Not Because of Israel’s Righteousness
1 Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky.
2 The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?”
3 But be assured today that theLordyour God is the one who goes across ahead of you like a devouring fire. He will destroy them; he will subdue them before you. And you will drive them out and annihilate them quickly, as theLordhas promised you.
4 After theLordyour God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “TheLordhas brought me here to take possession of this land because of my righteousness.” No, it is on account of the wickedness of these nations that theLordis going to drive them out before you.
5 It is not because of your righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations, theLordyour God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
6 Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that theLordyour God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
The Golden Calf
7 Remember this and never forget how you aroused the anger of theLordyour God in the wilderness. From the day you left Egypt until you arrived here, you have been rebellious against theLord.
8 At Horeb you aroused theLord’s wrath so that he was angry enough to destroy you.
9 When I went up on the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that theLordhad made with you, I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water.
10 TheLordgave me two stone tablets inscribed by the finger of God. On them were all the commandments theLordproclaimed to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.
11 At the end of the forty days and forty nights, theLordgave me the two stone tablets, the tablets of the covenant.
12 Then theLordtold me, “Go down from here at once, because your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become corrupt. They have turned away quickly from what I commanded them and have made an idol for themselves.”
13 And theLordsaid to me, “I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed!
14 Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”
15 So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.
16 When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against theLordyour God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that theLordhad commanded you.
17 So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.
18 Then once again I fell prostrate before theLordfor forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water, because of all the sin you had committed, doing what was evil in theLord’s sight and so arousing his anger.
19 I feared the anger and wrath of theLord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you. But again theLordlistened to me.
20 And theLordwas angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too.
21 Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.
22 You also made theLordangry at Taberah, at Massah and at Kibroth Hattaavah.
23 And when theLordsent you out from Kadesh Barnea, he said, “Go up and take possession of the land I have given you.” But you rebelled against the command of theLordyour God. You did not trust him or obey him.
24 You have been rebellious against theLordever since I have known you.
25 I lay prostrate before theLordthose forty days and forty nights because theLordhad said he would destroy you.
26 I prayed to theLordand said, “SovereignLord, do not destroy your people, your own inheritance that you redeemed by your great power and brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
27 Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Overlook the stubbornness of this people, their wickedness and their sin.
28 Otherwise, the country from which you brought us will say, ‘Because theLordwas not able to take them into the land he had promised them, and because he hated them, he brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness.’
29 But they are your people, your inheritance that you brought out by your great power and your outstretched arm.”
—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/3/32k/DEU/9-a426e4766c62ab9240f5e75e60b7253b.mp3?version_id=111—