The LORD your God gives them over to you: the meaning is better expressed by “delivers them into your power” (Revised English Bible), or “lets you have power over them.” The Israelites will fight those nations, but it is God who will give them the victory.

Gives them … and you defeat them: the two events are one action. Instead of the time clause When …, it may be better to restructure as follows: “The LORD your God will deliver them into your power and you will defeat them. When this happens….”

Utterly destroy them: this is the word appropriate to a holy war; see its use in 2.34.

Make no covenant with them: the Israelites are forbidden to make any kind of alliances or treaties with these pagan peoples. Contemporary English Version has “Don’t make any peace treaties with them.”

Show no mercy to them: and the Israelites are to be completely ruthless as they kill off these people. The book of Deuteronomy is rich in the vocabulary of slaughter and destruction. This clause may be combined with the clause you must utterly destroy them; for example, “you must show them no mercy, but destroy them completely,” or “Then you must destroy them without mercy” (Contemporary English Version).

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 .