Deuteronomy

Moses gives speeches about laws and the importance of following God before the Israelites enter the Promised Land.

Chapter 9

1 Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven,

*Listen, Israel: You will cross the Jordan today to enter and take control of nations stronger and more powerful than you, as well as large, well-protected cities that reach up to the sky.

2 A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak!

*A big and tall group, the kids of the Anakims, that you know and have heard mentioned, who can face the children of Anak?

3 Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee.

*Today, understand that the Lord your God is the one leading you forward. Like a powerful fire, He will destroy those in your path, making it easier for you to remove them, just as He has told you.

4 Speak not thou in thine heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee.

*Don't say in your heart that it's because you are righteous that God has let you take this land; rather, understand that God is removing the wicked nations to make way for you.

5 Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

*You are not going to take their land because you are good or have a pure heart. Instead, it is because these nations are wicked that the Lord your God is removing them from your path. This allows the Lord to fulfill the promise made to your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

6 Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

*So, understand that God is giving you this good land, but not because you are righteous. You are a stubborn people.

7 Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came unto this place, ye have been rebellious against the LORD.

*Remember not to forget how you made the Lord God angry in the desert. From when you left Egypt until now, you have been disobedient towards the Lord.

8 Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you.

*At Horeb, you made the LORD very angry by disobeying Him, causing Him to consider destroying you.

9 When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water:

*When I climbed the mountain to get the stone tables, the ones with the agreement the LORD made with you, I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights without eating or drinking.

10 And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

*And God gave me two stones with writing from Himself; the writing included everything He said to you at the mountain, surrounded by fire on the day of the big meeting.

11 And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant.

*After forty days and nights, the LORD provided me with two stone tables, which were the tables of the agreement.

12 And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image.

*And God told me, "Get up and leave this place fast! Your people you brought from Egypt have gone wrong. They've quickly stopped following my instructions and made an idol."

13 Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people:

*Additionally, the Lord told me, "I have observed these people, and they are stubborn."

14 Let me alone, that I may destroy them, and blot out their name from under heaven: and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they.

*Let me handle it, so I can eliminate them and erase their name from existence. Then, I'll create a powerful and larger nation from you.

15 So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.

*So I went down from the mountain, and it was on fire. I held the two stone tablets of the agreement in my two hands.

16 And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you.

*I saw that you disobeyed the Lord your God by making a metal bull idol. You quickly went away from the path the Lord told you to follow.

17 And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes.

*I picked up the two tables, threw them away using my hands, and broke them right in front of you.

18 And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

*I bowed before God again, just like before, for 40 days and 40 nights. I didn't eat food or drink water because of all your wrong actions that you did, which made you do bad things in front of God, making Him very angry.

19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also.

*Because I was worried about God's anger and intense dislike towards you, which wanted to destroy you. However, God listened to me at that time too.

20 And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.

*The LORD was extremely upset with Aaron for wanting to destroy him, but I prayed for Aaron at the same time.

21 And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount.

*I took away your wrongdoing, the idol you made, and burned it with fire. I crushed and ground it until it was tiny like dust. Then, I threw the dust into a stream coming down from the mountain.

22 And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibrothhattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath.

*At Taberah, Massah, and Kibrothhattaavah, you made the LORD very angry.

23 Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.

*Just like when the LORD sent you from Kadeshbarnea to go take the land He gave you, but you disobeyed His command and didn't listen to His voice or believe in Him.

24 Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you.

*You have been disobedient to God since the day I first knew you.

25 Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you.

*So, I bowed before God for 40 days and 40 nights again, just like before, because He said He'd destroy you.

26 I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

*I talked to God, saying, "God, don't let your people and the special place they belong to be destroyed. You saved them in a big way from Egypt using a strong hand."

27 Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin:

*Remember our ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; don't focus on the stubbornness or wickedness of these people, or their sins.

28 Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness.

*So that the land from which you led us out doesn't say, "The Lord couldn't bring them into the promised land because he didn't like them, so he brought them out to kill them in the desert."

29 Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.

*But they are your people and what you own, that you got with your great strength and wide reach.

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