1 H ear, Israel! Thou art to pass over the Jordan this day, to enter in to possess nations greater and mightier than thou, cities great and walled up to heaven,

“Hear, O Israel! You are crossing over the Jordan today to take the land that belongs to nations greater and stronger than you, with big cities with walls as high as heaven.

2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard, Who can stand before the sons of Anak!

The people there are strong and tall, the sons of Anakim. You know of them and have heard it said, ‘Who can stand in front of the sons of Anak?’

3 K now then this day, that Jehovah thy God is he that goeth over before thee, a consuming fire; he will destroy them, and he will cast them down before thee, and thou shalt dispossess them and cause them to perish quickly, as Jehovah hath said unto thee.

But know today that it is the Lord your God Who is crossing over before you as a fire that destroys everything. He will destroy them and bring them down before you. So you may drive them out and be quick to destroy them, just as the Lord has told you.

4 T hou shalt not say in thy heart, when Jehovah thy God thrusteth them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness Jehovah hath brought me in to possess this land; but for the wickedness of these nations doth Jehovah dispossess them from before thee.

But after the Lord your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, ‘The Lord has brought me in to take this land because I am right and good.’ It is because of the sin of these nations that the Lord is driving them out in front of you.

5 N ot for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart, dost thou enter in to possess their land, but for the wickedness of these nations doth Jehovah thy God dispossess them from before thee, and that he may perform the word which Jehovah swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

It is not because of your being right with God that you are going to take their land. But it is because of the sin of these nations that the Lord your God is driving them out in front of you. By this the Lord is proving that He keeps the promise He made to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

6 K now therefore that Jehovah thy God doth not give thee this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiff-necked people.

Understand that it is not because you are right with God that the Lord your God is giving you this good land for your own, for you are a strong-willed people.

7 R emember, forget not, how thou provokedst Jehovah thy God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt, until ye came to this place, ye have been rebellious against Jehovah.

“Remember and do not forget how you made the Lord your God angry in the desert. You have gone against the Lord from the day you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place.

8 A nd at Horeb ye provoked Jehovah to wrath, and Jehovah was angry with you, to destroy you,

Even at Mount Sinai you made the Lord angry. The Lord was so angry with you that He would have destroyed you.

9 w hen I went up the mountain to receive the tables of stone, the tables of the covenant which Jehovah made with you, and I abode in the mountain forty days and forty nights,—I ate no bread and drank no water,—

I went up the mountain to receive the pieces of stone, the Laws of the agreement which the Lord had made with you. I stayed on the mountain forty days and nights. I did not eat bread or drink water.

10 — and Jehovah delivered to me the two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them according to all the words which Jehovah spoke with you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly.

Then the Lord gave me the two pieces of stone written by the finger of God. On them were all the words the Lord had spoken with you on the mountain from the fire on the day of the meeting.

11 A nd it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that Jehovah gave me the two tables of stone, the tables of the covenant.

At the end of forty days and nights the Lord gave me the two pieces of stone, the Laws of the agreement.

12 A nd Jehovah said unto me, Arise, go down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them: they have made for themselves a molten image.

Then the Lord said to me, ‘Get up. Hurry and go down from here. For your people whom you brought out of Egypt have become very sinful. They have been quick to turn away from what I told them. They have made a false god for themselves.’

13 A nd Jehovah spoke unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.

And the Lord said to me, ‘I have seen these people. See, they are strong-willed.

14 L et 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 alone, so I may destroy them and destroy their name from under heaven. I will make you into a nation that will be greater and stronger than they.’

15 A nd I turned and came down from the mountain, and the mountain burned with fire; and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands.

So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire. The two pieces of stone of the agreement were in my two hands.

16 A nd I saw, and behold, ye had sinned against Jehovah your God: ye had made for yourselves a molten calf; ye had quickly turned aside from the way which Jehovah had commanded you.

And I saw that it was true that you had sinned against the Lord your God. You had made for yourselves a calf out of gold. You had been quick to turn away from what the Lord had told you.

17 A nd I seized the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and broke them before your eyes.

So I took the two pieces of stone and threw them from my hands, and broke them in front of your eyes.

18 A nd I fell down before Jehovah, as at the first, forty days and forty nights,—I ate no bread and drank no water,—because of all your sin which ye had sinned, in doing what is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.

Then again I fell down before the Lord for forty days and nights. I did not eat bread or drink water, because of all the sin you had done. You did what was sinful in the eyes of the Lord and made Him angry.

19 F or I was afraid of the anger and fury wherewith Jehovah was wroth against you to destroy you. And Jehovah listened unto me also at that time.

I was afraid of the anger of the Lord which was burning against you to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me again.

20 A nd with Aaron Jehovah was very angry to destroy him; and I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.

The Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him. So I prayed for Aaron at the same time also.

21 A nd I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burned it with fire, and crushed it, and ground it very small, until it became fine dust; and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that flowed down from the mountain.

Then I took your sinful thing, the calf you had made, and burned it with fire and crushed it. I ground it into pieces until it was as fine as dust. And I threw its dust into the river that flowed down from the mountain.

22 A nd at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah, ye provoked Jehovah to wrath.

“You made the Lord angry again at Taberah, Massah and Kibroth-hattaavah.

23 A nd when Jehovah sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and take possession of the land which I have given you, ye rebelled against the word of Jehovah your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice.

The Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, ‘Go and take for your own the land I have given you.’ But you went against what the Lord your God told you to do. You did not believe Him or listen to His voice.

24 Y e have been rebellious against Jehovah from the day that I knew you.

You have gone against the Lord from the day I first knew you.

25 S o I fell down before Jehovah the forty days and forty nights, as I fell down; for Jehovah had said he would destroy you.

“So I fell down before the Lord and lay forty days and nights, because the Lord had said He would destroy you.

26 I prayed therefore to Jehovah, and said, Lord Jehovah, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a powerful hand.

I prayed to the Lord, saying, ‘O Lord God, do not destroy Your people, Your chosen nation, whom You have set free by Your power and brought out of Egypt with a strong hand.

27 R emember thy servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not at the stubbornness of this people, nor at their wickedness, nor at their sin;

Remember Your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Do not look at the strong will or sin or wrong-doing of these people.

28 l est the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because Jehovah was not able to bring them into the land which he had promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.

Or the land You brought us from may say, “The Lord was not able to bring them into the land He promised them. Because He hated them, He brought them out to kill them in the desert.”

29 T hey are indeed thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out with thy great power and with thy stretched-out arm.

Yet they are Your people, Your chosen nation, whom You have brought out by Your great power and Your long arm.’