9344. 'You shall not make a covenant with them and their gods' means no contact with evils and falsities. This is clear from the meaning of 'making a covenant' as being joined together, dealt with in 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, thus also being in contact with, for people who communicate with one another are joined to one another; from the meaning of the inhabitants of the land, to whom 'those with whom they were not to make a covenant' refers here, as evils, dealt with just above in 9342; and from the meaning of 'their gods' as falsities, dealt with in 4402 (end), 4544, 7873, 8867, 8941.

8766. 'And now, if you will indeed hear My voice' means the acceptance of truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'hearing' as obedience, dealt with in 2542, 3869, 4652-4660, and since 'hearing' is obedience it is also acceptance, 5471, 5475, 7216; and from the meaning of 'the voice of Jehovah' as the Word, and so God's truth, dealt with in 219, 220, 6971, 7573.