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Deuteronomy 9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 9

Unmerited Success. 1 Hear, O Israel! You are now about to cross the Jordan to enter in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than yourselves, having large cities fortified to the heavens,(A) 2 the Anakim, a people great and tall.(B) You yourselves know of them and have heard it said of them, “Who can stand up against the Anakim?” 3 Know, then, today that it is the Lord, your God, who will cross over before you as a consuming fire; he it is who will destroy them and subdue them before you, so that you can dispossess and remove them quickly, as the Lord promised you.(C) 4 After the Lord, your God, has driven them out of your way, do not say in your heart, “It is because of my justice the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,(D) and because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord is dispossessing them before me.”[a] 5 No, it is not because of your justice or the integrity of your heart that you are going in to take possession of their land; but it is because of their wickedness that the Lord, your God, is dispossessing these nations before you and in order to fulfill the promise he made on oath to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.(E) 6 Know this, therefore: it is not because of your justice that the Lord, your God, is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.(F)

The Golden Calf. 7 Remember and do not forget how you angered the Lord, your God, in the wilderness. From the day you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place, you have been rebellious toward the Lord.(G) 8 (H)At Horeb you so provoked the Lord that he was angry enough to destroy you,(I) 9 when I had gone up the mountain to receive the stone tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you.(J) Meanwhile I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no food and drank no water. 10 The Lord gave me the two stone tablets inscribed, by God’s own finger,(K) with a copy of all the words that the Lord spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 Then, at the end of the forty days and forty nights, when the Lord had given me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant, 12 (L)the Lord said to me, Go down from here now, quickly, for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt are acting corruptly; they have already turned aside from the way I commanded them and have made for themselves a molten idol. 13 I have seen now how stiff-necked this people is, the Lord said to me. 14 Let me be, that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under the heavens. I will then make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.

15 When I had come down again from the blazing, fiery mountain, with the two tablets of the covenant in both my hands,(M) 16 I saw how you had sinned against the Lord, your God, by making for yourselves a molten calf. You had already turned aside from the way which the Lord had commanded you.(N) 17 I took hold of the two tablets and with both hands cast them from me and broke them before your eyes.(O) 18 Then, as before, I lay prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no food, I drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed in the sight of the Lord, doing wrong and provoking him.(P) 19 For I dreaded the fierce anger of the Lord against you: his wrath would destroy you.(Q) Yet once again the Lord listened to me. 20 With Aaron, too, the Lord was deeply angry, and would have destroyed him; but I prayed for Aaron also at that time.(R) 21 Then, taking the calf, the sinful object you had made, I burnt it and ground it down to powder as fine as dust, which I threw into the wadi that went down the mountainside.(S)

22 At Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah likewise, you enraged the Lord.(T) 23 And when the Lord sent you up from Kadesh-barnea saying, Go up and take possession of the land I have given you, you rebelled against this command of the Lord, your God, and would not believe him or listen to his voice.(U) 24 You have been rebels against the Lord from the day I first knew you.

25 (V)Those forty days, then, and forty nights, I lay prostrate before the Lord, because he had threatened to destroy you. 26 And I prayed to the Lord and said: O Lord God, do not destroy your people, the heritage you redeemed in your greatness and have brought out of Egypt with your strong hand.(W) 27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not look upon the stubbornness of this people nor upon their wickedness and sin,(X) 28 lest the land from which you have brought us say, “The Lord was not able to bring them into the land he promised them, and out of hatred for them, he brought them out to let them die in the wilderness.”(Y) 29 They are your people and your heritage, whom you have brought out by your great power and with your outstretched arm.(Z)

Footnotes

  1. 9:4 Before me: Hebrew reads “before you.”
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Deuteronomy 9
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

The Consequences of Rebelling against God

9 “Hear, O Israel; you are to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourselves, cities great and fortified up to heaven, 2 a 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?’ 3 Know therefore this day that he who goes over before you as a devouring 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.

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. 5 Not 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 which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

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. 7 Remember 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. 8 Even at Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you. 9 When I went up the mountain to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 And the Lord gave me the two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant. 12 Then 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 which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molten image.’

13 “Furthermore the Lord said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stubborn people; 14 let 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.’ 15 So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire; and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the Lord had commanded you. 17 So I took hold of the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes. 18 Then 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 which you had committed, in doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. 19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure which the Lord bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you. But the Lord hearkened to me that time also. 20 And the Lord was so angry with Aaron that he was ready to destroy him; and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time. 21 Then I took the sinful thing, the calf which 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 descended out of the mountain.

22 “At Tab′erah also, and at Massah, and at Kib′roth-hatta′avah, you provoked the Lord to wrath. 23 And when the Lord sent you from Ka′desh-bar′nea, saying, ‘Go up and take possession of the land which I have given you,’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God, and did not believe him or obey his voice. 24 You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

25 “So I lay prostrate before the Lord for these forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had said he would destroy you. 26 And I prayed to the Lord, ‘O Lord God, destroy not thy people and thy heritage, whom thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, whom thou hast brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27 Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not regard the stubbornness of this people, or their wickedness, or their sin, 28 lest the land from which thou didst bring us say, “Because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.” 29 For they are thy people and thy heritage, whom thou didst bring out by thy great power and by thy outstretched arm.’

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Deuteronomy 9
Good News Translation

The People's Disobedience

9 “Listen, people of Israel! Today you are about to cross the Jordan River and occupy the land belonging to nations greater and more powerful than you. Their cities are large, with walls that reach the sky. 2 The people themselves are tall and strong; they are giants, and you have heard it said that no one can stand against them. 3 But now you will see for yourselves that the Lord your God will go ahead of you like a raging fire. He will defeat them as you advance, so that you will drive them out and destroy them quickly, as he promised.

4 “After the Lord your God has driven them out for you, do not say to yourselves that he brought you in to possess this land because you deserved it. No, the Lord is going to drive these people out for you because they are wicked. 5 It is not because you are good and do what is right that the Lord is letting you take their land. He will drive them out because they are wicked and because he intends to keep the promise that he made to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6 You can be sure that the Lord is not giving you this fertile land because you deserve it. No, you are a stubborn people.

7 “Never forget how you made the Lord your God angry in the desert. From the day that you left Egypt until the day you arrived here, you have rebelled against him. 8 Even at Mount Sinai you made the Lord angry—angry enough to destroy you. 9 (A)I went up the mountain to receive the stone tablets on which was written the covenant that the Lord had made with you. I stayed there forty days and nights and did not eat or drink anything. 10 Then the Lord gave me the two stone tablets on which he had written with his own hand what he had said to you from the fire on the day that you were gathered there at the mountain. 11 Yes, after those forty days and nights the Lord gave me the two stone tablets on which he had written the covenant.

12 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go down the mountain at once, because your people, whom you led out of Egypt, have become corrupt and have done evil. They have already turned away from what I commanded them to do, and they have made an idol for themselves.’

13 “The Lord also said to me, ‘I know how stubborn these people are. 14 Don't try to stop me. I intend to destroy them so that no one will remember them any longer. Then I will make you the father of a nation larger and more powerful than they are.’

15 “So I turned and went down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets on which the covenant was written. Flames of fire were coming from the mountain. 16 I saw that you had already disobeyed the command that the Lord your God had given you, and that you had sinned against him by making yourselves a metal idol in the form of a bull-calf. 17 So there in front of you I threw the stone tablets down and broke them to pieces. 18 Then once again I lay face downward in the Lord's presence for forty days and nights and did not eat or drink anything. I did this because you had sinned against the Lord and had made him angry. 19 (B)I was afraid of the Lord's fierce anger, because he was furious enough to destroy you; but once again the Lord listened to me. 20 The Lord was also angry enough with Aaron to kill him, so I prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21 I took that sinful thing that you had made—that metal bull-calf—and threw it into the fire. Then I broke it in pieces, ground it to dust, and threw the dust into the stream that flowed down the mountain.

22 (C)“You also made the Lord your God angry when you were at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth Hattaavah. 23 (D)And when he sent you from Kadesh Barnea with orders to go and take possession of the land that he was giving you, you rebelled against him; you did not trust him or obey him. 24 Ever since I have known you, you have rebelled against the Lord.

25 “So I lay face downward in the Lord's presence those forty days and nights, because I knew that he was determined to destroy you. 26 And I prayed, ‘Sovereign Lord, don't destroy your own people, the people you rescued and brought out of Egypt by your great strength and power. 27 Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and do not pay any attention to the stubbornness, wickedness, and sin of this people. 28 Otherwise, the Egyptians will say that you were unable to take your people into the land that you had promised them. They will say that you took your people out into the desert to kill them, because you hated them. 29 After all, these are the people whom you chose to be your own and whom you brought out of Egypt by your great power and might.’

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Deuteronomy 9
New American Standard Bible

Israel Provoked God

9 “Hear, Israel! You are crossing the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess (A)nations greater and mightier than you, cities that are great and (B)fortified to heaven, 2 a people who are great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know and of whom you have heard it said, ‘(C)Who can stand against the sons of Anak?’ 3 So be aware today that (D)it is the Lord your God who is crossing over ahead of you as (E)a consuming fire. He will destroy them and He will subdue them before you, so that (F)you may drive them out and eliminate them quickly, just as the Lord has spoken to you.

4 “(G)Do not say in your heart when the Lord your God has driven them away from [a]you, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to take possession of this land.’ Rather, it is (H)because of the [b]wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you. 5 It is (I)not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to take possession of their land, [c]but it is because of the [d]wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and in order to confirm (J)the [e]oath which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

6 “Know, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are (K)a [f]stubborn people. 7 Remember, do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the wilderness; (L)from the day that you left the land of Egypt until you arrived at this place, you have been rebellious against the Lord. 8 Even (M)at Horeb you provoked the Lord to anger, and the Lord was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you. 9 When I went up to the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you, then I remained on the mountain for forty days and nights; (N)I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 The Lord gave me the two tablets of stone (O)written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly. 11 It came about (P)at the end of forty days and nights that the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 (Q)Then the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, go down from here quickly, because your people, whom you brought out of Egypt, have behaved corruptly. They have (R)quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them; they have made a cast metal image for themselves.’ 13 The (S)Lord also said to [g]me, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed, it is a [h](T)stubborn people. 14 (U)Leave Me alone, that I may destroy them and (V)wipe out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

15 “(W)So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God. You had made for yourselves a cast metal image of a calf; you had quickly turned aside from the way that the Lord had commanded you. 17 So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my two hands, and smashed them to pieces before your eyes! 18 (X)Then I fell down before the Lord (Y)like the first time, for forty days and nights; (Z)I neither ate bread nor drank water, (AA)because of all your sin which you had committed by doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. 19 For (AB)I was afraid of the anger and the rage with which the Lord was angry with you so as to destroy you; (AC)but the Lord listened to me that time as well. 20 The Lord was also angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time. 21 (AD)And I took your [i]sinful thing which you had made, the calf, and burned it in the fire and crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the stream that came down from the mountain.

22 “Then at (AE)Taberah, at (AF)Massah, and at (AG)Kibroth-hattaavah you kept provoking the Lord to anger. 23 And when the Lord sent you from (AH)Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘(AI)Go up and take possession of the land which I have given you,’ you rebelled against the [j]command of the Lord your God; (AJ)you neither trusted Him nor listened to His voice. 24 (AK)You have been rebellious toward the Lord since the day I knew you.

25 “(AL)So I fell down before the Lord for the forty days and nights, which I [k]did because the Lord said He would destroy you. 26 (AM)And I prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Lord God, do not destroy Your people, Your inheritance, whom You have redeemed through Your greatness, whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand! 27 Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not turn Your attention to the stubbornness of this people, or to their wickedness, or their sin. 28 Otherwise, the people of the land from which You brought us will say, “(AN)Since the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which He had [l]promised them, and since He hated them, He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness!” 29 Yet they are Your people, and (AO)Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your (AP)great power and Your outstretched arm.’

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 9:4 Lit you, saying
  2. Deuteronomy 9:4 Or godlessness
  3. Deuteronomy 9:5 Or for
  4. Deuteronomy 9:5 Or godlessness
  5. Deuteronomy 9:5 Lit word
  6. Deuteronomy 9:6 Lit stiff-necked
  7. Deuteronomy 9:13 Lit me, saying
  8. Deuteronomy 9:13 Lit stiff-necked
  9. Deuteronomy 9:21 Lit sin
  10. Deuteronomy 9:23 Lit mouth
  11. Deuteronomy 9:25 Lit fell down
  12. Deuteronomy 9:28 Lit spoken to
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Deuteronomy 9
New International Version

Not Because of Israel’s Righteousness

9 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan(A) to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you,(B) with large cities(C) that have walls up to the sky.(D) 2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”(E) 3 But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes across ahead of you(F) like a devouring fire.(G) He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly,(H) as the Lord has promised you.

4 After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself,(I) “The Lord has brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness(J) of these nations(K) that the Lord is going to drive them out before you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity(L) that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness(M) of these nations,(N) the Lord your God will drive them out(O) before you, to accomplish what he swore(P) to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.(Q) 6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.(R)

The Golden Calf

7 Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger(S) of the Lord your God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious(T) against the Lord.(U) 8 At Horeb you aroused the Lord’s wrath(V) so that he was angry enough to destroy you.(W) 9 When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant(X) that the Lord had made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days(Y) and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water.(Z) 10 The Lord gave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God.(AA) On them were all the commandments the Lord proclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.(AB)

11 At the end of the forty days and forty nights,(AC) the Lord gave me the two stone tablets,(AD) the tablets of the covenant. 12 Then the Lord told me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt.(AE) They have turned away quickly(AF) from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves.”

13 And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people(AG), and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! 14 Let me alone,(AH) so that I may destroy them and blot out(AI) their name from under heaven.(AJ) And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”

15 So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.(AK) 16 When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf.(AL) You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. 17 So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.

18 Then once again I fell(AM) prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water,(AN) because of all the sin you had committed,(AO) doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger. 19 I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you.(AP) But again the Lord listened to me.(AQ) 20 And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. 21 Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust(AR) and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.(AS)

22 You also made the Lord angry(AT) at Taberah,(AU) at Massah(AV) and at Kibroth Hattaavah.(AW)

23 And when the Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea,(AX) he said, “Go up and take possession(AY) of the land I have given you.” But you rebelled(AZ) against the command of the Lord your God. You did not trust(BA) him or obey him. 24 You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.(BB)

25 I lay prostrate before the Lord those forty days and forty nights(BC) because the Lord had said he would destroy you.(BD) 26 I prayed to the Lord and said, “Sovereign Lord, do not destroy your people,(BE) your own inheritance(BF) that you redeemed(BG) by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.(BH) 27 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness(BI) of this people, their wickedness and their sin. 28 Otherwise, the country(BJ) from which you brought us will say, ‘Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them,(BK) he brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.’(BL) 29 But they are your people,(BM) your inheritance(BN) that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm.(BO)”

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