Deuteronomy 9

1 Hear, O Israel: Thou shalt go over the Jordan this day; to possess nations very great, and stronger than thyself, cities great, and walled up to the sky,

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,

2 A People great and tall, the sons of the Enacims, whom thou hast seen, and heard of, against whom no man is able to stand.

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!

3 Thou shalt know therefore this day that the Lord thy God himself will pass over before thee, a devouring and consuming fire, to destroy and extirpate and bring them to nothing before thy face quickly, as he hath spoken to thee.

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.

4 Say not in thy heart, when the Lord thy God shall have destroyed them in thy sight: For my justice hath the Lord brought me in to possess this land, whereas these nations are destroyed for their wickedness.

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.

5 For it is not for thy justices, and the uprightness of thy heart that thou shalt go in to possess their lands: but because they have done wickedly, they are destroyed at thy coming in: and that the Lord might accomplish his word, which he promised by oath to thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

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.

6 Know therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this excellent land in possession for thy justices, for thou art a very stiffnecked people.

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.

7 Remember, and forget not how then provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that thou camest out of Egypt unto this place, thou hast always strove against the Lord.

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.

8 For in Horeb also thou didst provoke him, and he was angry, and would have destroyed thee,

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

9 When I went up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you: and I continued in the mount forty days and nights, neither eating bread, nor drinking water.

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.

10 And the Lord gave me two tables of stone written with the finger of God, and containing all the words that he spoke to you in the mount from the midst of the Are, when the people were assembled together.

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.

11 And when forty days were passed, and as many nights, the Lord gave me the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant,

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.

12 And said to me: Arise, and go down from hence quickly: for thy people, which thou hast brought out of Egypt, have quickly forsaken the way that thou hast shewn them, and have made to themselves a molten idol.

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.

13 And again the Lord said to me: I see that this people is stiffnecked:

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

14 Let me alone that I may destroy them, and abolish their name from under heaven, and set thee over a nation, that is greater and stronger than this.

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.

15 And when I came down from the burning mount, and held the two tables of the covenant with both hands,

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.

16 And saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God, and had made to yourselves a molten calf, and had quickly forsaken his way, which he had shewn you:

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.

17 I cast the tables out of my hands, and broke them in your sight.

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

18 And I fell down before the Lord as before, forty days and nights neither eating bread, nor drinking water, for all your sins, which you had committed against the Lord, and had provoked him to wrath:

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.

19 For I feared his indignation and anger, wherewith being moved against you, he would have destroyed you. And the Lord heard me this time also.

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.

20 And he was exceeding angry against Aaron also, and would have destroyed him, and I prayed in like manner for him.

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

21 And your sin that you had committed, that is, the calf, I took, and burned it with fire, and breaking it into pieces, until it was as small as dust, I threw it into the torrent, which cometh down from the mountain.

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.

22 At the burning also, and at the place of temptation, and at the graves of lust you provoked the Lord:

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

23 And when he sent you from Cadesbarne, saying: Go up, and possess the land that I have given you, and you slighted the commandment of the Lord your God, and did not believe him, neither would you hearken to his voice:

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.

24 But were always rebellious from the day that I began to know you.

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

25 And I lay prostrate before the Lord forty days and nights, in which I humbly besought him, that he would not destroy you as he had threatened:

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.

26 And praying, I said: O Lord God, destroy not thy people, and thy inheritance, which thou hast redeemed in thy greatness, whom thou hast brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.

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.

27 Remember thy servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: look not on the stubbornness of this people, nor on their wickedness and sin:

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:

28 Lest perhaps the inhabitants of the land, out of which thou hast brought us, say: The Lord could not bring them into the land that he promised them, and he hated them: therefore he brought them out, that he might kill them in the wilderness,

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.

29 Who are thy people and thy inheritance, whom thou hast brought out by thy great strength, and in thy stretched out arm.

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