"Hear, O Israel
! You are crossing
over
the Jordan
today
to go
in to dispossess
anations
greater
and mightier
than
you, great
cities
1 bfortified
to heaven
,
a people great
and tall
, the sons
of the Anakim
, whom
you know
and of whom
you have heard
it said, ` aWho
can stand
before
the sons
of Anak
?'
"Know therefore today
that ait is the LORD
your God
who is crossing
over
before
you as ba consuming
fire
. He will destroy
them and He will subdue
them before
you, so that cyou may drive
them out and destroy
them quickly
, just
as the LORD
has spoken
to you.
" aDo not say in your heart
when the LORD
your God
has driven
them out before
1you, `Because of my righteousness
the LORD
has brought
me in to possess
this
land
,' but it is bbecause of the wickedness
of these
nations
that the LORD
is dispossessing
them before
you.
"It is anot for your righteousness or for the uprightness
of your heart
that you are going
to possess
their land
, but it is because
of the wickedness
of these
nations
that the LORD
your God
is driving
them out before
you, in order
to confirm
bthe 1oath
which
the LORD
swore
to your fathers
, to Abraham
, Isaac
and Jacob
.
"Know, then, it is not because of your righteousness
that the LORD
your God
is giving
you this
good
land
to possess
, for you are aa 1stubborn
people
.
"Remember, do not forget
how
you provoked
the LORD
your God
to wrath
in the wilderness
; afrom the day
that you left
the land
of Egypt
until
you arrived
at this
place
, you have been
rebellious
against
the LORD
.
"Even aat Horeb you provoked
the LORD
to wrath
, and the LORD
was so angry
with you that He would have destroyed
you.
"When I went up to the mountain
to receive
the tablets
of stone
, the tablets
of the covenant
which
the LORD
had made
with you, then I remained
on the mountain
forty
days
and nights
; aI neither
ate
bread
nor
drank
water
.
"The LORD gave
me the two
tablets
of stone
awritten
by the finger
of God
; and on them were all
the words
which
the LORD
had spoken
with you at the mountain
from the midst
of the fire
on the day
of the assembly
.
"It came about aat the end
of forty
days
and nights
that the LORD
gave
me the two
tablets
of stone
, the tablets
of the covenant
.
" aThen the LORD said
to me, `Arise
, go
down
from here
quickly
, for your people
whom
you brought
out of Egypt
have acted
corruptly
. They have bquickly
turned
aside
from the way
which
I commanded
them; they have made
a molten
image
for themselves.'
"The aLORD spoke
further to me, saying
, `I have seen
this
people
, and indeed
, it is a 1 bstubborn
people
.
` aLet Me alone
, that I may destroy
them and bblot
out their name
from under
heaven
; and I will make
of you a nation
mightier
and greater
than
they.'
" aSo I turned and came
down
from the mountain
while the mountain
was burning
with fire
, and the two
tablets
of the covenant
were in my two
hands
.
"And I saw that you had indeed
sinned
against the LORD
your God
. You had made
for yourselves a molten
calf
; you had turned
aside
quickly
from the way
which
the LORD
had commanded
you.
"I took hold
of the two
tablets
and threw
them from my hands
and smashed
them before your eyes
.
" aI fell down
before
the LORD
, bas at the first
, forty
days
and nights
; cI neither
ate
bread
nor
drank
water
, dbecause
of all
your sin
which
you had committed
in doing
what
was evil
in the sight
of the LORD
to provoke
Him to anger
.
"For aI was afraid of the anger
and hot
displeasure
with which
the LORD
was wrathful
against
you in order to destroy
you, bbut the LORD
listened
to me that time
also
.
"The LORD was angry
enough
with Aaron
to destroy
him; so I also
prayed
for Aaron
at the same
time
.
" aI took your 1sinful
thing, the calf
which
you had made
, and burned
it with fire
and crushed
it, grinding
it very
small
until
it was as fine
as dust
; and I threw
its dust
into the brook
that came
down
from the mountain
.
"Again at aTaberah and at bMassah
and at cKibroth-hattaavah
you provoked
the LORD
to wrath
.
"When the LORD sent
you from aKadesh-barnea
, saying
, ` bGo
up and possess
the land
which
I have given
you,' then you rebelled
against
the 1command
of the LORD
your God
; cyou neither
believed
Him nor
listened
to His voice
.
" aYou have been rebellious
against
the LORD
from the day
I knew
you.
" aSo I fell down
before
the LORD
the forty
days
and nights
, which
I 1did
because
the LORD
had said
He would destroy
you.
" aI prayed to the LORD
and said
, `O Lord
GOD
, do not destroy
Your people
, even Your inheritance
, whom
You have redeemed
through Your greatness
, whom
You have brought
out of Egypt
with a mighty
hand
.
`Remember Your servants
, Abraham
, Isaac
, and Jacob
; do not look
at the stubbornness
of this
people
or at their wickedness
or their sin
.
`Otherwise the land
from which
You brought
us may say
, " aBecause
the LORD
was not able
to bring
them into the land
which
He had 1promised
them and because
He hated
them He has brought
them out to slay
them in the wilderness
."
`Yet they are Your people, even aYour inheritance
, whom
You have brought
out by Your bgreat
power
and Your outstretched
arm
.'