Deuteronomy 9:1-6

1 Hear thou, Israel; thou shalt pass (the) Jordan today, that thou wield the most nations, and stronger than thou; great cities, and walled till to heaven; (Hear, O Israel; thou shalt cross over the Jordan River today, to take over nations greater and stronger than thou; yea, great cities, that be walled unto the heavens;)

2 a great people, and high; the sons of Anakim, which thyself hast seen, and heard, which no man may against-stand in the contrary part. (a great and tall people; the sons of the Anakim, that is, the giants, whom thou hast seen, and heard, and whom no one can stand against.)

3 Therefore thou shalt know today that thy Lord God himself shall pass before thee; he is a fire devouring and wasting, that shall all-break them, and he shall do them away, and destroy them before thy face swiftly, as he spake to thee. (And so know thou today that the Lord thy God himself shall go ahead of thee; he is a devouring and wasting fire, and he shall all-break them before thy face, and then ye shall do them away, and swiftly destroy them, as he promised thee.)

4 Say thou not in thine heart, when thy Lord God hath done them away in thy sight, For my rightwiseness the Lord hath brought me in hither, that I should wield the land; since these nations be done away for their wickednesses. (But when the Lord thy God hath done them away before thee, do not thou say in thy heart, Because of my righteousness, the Lord hath brought me here, so that I could take this land; since these nations shall be done away because of their own wickednesses.)

5 For not for thy rightwiseness, and for the equity of thine heart thou shalt enter, that thou wield their land; but for they did wickedly, they were done away (by thy Lord God), when thou enteredest, and that the Lord should [ful]fill his word which he promised under an oath to thy fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (For it is not because of thy own righteousness, or the integrity of thy own heart, that thou shalt enter to take their land; but they shall be done away before thee by the Lord thy God, because they did wickedly, and so that the Lord would fulfill his word which he promised under an oath to thy fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.)

6 Therefore know thou that not for thy rightwisenesses thy Lord God hath given to thee this best land into possession, since thou art a people of most hard noll. (And so know thou that the Lord thy God hath not given thee this best land for a possession because of thy own righteousness, since thou art a most stubborn, or a stiff-necked, people.)

Deuteronomy 9:1-6 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.