Deuteronomy 9

1 Hear [listen attentively, obey], O Israel: Today [this day, at this time] you are about to cross [pass over, transition] the Jordan [the river, a boundary] to go in [enter, take possession] and dispossess [drive out, take control of] nations [Gentiles, non-Hebrews] greater [larger, more powerful] and stronger [mightier, more numerous] than you, with large [great, spacious] cities [towns, fortified settlements] fortified [walled, protected] to the heavens [the sky, the heavens above]. word study 2 The people [a nation, a large group] are strong [powerful, mighty] and tall [exalted, lofty], the descendants [sons, offspring] of the Anakim [Anakite, a tribe of giant people]. You know [are aware, have knowledge] about them, and you have heard [listened, been informed] it said [reported, proclaimed], “Who [what person, which one] can stand up [stand firm, resist] to the sons [descendants, children] of Anak [a Canaanite man]?” word study 3 But understand [be aware, take note] that today [in this present time] the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] your God [Elohim, the supreme Creator] goes across [passes over, transitions] ahead of you as a consuming [devouring, all-burning] fire [burning, flame]; He will destroy [annihilate, bring to nothing] them and subdue [humble, bring down] them before you [in your presence]. And you will drive them out [dispossess, expel] and annihilate [destroy quickly, make perish] them swiftly [quickly, hastily], as the LORD [Yehovah, the faithful God] has promised [spoken, declared] you. word study 4 When the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] your God has driven them out [thrust them away, expelled] before you, do not say [speak not, think not] in your heart [innermost being, mind, and emotions], “Because of my righteousness [virtue, morality, and justice] the LORD has brought me in [enabled me to enter, given me possession] to possess [take control of, occupy] this land [territory, region].” Rather, the LORD is driving out [expelling, thrusting away] these nations [Gentiles, non-Hebrew peoples] before you because of their wickedness [guilt, wrong actions, sinful nature]. word study 5 It is not because of your [moral uprightness, virtue] righteousness or [moral integrity, justice] uprightness of heart that you are going in to [take control of, occupy] possess their land, but it is because of their [evil, sinful] wickedness that the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] your God is driving out these [non-Hebrew, Gentile] nations before you, to keep the promise [vow] He swore to your [ancestors, fathers] fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. word study 6 Understand [know and acknowledge], then, that it is not because of your [moral] righteousness [virtue, justice] that the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] your God [Elohim, the supreme deity] is giving [bestowing, granting] you this good [pleasant, beneficial] land to possess [occupy, take control of], for you are a stiff-necked [severe, stubborn] people [nation, community]. word study 7 Remember [do not forget, keep in mind] this, and never forget how you provoked [made angry, stirred to wrath] the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] your God [Elohim, the divine Judge] in the wilderness [the desert, a place of testing]. From the day [the time, the period] you left [came out, departed from] the land [the earth, the territory] of Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa] until you reached [came to, arrived at] this place [the location, the destination], you have been rebelling [resisting, disobeying] against the LORD [Yehovah, the sovereign Ruler]. word study 8 At Horeb [Sinai Mountain, the mountain of God’s covenant] you provoked [made angry, stirred to wrath] the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], and He was angry [enraged, furious] enough [to the point of] to destroy [annihilate, desolate] you. word study 9 When I went up [ascended to a higher place] on the mountain [a hill] to receive [take possession of] the tablets [polished stones] of stone [hewn rocks], the tablets [written records] of the covenant [a promise or agreement] that the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] made [cut or established] with you, I stayed [dwelled or remained] on the mountain [the mountain of God] forty [a significant period of time] days and forty [a complete or perfect period] nights. I ate [consumed as food] no bread [sustenance or nourishment] and drank [imbibed or swallowed] no water [refreshment or hydration]. word study 10 Then the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] gave me the two [a pair, a duality] stone tablets [polished tablets, possibly made of stone, wood, or metal], inscribed [written, recorded] by the finger [the instrument of God’s power] of God [Elohim, the supreme God] with the exact words [the precise language, the literal meaning] that the LORD spoke [communicated, uttered] to you out of the fire [burning, flame] on the mountain [a place of revelation] on the day [a literal 24-hour period, a figurative space of time] of the assembly [a gathering of people, a congregation]. word study 11 And at the end [conclusion, extremity] of forty [a significant period of time, often used for trials or testing] days [a literal 24-hour period or a figurative space of time] and forty [a significant period of time, often used for trials or testing] nights [the time of darkness, opposed to day], the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] gave [to give, put, or set something] me the two [a pair, duality] stone [a rock, a weight, or even a precious gem] tablets [polished tablets, possibly made of stone, wood, or metal], the tablets [polished tablets, possibly made of stone, wood, or metal] of the covenant [a promise or agreement between people or between God and people, like a treaty or alliance]. word study 12 And the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] said to me, “Get up [rise, stand up] and go down [descend, come down] from here at once [quickly, without delay], for your people [nation, those you are leading], whom you brought out [led out, delivered] of Egypt [the land of the Nile], have corrupted [ruined, destroyed] themselves [their ways, their actions]. How quickly [hastily, swiftly] they have turned aside [deviated, strayed] from the way [path, manner of life] that I commanded [gave orders to, instructed] them! They have made [created, fashioned] for themselves a molten [cast metal, liquid] image [idol, statue].” word study 13 The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] also said to me, “I have seen [observed, looked after] this people [nation, community], and they are indeed [behold, truly] a stiff-necked [severe, stubborn] people [with hardened hearts]. word study 14 Leave Me alone [desist from Me], so that I may destroy [annihilate, wipe out] them and blot out [erase, remove completely] their name [identity, reputation] from under [beneath] heaven [the sky, the abode of God]. Then I will make [create, establish] you into a nation [Gentile, large group] mightier [powerful, strong] and greater [more numerous, more important] than they are [exist, have been].” word study 15 So I went back down [descended, went down] the mountain [the mountain of God] while it was blazing [burning, on fire] with fire [burning, flame], with the two [a pair, dual] tablets [polished stones, inscribed with the covenant] of the covenant [a promise, an agreement between God and his people] in my hands [an open hand; strength, a side or share]. word study 16 And I saw [behold, looked] how you had sinned [missed the mark, gone wrong] against the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] your God [Elohim, the supreme one]; you had made [created, fashioned] for yourselves a molten [liquid, cast metal] calf [young male, nearly grown]. You had turned aside [departed, removed] quickly [hastily, with urgency] from the way [path, road, manner of life] that the LORD [Yehovah] had commanded [given orders, appointed] you. word study 17 So I took [seized, grasped] the two [a pair, dual] tablets [polished stones, wooden or metal slabs] and threw [cast away, hurled] them out of my hands [open, powerful], shattering [breaking, smashing] them before your eyes [in your sight, visibly]. word study 18 Then I fell down [prostrated myself, lay on the ground] before the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] for forty [a significant period of time, a period of testing] days and forty nights, as I had done the first [initial, primary] time. I did not eat [devour, consume] bread [food, grain] or drink [consume, swallow] water [a source of refreshment] because of all [everything, the entirety] the sin [guilt, punishment for sin] you had committed [sinned, done wrong] in doing [making, performing] what was evil [bad, morally harmful] in the sight [presence, eyes] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] and provoking [angering, offending] Him to anger. word study 19 For I was afraid [terrified, full of fear] of the anger [hot displeasure, wrath] and wrath [rage, intense anger] that the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] had directed [been wroth, moved] against you, enough [with the intention] to destroy [annihilate, desolate] you. But the LORD [Yehovah] listened [heard and obeyed, hearkened] to me this time [at that moment, also] as well [too, even]. word study 20 The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] was angry [exceedingly angry, to breathe hard] enough with Aaron [the brother of Moses and the first high priest] to destroy [desolate, annihilate] him, but at that time [the same occasion, moment] I also [even, too] prayed [interceded, made petition] for Aaron [the brother of Moses]. word study 21 And I took that sinful thing [your sin, the calf which ye had made], the calf [a young male, nearly grown into a steer] you had made, and burned [set on fire, kindled flames] it in the fire [burning, flame]. Then I crushed [beat violently, shattered] it and ground [pulverized, crushed into small pieces] it to powder [dust, dry earth] as fine as dust [clay, earth, or mortar], and I cast [threw away, cast off] it into the stream [brook, small river, or valley] that came down [descended, went down] from the mountain [a high place]. word study 22 You continued to provoke [anger, wrath] the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] at Taberah [a place of complaint], at Massah [a place of testing], and at Kibroth-hattaavah [graves of lust, a place of craving]. word study 23 And when the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] sent you out from Kadesh-barnea [a city in the southern desert of Judah], He said, “Go up [to ascend, to rise] and possess [to take control of, to occupy] the land [the earth, the territory] that I have given [to bestow, to grant] you.” But you rebelled [to resist, to disobey] against the command [the instruction, the decree] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] your God [Elohim, the one supreme God]. You neither believed [to trust, to have faith] Him nor obeyed [to listen, to follow] Him. word study 24 You have been rebelling [resisting, disobeying] against the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] since the day [a literal 24-hour period, a figurative space of time] I came to know [to ascertain by seeing, to learn, perceive] you [as a people, a nation]. word study 25 So I fell down [prostrate, in humble supplication] before the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] for forty [a significant period of time, marking a period of testing] days and forty [a period of trial and purification] nights, because the LORD [the supreme God, Creator and Ruler] had said [spoken, declared, commanded] He would destroy [annihilate, desolate] you. word study 26 And I prayed [to intercede, to ask for guidance] to the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] and said, “O Lord GOD [Adonay, a title of reverence], do not destroy [to ruin, to corrupt] Your people [a nation, a community], Your inheritance [a gift, a possession], whom You redeemed [to ransom, to set free] through Your greatness [magnitude, power] and brought out of Egypt [a land of bondage] with a mighty [strong, powerful] hand [an open hand; strength, a side or share]. word study 27 Remember [be mindful of, recall] Your servants [faithful followers, bondslaves] Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob [patriarchs, fathers of the faith]. Overlook [disregard, turn away from] the stubbornness [hard-heartedness, obstinacy] of this people [nation, community] and the wickedness [evil, wrongdoing] of their sin [rebellion, transgression]. word study 28 Otherwise [lest, beware that], those in the land [country, territory] from which You brought us out [led us forth, guided us] will say [declare, speak], ‘Because the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] was not able [lacked the power, was unable] to bring them into the land [promised territory, inheritance] He had promised [spoken, vowed] them, and because He hated [had hatred towards, rejected] them, He has brought them out [expelled, led forth] to kill [destroy, slay] them in the wilderness [desert, barren land].’ word study 29 But they are Your people [thy nation, a chosen group], Your inheritance [a treasured possession, a family heirloom], whom You brought out [led, delivered] by Your great [mighty, powerful] power [strength, might] and outstretched [stretched out, extended] arm [the arm as stretched out; strength, might, power].” word study