1Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,2A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say , Who can stand before the children of Anak!3Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.4Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.5Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.6Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.7Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.8Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.9When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:10And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.11And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.12And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves ; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.13Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:14Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.15So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.16And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.17And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.18And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.19For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.20And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.21And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.22And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.23Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.24Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.25Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first ; because the LORD had said he would destroy you.26I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.27Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin:28Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.29Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
Deuteronomy 9
English Standard Version
Not Because of Righteousness
1“Hear, O Israel: you are to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, (De 4:38; De 11:31; De 12:10; Jos 1:11)2a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ (Nu 13:22; De 1:28)3Know therefore today that he who goes over before you as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you. (Ex 23:29; De 4:24; De 7:24; De 31:3; Jos 3:11)4“Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,’ whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. (Le 18:24; Le 20:23; De 8:17; De 18:12; De 20:18)5Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. (Ge 50:24; Tit 3:5)6“Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people. (De 10:16)7Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day you came out of the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. (Ex 14:11; Ex 15:24; Ex 16:2; Ex 17:2; Nu 11:4; Nu 14:2; Nu 14:11; Nu 14:41; Nu 20:2; Nu 21:5; Nu 25:2; De 9:24; De 31:27)8Even at Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you. (Ex 32:4; Ps 106:19)9When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. (Ex 24:12; Ex 24:15; Ex 24:18; Ex 34:28; 1Ki 19:8; Mt 4:2; Lu 4:1)10And the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God, and on them were all the words that the Lord had spoken with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. (Ex 19:17; Ex 31:18; De 4:10; De 10:4; De 18:16)11And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.12Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them; they have made themselves a metal image.’ (Ex 32:7; De 31:29; Jud 2:17)
The Golden Calf
13“Furthermore, the Lord said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stubborn people. (Ex 32:9; De 9:6)14Let me alone, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’ (Ex 17:14; Ex 32:10; Nu 14:12; De 7:24; De 25:19; De 29:20)15So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. (Ex 19:18; Ex 32:15; De 4:11; De 5:23)16And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made yourselves a golden[1] calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. (Ex 32:19; De 31:29; Jud 2:17)17So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.18Then I lay prostrate before the Lord as before, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin that you had committed, in doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. (Ex 34:28; De 4:25; De 9:9; De 10:10; Ps 106:23)19For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure that the Lord bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me that time also. (Ex 32:14; Ex 33:17; De 10:10)20And the Lord was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him. And I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.21Then I took the sinful thing, the calf that you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust. And I threw the dust of it into the brook that ran down from the mountain. (Ex 32:20)22“At Taberah also, and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the Lord to wrath. (Ex 17:7; Nu 11:1; Nu 11:34)23And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go up and take possession of the land that I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and did not believe him or obey his voice. (Nu 13:3; Nu 14:1; Ps 106:24)24You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you. (De 9:7; De 31:27)25“So I lay prostrate before the Lord for these forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had said he would destroy you. (De 9:18)26And I prayed to the Lord, ‘O Lord God, do not destroy your people and your heritage, whom you have redeemed through your greatness, whom you have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. (Ex 32:11)27Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness or their sin,28lest the land from which you brought us say, “Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land that he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.” (Nu 14:16)29For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.’ (De 4:20; 1Ki 8:51; Ne 1:10; Ps 95:7)