why should you swallow up the Lord’s inheritance?”

The Lord says, ¹  ‘Look, I am ready to bring disaster ²  on you. I will destroy you ³  and cut off every last male belonging to Ahab in Israel, including even the weak and incapacitated. ⁴ 

You will destroy the family of your master Ahab. ¹  I will get revenge against Jezebel for the shed blood of my servants the prophets and for the shed blood of all the Lord’s servants. ² 

They have burned the gods of the nations, ¹  for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them. ² 

I will destroy Jerusalem the same way I did Samaria ¹  and the dynasty of Ahab. ²  I will wipe Jerusalem clean, just as one wipes a plate on both sides. ³