Deuteronomy 9:15-25

15 I came down from the mountain. The mountain was blazing fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.

16 I looked, and there, you had sinned against ADONAI your God! You had made yourselves a metal calf, you had turned aside quickly from the way ADONAI had ordered you to follow.

17 I seized the two tablets, threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.

18 Then I fell down before ADONAI, as I had the first time, for forty days and nights, during which time I neither ate food nor drank water, all because of the sin you committed by doing what was evil in the sight of ADONAI and thus provoking him.

19 I was terrified that because of how angry ADONAI was at you, of how heatedly displeased he was, that he would destroy you. But ADONAI listened to me that time too.

20 In addition, ADONAI was very angry with Aharon and would have destroyed him; but I prayed for Aharon also at the same time.

21 I took your sin, the calf you had made, and burned it up in the fire, beat it to pieces, and ground it up still smaller, until it was as fine as dust; then I threw its dust into the stream coming down from the mountain.

22 "Again at Tav'erah, Massah and Kivrot-HaTa'avah you made ADONAI angry;

23 and when ADONAI sent you off from Kadesh-Barnea by saying, 'Go up and take possession of the land I have given you,' you rebelled against the order of ADONAI your God - you neither trusted him nor heeded what he said.

24 You have been rebelling against ADONAI from the day I first knew you!

25 "So I fell down before ADONAI for those forty days and nights; and I lay there; because ADONAI had said he would destroy you.

Deuteronomy 9:15-25 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 9

In this chapter the Israelites are assured of the ejection of the Canaanites, though so great and mighty, to make room for them, De 9:1-3, and they are cautioned not to attribute this to their own righteousness, but to the wickedness of the nations which deserved to be so treated, and to the faithfulness of God in performing his promise made to their fathers, De 9:4-6, and that it might appear that it could not be owing to their righteousness, it is affirmed and proved that they had been a rebellious and provoking people from their coming out of Egypt to that time, as was evident from their idolatry at Horeb; a particular account of which is given, and of the displeasure of the Lord at it, De 9:7-21, and of their murmurings, with which they provoked the Lord at other places, De 9:22-24, and the chapter is closed with an account of the prayer of Moses for them at Horeb, to avert the wrath of God from them for their making and worshipping the golden calf, De 9:25-29.