² once the Lord your God lays them before you, you must strike them down, placing them under the ban.^[a] Don’t make any covenants with them, and don’t be merciful to them. ³ Don’t intermarry with them. Don’t give your daughter to one of their sons to marry, and don’t take one of their daughters to marry your son, ⁴ because they will turn your child away from following me so that they end up serving other gods. That will make the Lord’s anger burn against you, and he will quickly annihilate you.