Verses 2-3 are a command for the Israelites to destroy all places of worship and all idols and images of the Canaanites.

You shall surely destroy: this compound form (literally, “destroying you shall destroy”) uses the same verb used in 11.4. Destroy in this context means to completely get rid of something, either by tearing it down, smashing it into pieces, or burning it (see verse 3).

The nations whom you shall dispossess: see 9.1; 11.23.

Served their gods: see 4.28 and 6.13. On the translation of gods see 3.24.

High mountains … hills: where there are not two different words for “mountain” and “hill,” the expression “big hills and small hills” can be used.

Green tree: this is rather “leafy tree” (New Revised Standard Version), “spreading tree” (Revised English Bible, New International Version), or “luxuriant tree” (New Jewish Publication Society’s Tanakh), that is, a large tree with many leaves, providing shade. So Contemporary English Version has “in the shade of large trees,” and Good News Translation “under green trees.”

The structure of verse 2 is somewhat complex, and a translation should make the sentence flow naturally. One way to restructure the verse is the following:

• But the peoples [or, nations] that live there worship other gods. So after you capture the land, you must completely destroy the likenesses [or, images] of these gods, whether they are on mountains, hills, or in the shade of large leafy trees.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Hatton, Howard A. A Handbook on Deuteronomy. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 2000. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .