Deuteronomy 9

1 Hear O Israel! thou art passing, to-day, over the Jordan, to go in to dispossess nations, greater and stronger than thou, —cities great and fortified into the heavens;

Listen, people of Israel! Shortly you're going to cross the Jordan to enter and take over the country from nations that are larger and stronger than you, that have large towns with walls that reach up into the sky.

2 a people great and tall, the sons of Anakim, —whom, thou, knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the sons of Anak?

The people are strong and tall; they are the descendants of the Anakim. You all know about them and you have heard the saying, “Who could ever defeat the sons of Anak?”

3 So then, thou must consider to-day, that Yahweh thy God, he it is that is passing over before thee as a consuming fire, he, will destroy them, and, he, will cause them to bow down before thee, —so shalt thou dispossess them, and destroy them speedily, as Yahweh hath spoken unto thee.

But you should realize that today the Lord your God is going across ahead of you. He is like a consuming fire; he will destroy them and defeat them ahead of you. You will drive them out and quickly wipe them out, just as the Lord promised you.

4 Do not speak in thy heart, when Yahweh thy God casteth them out from before thee saying, For mine own righteousness, hath Yahweh brought me in, to possess this land, —whereas it is for the lawlessness of these nations, that, Yahweh, is dispossessing them from before thee.

When the Lord your God has driven them out ahead of you, don't think to yourselves, “It's because I'm such a good person that the Lord has brought me here to take over this land.” No, the Lord is driving out these nations ahead of you because of they're so wicked.

5 Not for thine own righteousness, nor for the uprightness of thine own heart, art thou going in to possess their land, —but for the lawlessness of these nations, is, Yahweh thy God driving them out from before thee, and that he may establish the word which Yahweh sware unto thy fathers, unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob.

It's not because you're so good or moral that you are going to take over their land. No, it's because of their wickedness that the Lord your God is driving out these nations ahead of you, to keep the promise he made to your fathers—m to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

6 So then, thou must consider that, not for thine own righteousness, is Yahweh thy God giving unto thee this good land to possess it, —for a stiff-necked people, thou art.

You'd better believe that it's not because you're such good people that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to own, because you are stubborn, hard-hearted people.

7 Remember—do not forget, how thou didst provoke Yahweh thy God, in the desert, —yea from the day when thou camest forth out of the and of Egypt until ye entered as far as this place, have ye been quarrelling, with Yahweh.

Remember how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert! Don't ever forget it! From the time you left the land of Egypt until you arrived here, you've been constantly rebelling against the Lord.

8 Even in Horeb, ye provoked Yahweh to wrath, —so that Yahweh showed himself angry with you to destroy you.

At Horeb you provoked the Lord, making him so angry he was about to destroy you.

9 When I went up into the mountain to receive the tables of stone—the tables of the covenant, which Yahweh had solemnised with you, then abode I in the mountain forty days and forty nights, food, did I not, eat, and water, did I not drink.

This was when I climbed up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets that recorded agreement the Lord made with you. I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights, and I didn't eat or drink anything.

10 Then did Yahweh deliver unto me the two tables of stone, written with the finger of God, —and [there was] upon them, according to all the words which Yahweh had spoken with you in the mountain out of the midst of the fire in the day of the convocation.

The Lord gave me the two stone tablets on which he'd written with his finger everything he'd told you when he spoke from the fire on the mountain when we were all assembled there.

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

After forty days and forty nights, the Lord gave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the agreement.

12 Then said Yahweh unto me—Up! get down quickly out of this mountain, for thy people whom thou hast brought forth out of Egypt, have broken faith, —they have turned aside quickly, out of the way which I commanded them, —they have made them a molten image.

The Lord told me, “Hurry! Go down immediately, because your people that you led out of Egypt, are committing a terrible sin. They have disobeyed what I told them so quickly! They have made themselves an idol using molten metal.”

13 And Yahweh spake unto me saying, —I have looked on this people, and lo! a stiff-necked people, it is.

The Lord also told me, “I have been watching these people, and they really are a stubborn and hard-hearted.

14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and wipe out their name from under the heavens, —and make thee into a nation stronger and more in number than they.

Leave me, so that I can destroy them and wipe out their name completely. Then I will turn you into a nation even more powerful and more important than them.”

15 So I turned, and came down out of the mountain, now the mountain was burning with fire, —and the two tables of the covenant were upon my two hands.

I went back down the mountain while it was still on fire, carrying the two tablets of the agreement.

16 Then looked I, and lo! ye had sinned against Yahweh your God, ye had made you a molten calf, —ye had turned aside quickly, out of the way which Yahweh had commanded you.

Then I saw how much you had sinned against the Lord your God by making for yourselves a molten calf. You had disobeyed what the Lord had told you so quickly.

17 So I seized the two tables, and cast them from off my two hands, —and brake them in pieces before your eyes.

I threw the two tablets down, smashing them to pieces as you watched.

18 Then lay I prostrate before Yahweh as at the first, forty days and forty nights, food, did I not eat, and water, did I not drink, —because of all your sin which ye had sinned, in doing the thing that was wicked, in the eyes of Yahweh. to provoke him to anger.

Then I lay down on the ground before the Lord for forty days and forty nights, just as I had before. I didn't eat or drink anything because of all the sins you had committed by doing what was evil in the Lord's sight, making him angry.

19 For I shrank with fear from the face of the anger and the hot displeasure, wherewith Yahweh was provoked against you to destroy you, —but Yahweh hearkened unto me, even at that time.

I was terrified at how angry and furious the Lord was with you. He was ready to destroy you. But once again the Lord listened to me.

20 And with Aaron, did Yahweh show himself exceedingly angry, to destroy him, —so I prostrated myself, even in behalf of Aaron at that time.

The Lord was so angry with Aaron he was ready to destroy him, but right then I prayed for Aaron too.

21 And your sin which ye had made even the calf, took I and burned it up with fire, and pounded it very small, until it was fine as dust, —then cast I the dust thereof into the torrent that descended out of the mountain.

I took that abominable thing, the calf you'd made, and burned it. Then I crushed it up and ground it into dust, and I threw it into the stream that descended from the mountain.

22 Also, at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hataavah, a cause of provocation, became ye unto Yahweh.

But you went on provoking the Lord at Taberah, at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah.

23 Also when Yahweh sent you out of Kadesh-barnea saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given unto you then quarreled ye with the bidding of Yahweh your God, and trusted him not, neither hearkened unto his voice.

When the Lord had you leave Kadesh-barnea, he told you, “Go and take over the country that I've given you.” But you defied the command of the Lord your God. You didn't believe him and you didn't obey him.

24 Ye have been quarrelling, with Yahweh, —from the day that I first knew you.

You have been rebelling against the Lord from the day I first knew you.

25 Thus, then lay I prostrate before Yahweh, the forty days and the forty nights that I did lie prostrate, —because Yahweh spake of destroying you.

So I lay down on the ground before the Lord for forty days and forty nights, because the Lord had threatened to destroy you.

26 Therefore I prostrated myself unto Yahweh and said, My Lord Yahweh! Do not destroy thy people even thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed in thy greatness, —which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a firm hand.

I prayed to the Lord, saying, “Please Lord, God, don't destroy your people that belong to you, the ones whom you rescued by your great ability and led out of Egypt by your power.

27 Have remembrance of thy servants, of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob, —do not regard the obduracy of this people, or their lawlessness or their sin:

Please remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Please disregard the stubbornness of this people and their wicked sin.

28 lest the land out of which thou hast brought us forth say, Because Yahweh was not able to bring them into the land of which he had spoken to them, —and because he hated them, took he them forth to put them to death in the desert.

If you don't, those people back in Egypt will say, ‘The Lord brought them out to kill them in the desert because he couldn't take them to the land he'd promised them, and because he hated them.’

29 Yet, they, are thy people and thine inheritance, —whom thou hast brought forth with thy great strength, and with thy stretched-out arm.

But they are your people, Lord! They belong to you! You led them out of Egypt by your amazing power and might!”