Deuteronomy 9

1 Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass this day over the Jordan, to go in to drive out nations greater and mightier than thou, [to conquer] cities great and fortified up to heaven,

“Listen, O Israel: You shall cross over the Jordan today, in order to possess nations, very great and stronger than yourself, cities vast and walled even to the sky,

2 A people great and tall, the children of the 'Anakim, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of 'Anak!

a people great and lofty, the sons of the Anakim, whom you yourselves have seen and heard, against whom no one is able to stand.

3 Understand therefore this day, that the Lord thy God it is who goeth over before thee, he is a consuming fire; he will destroy them, and he will subdue them before thy face; and thou wilt drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the Lord hath spoken unto thee.

Therefore, you shall know today that the Lord your God himself will pass over before you, like a devouring and consuming fire, to crush and to wipe away and to utterly ruin them before your face, quickly, just as he has spoken to you.

4 Thou must not say in thy heart, when the Lord thy God doth cast them out from before thee, as followeth, For my righteousness hath the Lord brought me in to possess this land; and that for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee.

You should not say in your heart, when the Lord your God will have destroyed them in your sight: ‘It is because of my justice that the Lord led me in, so that I might possess this land, while these nations have been destroyed because of their impiety.’

5 Not for thy righteousness, nor for the uprightness of thy heart, dost thou go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations doth the Lord thy God drive them out from before thee, and in order that he may fulfill the word which the Lord hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

For it is not because of your justices or the uprightness of your heart that you will enter, so that you may possess their lands. Instead, it is because they have acted wickedly that they are destroyed upon your arrival, and so that the Lord may accomplish his word, which he promised under oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

6 And thou shalt know, that not for thy righteousness doth the Lord thy God give unto thee this good land to possess it; for thou art a stiff-necked people.

Therefore, know that the Lord your God will not give you this excellent land as a possession due to your justices, for you are a very stiff-necked people.

7 Remember, do not forget, how thou didst provoke the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou wentest out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, have ye been rebellious against the Lord.

Remember, and never forget, how you provoked the Lord your God to anger in the wilderness. You have always contended against the Lord, from the day that you went forth from Egypt, even to this place.

8 Also at Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath, so that the Lord was angry with you to destroy you.

For at Horeb also, you provoked him, and, becoming angry, he was willing to destroy you,

9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which the Lord had made with you, and I abode on the mount forty days and forty nights, bread did I not eat, and water did I not drink.

when I ascended onto the mountain, so that I might receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant which the Lord formed with you. And I persevered on the mountain for forty days and nights, neither eating bread, nor drinking water.

10 And the Lord gave unto me the two tables of stone inscribed by the finger of God; and on them [was written] according to all the words, which the Lord had spoken with you on the mount out of the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.

And the Lord gave me two tablets of stone, written with the finger of God and containing all the words that he spoke to you on the mountain from the midst of fire, while the people, being stirred up, were assembled together.

11 And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the Lord gave unto me the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant.

And when forty days, and as many nights, had passed, the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.

12 And the Lord said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from here; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have become corrupted; they have quickly turned aside out of the way which I have commanded them; they have made themselves a molten image.

And he said to me: ‘Rise up, and descend quickly from here. For your people, whom you led away from Egypt, have quickly abandoned the way that you have shown to them, and they have made a molten idol for themselves.’

13 And the Lord said unto me, thus, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people:

And again, the Lord said to me: ‘I discern that this people is stiff-necked.

14 Let me alone, and I will destroy them, and blot out their name from under the heavens; and I will make of thee a nation mightier and more numerous than they.

Depart from me, so that I may crush them, and abolish their name from under heaven, and appoint you over a nation, which will be greater and stronger than this one.’

15 And I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount was burning with fire; and the two tables of the covenant were upon my two hands.

And as I was descending from the burning mountain, and I held the two tablets of the covenant with both hands,

16 And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the Lord your God, ye had made yourselves a molten calf; ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the Lord had commanded you.

and I had seen that you had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made a molten calf for yourselves, and had quickly abandoned his way, which he had revealed to you,

17 And I took hold of the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and I broke them before your eyes.

I threw down the tablets from my hands, and I broke them in your sight.

18 And I threw myself down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; bread did I not eat, and water did I not drink; on account of all your sins which ye had committed, in doing what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, to provoke him to anger.

And I fell prostrate before the Lord, just as before, for forty days and nights, not eating bread, and not drinking water, because of all your sins, which you had committed against the Lord, and because you provoked him to anger.

19 For I was afraid of the anger and the indignation, wherewith the Lord was wroth against you to destroy you; but the Lord hearkened unto me also at that time.

For I feared his indignation and wrath, which had been stirred up against you, so that he was willing to destroy you. And the Lord heeded me at this time also.

20 And with Aaron was the Lord very angry to destroy him; and I prayed also for Aaron at the same time.

Likewise, he became vehemently angry against Aaron, and he was willing to destroy him, and I prayed for him similarly.

21 And your work of sin, which ye had made, the calf, I took and burnt it in fire, and stamped it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descendeth from the mount.

But as for your sin which you committed, that is, the calf, taking hold of it, I burned it with fire. And breaking it into pieces, and reducing it entirely to dust, I threw it into the torrent that descends from the mountain.

22 And at Taberah, and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah, have ye been provoking the Lord to wrath.

Likewise, at the Burning, and at the Temptation, and at the Graves of Lust, you provoked the Lord.

23 And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea', saying, Go up and take possession of the land which I have given you: then rebelled ye against the order of the Lord your God, and ye believed not in him, and ye hearkened not to his voice.

And when he sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Ascend and possess the land, which I have given to you,’ even so, you spurned the command of the Lord your God, and you did not believe him, nor were you willing to listen to his voice.

24 Rebellious have ye been against the Lord, from the day that I have known you.

Instead, you were ever rebellious, from the day when I first began to know you.

25 And I threw myself down before the Lord those forty days and forty nights, which I threw myself down; because the Lord had said that he would destroy you.

And so, I lay prostrate before the Lord for forty days and nights, as I humbly begged him, lest he destroy you, just as he had threatened to do.

26 And I prayed unto the Lord, and said, O Lord Eternal, destroy not thy people and thy heritage, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

And praying, I said: ‘O Lord God, do not destroy your people and your inheritance, whom you have redeemed in your greatness, whom you have led away from Egypt with a strong hand.

27 Think of thy servants, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob; turn not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to its wickedness, nor to its sin:

Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Do not look upon the stubbornness of this people, nor upon their wickedness and sinfulness.

28 Lest [the inhabitants of] the land whence thou hast brought us out say, Out of want of ability in the Lord to bring them into the land which he had promised them, and out of his hatred to them, hath he brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.

Otherwise, perhaps the inhabitants of the land, out of which you have led us, may say: “The Lord was not able to lead them into the land, which he promised to them. And he hated them; therefore, he led them out, so that he might put them to death in the wilderness.”

29 Whereas they are thy people and thy heritage, whom thou hast brought out by thy mighty power and by thy outstretched arm.

These are your people and your inheritance, whom you have led out by your great strength, and with your outstretched arm.’”