Deuteronomy 9:6

THE MESSAGE

Know this and don't ever forget it: It's not because of any good that you've done that God is giving you this good land to own. Anything but! You're stubborn as mules. Keep in mind and don't ever forget how angry you made God , your God, in the wilderness. You've kicked and screamed against God from the day you left Egypt until you got to this place, rebels all the way. You made God angry at Horeb, made him so angry that he wanted to destroy you. When I climbed the mountain to receive the slabs of stone, the tablets of the covenant that God made with you, I stayed there on the mountain forty days and nights: I ate no food; I drank no water. Then God gave me the two slabs of stone, engraved with the finger of God. They contained word for word everything that God spoke to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Know therefore, that the LORD your God doesn't give you this good land to possess it for your righteousness; for you are a stiff-necked people.

King James Version
Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

Lexham English Bible
"So you should understand that it is not because of your righteousness that Yahweh your God is giving you this good land to take possession of it, because you are a stubborn people.

English Standard Version
"Know, therefore, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stubborn people.

New Century Version
The Lord your God is giving you this good land to take as your own. But know this: It is not because you are good; you are a stubborn people.

New English Translation
Understand, therefore, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is about to give you this good land as a possession, for you are a stubborn people!

Amplified Bible
"Know [without any doubt], that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked (stubborn, obstinate) people.

New American Standard Bible
"Know, 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 stubborn people.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Vnderstand therefore, that ye Lord thy God giueth thee not this good land to possesse it for thy righteousnes: for thou art a stifnecked people.

Legacy Standard Bible
"So you shall know it is not because of your righteousness that Yahweh your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Complete Jewish Bible
Therefore, understand that it is not for your righteousness that Adonai your God is giving you this good land to possess. "For you are a stiffnecked people!

Darby Translation
Know 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.

Easy-to-Read Version
The Lord your God is giving you that good land to live in, but you should know that it is not because you are good. The truth is that you are very stubborn people!

George Lamsa Translation
Know therefore, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess it; for you are a stiffnecked people.

Good News Translation
You can be sure that the Lord is not giving you this fertile land because you deserve it. No, you are a stubborn people.

Christian Standard Bible®
Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Literal Translation
And you shall know that Jehovah your God is not giving you this good land, to possess it, for your righteousness; for you are a stiffnecked people.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Vnderstonde now therfore, that the LORDE yi God geueth not the this londe to possesse it, for thine awne righteousnes sake. For thou art a styffnecked people.

American Standard Version
Know therefore, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

Bible in Basic English
Be certain then that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land as a reward for your righteousness; for you are a stiff-necked people.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Understand therfore that it is not for thy righteousnes sake, that the Lorde thy God doth geue thee this good lande to possesse it, seyng thou art a stifnecked people.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Know therefore that it is not for thy righteousness that the LORD thy God giveth thee this good land to possess it; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

King James Version (1611)
Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giueth thee not this good land to possesse it, for thy righteousnesse; for thou art a stiffe-necked people.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And thou shalt know to-day, that it is not for thy righteousnesses the Lord thy God gives thee this good land to inherit, for thou art a stiff-necked people.

English Revised Version
Know therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.

Berean Standard Bible
Understand, then, that it is not by your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor wite thou that not for thi riytfulnesses thi Lord God yaf to thee this beste lond in to possessioun, sithen thou art a puple of hardeste nol.

Young's Literal Translation
and thou hast known, that not for thy righteousness is Jehovah thy God giving to thee this good land to possess it, for a people stiff of neck thou [art].

Update Bible Version
Know therefore, that Yahweh your God doesn't give you this good land to possess it for your righteousness; for you are a stiff-necked people.

Webster's Bible Translation
Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou [art] a stiff-necked people.

World English Bible
Know therefore, that Yahweh your God doesn't give you this good land to possess it for your righteousness; for you are a stiff-necked people.

New King James Version
Therefore understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.

New Living Translation
You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people.

New Life Bible
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.

New Revised Standard
Know, then, that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to occupy because of your righteousness; for you are a stubborn people.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So then, thou must consider that, not for thine own righteousness, is Yahweh thy God giving unto thee this good land to possess it, - for a stiff-necked people, thou art.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Know therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this excellent land in possession for thy justices, for thou art a very stiffnecked people.

Revised Standard Version
"Know therefore, that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness; for you are a stubborn people.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"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 a stubborn people.

Contextual Overview

¹Attention, Israel! This very day you are crossing the Jordan to enter the land and dispossess nations that are much bigger and stronger than you are. You're going to find huge cities with sky-high fortress-walls and gigantic people, descendants of the Anakites—you've heard all about them; you've heard the saying, "No one can stand up to an Anakite." ³ Today know this: God , your God, is crossing the river ahead of you—he's a consuming fire. He will destroy the nations, he will put them under your power. You will dispossess them and very quickly wipe them out, just as God promised you would. ⁴But when God pushes them out ahead of you, don't start thinking to yourselves, "It's because of all the good I've done that God has brought me in here to dispossess these nations." Actually it's because of all the evil these nations have done. No, it's nothing good that you've done, no record for decency that you've built up, that got you here; it's because of the vile wickedness of these nations that God , your God, is dispossessing them before you so that he can keep his promised word to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ⁶Know this and don't ever forget it: It's not because of any good that you've done that God is giving you this good land to own. Anything but! You're stubborn as mules. Keep in mind and don't ever forget how angry you made God , your God, in the wilderness. You've kicked and screamed against God from the day you left Egypt until you got to this place, rebels all the way. You made God angry at Horeb, made him so angry that he wanted to destroy you. When I climbed the mountain to receive the slabs of stone, the tablets of the covenant that God made with you, I stayed there on the mountain forty days and nights: I ate no food; I drank no water. Then God gave me the two slabs of stone, engraved with the finger of God. They contained word for word everything that God spoke to you on the mountain out of the fire, on the day of the assembly.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Understand: Deuteronomy 9:3, Deuteronomy 9:4, Ezekiel 20:44

giveth thee: Moses repeats this a third time, that, if it were possible, he might root out of the Israelites the opinion of their own deserts, before God rooted out the Canaanites from their country.

a stiffnecked: Deuteronomy 9:13, Deuteronomy 10:16, Deuteronomy 31:27, Exodus 32:9, Exodus 33:3, Exodus 34:9, 2 Chronicles 30:8, 2 Chronicles 36:13, Psalms 78:8, Isaiah 48:3, Isaiah 48:4, Ezekiel 2:4, Zechariah 7:11, Zechariah 7:12, Acts 7:51, Romans 5:20, Romans 5:21

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 2:29 - into the land Deuteronomy 9:24 - General Nehemiah 9:16 - dealt Mark 10:5 - For Ephesians 2:4 - his

Cross-References

Genesis 5:1
This is the family tree of the human race: When God created the human race, he made it godlike, with a nature akin to God. He created both male and female and blessed them, the whole human race.

Genesis 9:5
"But your own lifeblood I will avenge; I will avenge it against both animals and other humans.

Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds human blood, by humans let his blood be shed, Because God made humans in his image reflecting God's very nature. You're here to bear fruit, reproduce, lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!"

Genesis 9:12
God continued, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and everything living around you and everyone living after you. I'm putting my rainbow in the clouds, a sign of the covenant between me and the Earth. From now on, when I form a cloud over the Earth and the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll remember my covenant between me and you and everything living, that never again will floodwaters destroy all life. When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth."

Genesis 9:28
Noah lived another 350 years following the flood. He lived a total of 950 years. And he died.

Leviticus 24:17
"Anyone who hits and kills a fellow human must be put to death. Anyone who kills someone's animal must make it good—a life for a life. Anyone who injures his neighbor will get back the same as he gave: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. What he did to hurt that person will be done to him. Anyone who hits and kills an animal must make it good, but whoever hits and kills a fellow human will be put to death. And no double standards: the same rule goes for foreigners and natives. I am God , your God."

Numbers 35:33
"Don't pollute the land in which you live. Murder pollutes the land. The land can't be cleaned up of the blood of murder except through the blood of the murderer.

Psalms 51:4
You're the One I've violated, and you've seen it all, seen the full extent of my evil. You have all the facts before you; whatever you decide about me is fair. I've been out of step with you for a long time, in the wrong since before I was born. What you're after is truth from the inside out. Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.

Matthew 26:52
Jesus said, "Put your sword back where it belongs. All who use swords are destroyed by swords. Don't you realize that I am able right now to call to my Father, and twelve companies—more, if I want them—of fighting angels would be here, battle-ready? But if I did that, how would the Scriptures come true that say this is the way it has to be?"

Romans 13:4
To Be a Responsible Citizen Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it's God's order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you're irresponsible to the state, then you're irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you're trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear. Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you'll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you're breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren't there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That's why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it's the right way to live. That's also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders. Don't run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don't sleep with another person's spouse, don't take someone's life, don't take what isn't yours, don't always be wanting what you don't have, and any other "don't" you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can't go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love. But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Understand therefore that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness,.... This is again repeated to impress it upon their minds, that it was not for any goodness of theirs, but as a gift of divine goodness to them, that they were put into the possession of the good land, which greatly exceeded any merits of theirs, and was entirely owing to the kindness of God to them, and not to any righteousness of theirs; and this he frequently inculcates, that they might have a thorough understanding of it. And so the doctrines of justification by the righteousness of Christ, and not man's, and of salvation by the grace of God, and not the works of men, are points of knowledge and understanding; and to lead men into an acquaintance with them is the general design of the Gospel; and he cannot be reckoned an understanding man, but ignorant of God and his righteousness, of the law and the spirituality of it, of Christ and the way of salvation by him, of the Spirit and of spiritual things, of the Gospel and its doctrines, nor can he be wise unto salvation, who expects to get to heaven by his own works of righteousness; and it might be added, that he is ignorant of himself, of his state and condition, of his sinfulness and vileness, and of the nature of his best works; as the Israelites in a good measure seemed to be, whose conviction is laboured in the following part of this chapter:

for thou art a stiffnecked people; refractory and unruly, like an heifer unaccustomed to the yoke, that draws back from it, and wriggles its neck out of it; so untoward and perverse were this people, and disobedient to the commands of God; wherefore there was no show of reason that they were put into the possession of Canaan for their righteousness; and to make it appear that they were such a people as here described, several instances are given.