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, Israel: you are to pass over the Jordan this day, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to the sky,

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 sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard say, "Who can stand before the sons 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.

Know therefore this day, that YHWH your God is he who goes over before you as a devouring fire; he will destroy them, and he will bring them down before you: so you shall drive them out, and make them to perish quickly, as YHWH has spoken to you.

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.

Do not say in your heart, after YHWH your God has thrust them out from before you, saying, "For my righteousness YHWH has brought me in to possess this land"; because YHWH drives them out before you because of the wickedness of these nations.

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 your righteousness, or for the uprightness of your heart, do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations YHWH does drive them out from before you, and that he may establish the word which he swore to your 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.

Know therefore, that YHWH your God doesn't give you this good land to possess it for your righteousness; for you are 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 you provoked YHWH your God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that you went forth out of the land of Egypt, until you came to this place, you have been rebellious against YHWH.

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

Also in Horeb you provoked YHWH to wrath, and YHWH 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 onto the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, even the tablets of the covenant which YHWH made with you, then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water.

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.

YHWH delivered to me the two tablets of stone written with the finger of God; and on them were all the words which YHWH spoke with you on the mountain out of the midst of the fire in 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,

It came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that YHWH gave me the two tablets of stone, even the tablets 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.

YHWH said to me, "Arise, get down quickly from here; for your people whom you have brought out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they have quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image."

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

Furthermore YHWH spoke to me, saying, "I have seen this people, and look, 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, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under the sky; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they."

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

So I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire: and the two tablets of the covenant were in 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:

I looked, and look, you had sinned against YHWH your God; you had made yourselves a molten calf: you had turned aside quickly out of the way which YHWH had commanded you.

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

I took hold of the two tablets, and cast them out of my two hands, and 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:

I fell down before YHWH, as at the first, forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water; because of all your sin which you sinned, in doing that which was evil in the sight of YHWH, 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 hot displeasure, with which YHWH was angry against you to destroy you. But YHWH listened to me that time also.

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

YHWH was very angry with Aaron to destroy him: and I prayed for Aaron also 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.

I took your sin, the calf which you had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, grinding it very small, until it was as fine as dust: and I cast its dust into the brook that descended out of the mountain.

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

At Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth Hattaavah, you provoked YHWH 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:

When YHWH sent you from Kadesh Barnea, saying, "Go up and possess the land which I have given you"; then you rebelled against the commandment of YHWH your God, and you did not believe him, nor listen to his voice.

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

You have been rebellious against YHWH from the day that I knew 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:

So I fell down before YHWH the forty days and forty nights that I fell down, because YHWH had said 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.

I prayed to God, and said, "Lord YHWH, do not destroy your people and your inheritance, that you have redeemed through your greatness, that you have brought 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:

Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look to the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their 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 land you brought us out from say, 'Because YHWH was not able to bring them into the land which he promised to them, and because he hated them, he has brought them out to kill 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.

Yet they are your people and your inheritance, which you brought out by your great power and by your outstretched arm."