God’s Word Translation
Deuteronomy 9:5
5It’s not because you’ve been living right or because you’re so honest that you’re entering to take possession of their land. It’s because these people are so wicked that the Lord your God is forcing them out of your way. It’s also because the Lord wants to confirm the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 9:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)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, the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you going in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and that he may confirm the word that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
- New King James Version (NKJV)It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land, but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you, and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Context of Deuteronomy 9:5
3Realize today that the Lord your God is the one who is going ahead of you like a raging fire. He will wipe them out and will use you to crush their power. You will take possession of their land and will quickly destroy them as the Lord promised you. 4When the Lord your God expels these people in front of you, don’t say to yourselves, “Because we’ve been living right, the Lord brought us here to take possession of this land.” No, it’s because these nations are so wicked that the Lord is forcing them out of your way. It’s not because you’ve been living right or because you’re so honest that you’re entering to take possession of their land. It’s because these people are so wicked that the Lord your God is forcing them out of your way. It’s also because the Lord wants to confirm the promise he swore to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6So understand this: It’s not because you’ve been living right that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess. You are impossible to deal with! 7Never forget how you made the Lord your God angry in the desert. You’ve rebelled against the Lord from the day you left Egypt until you came here.
Read all of Deuteronomy 9Deuteronomy 9:5 word by word
לֹ֣א בְצִדְקָתְךָ֗ וּבְיֹ֙שֶׁר֙ לְבָ֣בְךָ֔ אַתָּ֥ה בָ֖א לָרֶ֣שֶׁת אֶת־אַרְצָ֑ם כִּ֞י בְּרִשְׁעַ֣ת׀ הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָאֵ֗לֶּה יְהוָ֤ה אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ מוֹרִישָׁ֣ם מִפָּנֶ֔יךָ וּלְמַ֜עַן הָקִ֣ים אֶת־הַדָּבָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֤ע יְהוָה֙ לַאֲבֹתֶ֔יךָ לְאַבְרָהָ֥ם לְיִצְחָ֖ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹֽב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Not for thy righteousnessצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
- or for the uprightnessיֹ֫שֶׁרyôsher · uprightnessH3476
- of thine heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
- dost thou goבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- to possessיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
- their landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- but for the wickednessרִשְׁעָהrish‛âh · wickednessH7564
- of these nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
- from beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
- thee, and that he may performקוּםqûm · to arise: establishH6965
- the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
- swareשָׁבַעshâba‛ · to swearH7650
- unto thy fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- Abrahamאַבְרָהָם'abrâhâm · AbrahamH85
- Isaacיִצְחָקyitschâq · IsaacH3327
- and Jacobיַעֲקֹבya‛ăqôb · JacobH3290
Cross-references for Deuteronomy 9:5
- Genesis 12:7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
- Genesis 13:15I will give all the land you see to you and to your descendants for an indefinite period of time.
- Genesis 15:7Then the Lord said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land so that you will take possession of it.”
- Genesis 17:8I am also giving this land where you are living—all of Canaan—to you and your descendants as your permanent possession. And I will be your God.”
- Genesis 26:4I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give all these lands to your descendants. Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
- Genesis 28:13The Lord was standing above it, saying, “I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants.
- Exodus 32:13Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel. You took an oath, swearing on yourself. You told them, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. I will give to your descendants all the land I spoke of. It will be their permanent possession.’ ”
- Ezekiel 20:14But I acted so that my name would not be dishonored among the nations who had watched me bring the Israelites out ⌞of Egypt⌟.
- Luke 1:54“He remembered to help his servant Israel forever.
- Acts 3:25You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the promise that God made to our ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all people on earth will be blessed.’
- Acts 13:32We are telling you the Good News: What God promised our ancestors has happened.
- Romans 11:28The Good News made the Jewish people enemies because of you. But by God’s choice they are loved because of their ancestors.
- Romans 15:8Let me explain. Christ became a servant for the Jewish people to reveal God’s truth. As a result, he fulfilled God’s promise to the ancestors of the Jewish people.
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 9:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5For the wickedness of these nations - So then it was not by any sovereign act of God that these people were cast out, but for their wickedness; they had transgressed the law of their Creator; they had resisted his Spirit, and could no longer be tolerated. The Israelites were to possess their land, not because they deserved it, but first, because they were less wicked than the others; and secondly, because God thus chose to begin the great work of his…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5to keep the promise: In the covenant promises made to the patriarchs, God swore that their descendants would inherit the land of Canaan (Genesis 13:14–17; 15:18–21; see Deuteronomy 1:8; 8:18).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 4-64-6. Speak not thou in thine heart, ... saying, For my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land--Moses takes special care to guard his countrymen against the vanity of supposing that their own merits had procured them the distinguished privilege. The Canaanites were a hopelessly corrupt race, and deserved extermination; but history relates many remarkable instances in which God punished corrupt and guilty nations by the…Read the comment
Topics related to Deuteronomy 9:5
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Deuteronomy 9
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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