Deuteronomy 9
Jubilee Bible 2000
9 ¶ Hear, O Israel: Thou art ready to pass over the Jordan this day to enter in to inherit that of Gentiles greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,
2 A people, great and tall, sons of the Anakims, whom thou knowest and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the sons of Anak!
3 Understand, therefore, this day that the LORD thy God is he who passes before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them and humble them before thee, and thou shalt drive them out and destroy them quickly, as the LORD has said unto thee.
4 Think not in thine heart, after the LORD thy God has cast them out from before thee, saying, Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to inherit this land; rather for the wickedness of these Gentiles the LORD drives them out from before thee.
5 Not for thy righteousness or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou enter in to inherit their land; but for the wickedness of these Gentiles, the LORD thy God drives them out from before thee and that he may confirm the word which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6 Understand, therefore, that the LORD thy God does not give thee this good land to inherit because of thy righteousness, for thou art a stiffnecked people.
7 ¶ Remember, and forget not, how thou hast provoked 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.
8 Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.
9 When I climbed 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, without eating bread or drinking water;
10 and 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 spoke with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.
11 And 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.
12 And the LORD said unto me, Arise, go down quickly from here, 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 themselves a molten image.
13 Furthermore, the LORD spoke unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people.
14 Let 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.
15 So I turned and came down from the mount with the two tables of the covenant in my two hands and the mount burned with fire,
16 and I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God and had made yourselves a molten calf; ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.
17 Then I took the two tables and cast them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.
18 And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water because of all your sins in which ye sinned in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.
19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.
20 And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him, and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.
21 And 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.
22 Also at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.
23 Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and inherit the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye did not believe him nor hearken to his voice.
24 Ye have been rebels against the LORD from the day that I knew you.
25 Thus 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.
26 I prayed, therefore, unto the LORD and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast ransomed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
27 Remember thy slaves, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people nor to their wickedness nor to their sin,
28 lest those of the land from which thou didst bring us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them or because he hated them, he has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.
29 Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou didst bring out by thy mighty power and by thy outstretched arm.
Deuteronomy 9
English Standard Version
Not Because of Righteousness
9 “Hear, O Israel: you are (A)to cross over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations (B)greater and mightier than you, cities great and fortified up to heaven, 2 a people great and tall, (C)the sons of the Anakim, (D)whom you know, and of whom you have heard it said, ‘Who can stand before the sons of Anak?’ 3 Know therefore today that he who (E)goes over before you (F)as a consuming fire is the Lord your God. He will destroy them and subdue them before you. (G)So you shall drive them out and make them perish quickly, as the Lord has promised you.
4 (H)“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 (I)because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you. 5 (J)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 (K)the word that 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 (L)a stubborn people. 7 Remember and do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. (M)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 (N)at Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath, and the Lord was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you. 9 (O)When 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 (P)forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water. 10 And (Q)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 (R)on the day of the assembly. 11 And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant. 12 Then the Lord said to me, (S)‘Arise, go down quickly from here, for your people whom you have brought from Egypt have acted corruptly. They have (T)turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them; they have made themselves a metal image.’
The Golden Calf
13 (U)“Furthermore, the Lord said to me, ‘I have seen this people, and behold, it is (V)a stubborn people. 14 (W)Let me alone, that I may destroy them and (X)blot out their name from under heaven. And (Y)I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’ 15 (Z)So I turned and came down from the mountain, and (AA)the mountain was burning with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. 16 And (AB)I looked, and behold, you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made yourselves a golden[a] calf. (AC)You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. 17 So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes. 18 Then I (AD)lay prostrate before the Lord (AE)as before, forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all the sin that you had committed, (AF)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 that the Lord bore against you, so that he was ready to destroy you. (AG)But the Lord listened 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 (AH)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.
22 “At (AI)Taberah also, and at (AJ)Massah and at (AK)Kibroth-hattaavah you provoked the Lord to wrath. 23 And (AL)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 (AM)did not believe him or obey his voice. 24 (AN)You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.
25 (AO)“So I lay prostrate before the Lord for these forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had said he would destroy you. 26 (AP)And 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. 27 Remember your 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 you brought us say, (AQ)“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.” 29 (AR)For they are your people and your heritage, whom you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm.’
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 9:16 Hebrew cast metal
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
