Deuteronomy 9:12-22

12 "Then the Lord said to me, "Go down the mountain at once, because your people, whom you led out of Egypt, have become corrupt and have done evil. They have already turned away from what I commanded them to do, and they have made an idol for themselves.'

13 "The Lord also said to me, "I know how stubborn these people are.

14 Don't try to stop me. I intend to destroy them so that no one will remember them any longer. Then I will make you the father of a nation larger and more powerful than they are.'

15 "So I turned and went down the mountain, carrying the two stone tablets on which the covenant was written. Flames of fire were coming from the mountain.

16 I saw that you had already disobeyed the command that the Lord your God had given you, and that you had sinned against him by making yourselves a metal idol in the form of a bull-calf.

17 So there in front of you I threw the stone tablets down and broke them to pieces.

18 Then once again I lay face downward in the Lord's presence for forty days and nights and did not eat or drink anything. I did this because you had sinned against the Lord and had made him angry.

19 I was afraid of the Lord's fierce anger, because he was furious enough to destroy you; but once again the Lord listened to me. ¹

20 The Lord was also angry enough with Aaron to kill him, so I prayed for Aaron at the same time.

21 I took that sinful thing that you had made - that metal bull-calf - and threw it into the fire. Then I broke it in pieces, ground it to dust, and threw the dust into the stream that flowed down the mountain.

22 "You also made the Lord your God angry when you were at Taberah, Massah, and Kibroth Hattaavah. ²

Deuteronomy 9:12-22 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.

Cross References

• 1. 9.19Hebrews 12.21.
• 2. 9.22 aNumbers 11.3; bExodus 17.7; cNumbers 11.34.