10647. 'Lest by chance you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land' means being linked thereby to any other sort of religion that has evil in it. This is clear from the meaning of 'a covenant' as a joining or linking together, dealt with in 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, so that 'making a covenant' means being linked to; and from the meaning of 'the inhabitants of the land' as a religion involving evil, dealt with above in 10640. Whether you say a religion involving evil or the evil of a religion, it amounts to the same thing. The injunction that no covenant was to be made with the inhabitants of the land is repeated here on account of the train of thought in the internal sense.

8767. 'And keep My covenant' means thus leading a good life, and as a consequence being joined [to the Lord]. This is clear from the meaning of 'keeping the covenant' as leading a life in accordance with the commandments, thus a life governed by good, and so being joined to the Lord. The reason why 'keeping the covenant' means leading a life in accordance with the commandments, thus leading a good life, is that the stipulations of the covenant were all the things that had been commanded, which were called testimonies, judgements, laws, and statutes, in particular the Ten Commandments. All these were also called the covenant because it was established through them. The fact that keeping them is leading a life in accordance with them is evident from the meaning of 'keeping' in the Word. Many times it speaks of hearing the commandments and keeping them, and in those places 'hearing' means accepting them in faith, and 'keeping' accepting them in life, that is, leading a life in accordance with them. The reason why 'keeping the covenant' also means being joined [to the Lord] is that in an overall sense 'a covenant' means being joined together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804. It has this further meaning because a person who leads a life in accordance with the commandments is joined to the Lord. For the commandments teach about life and also impart life, thereby opening the way to heaven and opening one's eyes to see the Lord.