Deuteronomy 9:4

Deuteronomy 9:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"Do not say in your heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out before you, 'It is because of my righteousness that the Lord has brought me in to possess this land,' whereas it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out before you.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“Do not think in your heart, after the Lord your God has cast them out before you, saying, ‘Because of my righteousness the Lord has brought me in to possess this land’; but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out from before you.
• New Living Translation (NLT)“After the Lord your God has done this for you, don’t say in your hearts, ‘The Lord has given us this land because we are such good people!’ No, it is because of the wickedness of the other nations that he is pushing them out of your way.

Context of Deuteronomy 9:4

2The people are strong and tall—Anakites! You know about them and have heard it said: “Who can stand up against the Anakites?” 3But be assured today that the Lord your 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 the Lord has promised you. After the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say to yourself, “The Lord has 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 the Lord is going to drive them out before you. 5It 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. 6Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Deuteronomy 9:4 word by word

אַל־תֹּאמַ֣ר בִּלְבָבְךָ֗ בַּהֲדֹ֣ף יְהוָה֩ אֱלֹהֶ֨יךָ אֹתָ֥ם׀ מִלְּפָנֶיךָ֮ לֵאמֹר֒ בְּצִדְקָתִי֙ הֱבִיאַ֣נִי יְהוָ֔ה לָרֶ֖שֶׁת אֶת־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַזֹּ֑את וּבְרִשְׁעַת֙ הַגּוֹיִ֣ם הָאֵ֔לֶּה יְהוָ֖ה מוֹרִישָׁ֥ם מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Speakאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• not thou in thine heartלֵבָבlêbâb · heartH3824
• after that the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• thy Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• hath cast them outהָדַףhâdaph · to thrustH1920
• from beforeפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• For my righteousnessצְדָקָהtsedâqâh · righteousnessH6666
• hath brought me inבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
• to possessיָרַשׁyârash yârêsh · to possess: takeH3423
• this landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• but for the wickednessרִשְׁעָהrish‛âh · wickednessH7564
• of these nationsגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 9:4

• Deuteronomy 9:5It 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.
• Deuteronomy 7:7The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
• Deuteronomy 8:17You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”
• Ezekiel 36:22“Therefore say to the Israelites, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: It is not for your sake, people of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone.
• Romans 11:6And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.
• 1 Corinthians 4:4My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
• Ephesians 2:4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
• 2 Timothy 1:9He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
• Deuteronomy 12:31You must not worship the Lord your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
• Deuteronomy 18:12Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you.
• Genesis 15:16In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
• Leviticus 18:24“ ‘Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 9:4

• 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 9:4

• Grace of God
• Humility
• Self-Righteousness

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Carefully
• Rebellious
• Calf, Golden

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