Not Because of Righteousness

“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, 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?’ 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.

(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. (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.

“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.

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The Consequences of Rebelling against God

“Hear, O Israel! You are about to cross the Jordan today, to go in and dispossess nations larger and mightier than you, great cities, fortified to the heavens,(A) a strong and tall people, the offspring of the Anakim, whom you know. You have heard it said, ‘Who can stand up to the Anakim?’(B) Know, then, today that the Lord your God is the one who crosses over before you as a devouring fire; he will defeat them and subdue them before you, so that you may dispossess and destroy them quickly, as the Lord has promised you.(C)

“When the Lord your God thrusts them out before you, do not say to yourself, ‘It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to occupy this land’; it is rather because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you.(D) It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you are going in to occupy their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is dispossessing them before you, in order to fulfill the promise that the Lord made on oath to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.(E)

“Know, then, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to occupy because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.(F)

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