Bible Strands
Deuteronomy 9:4
When the LORD your God has driven them out before you, do not say in your heart, “Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land.” Rather, the LORD is driving out these nations before you because of their wickedness.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses addresses the Israelites on the plains of Moab as they prepare to enter Canaan, immediately following his warning that Yahweh will go ahead as a consuming fire to subdue the nations (Deuteronomy 9:3). He issues this command to prevent them from attributing their conquest to their own moral standing.
The words — The prohibition אַל־ ('al-) "may not" governs תֹּאמַ֣ר (to.Mar) "you say," which is anchored by בִּ/לְבָבְ/ךָ֗ (bi/l.va.ve./Kha) "in heart your," forming a strict command against internal self-justification.
The thread — This warning echoes Deuteronomy 8:17, which cautions against claiming personal strength for wealth, and continues directly in Deuteronomy 9:5 by clarifying that the land is given to fulfill the oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob rather than Israel's uprightness. It also aligns with the broader command in Deuteronomy 18:9 to reject the detestable practices of the displaced nations.
Why it lands — The text demands the reader acknowledge that divine action is driven by God's purposes and the moral condition of others, not human righteousness. It requires actively rejecting any internal narrative that credits personal merit for unearned advantage.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 8:17 You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”
- Deuteronomy 9:5 It is not because of your righteousness or uprightness of heart that you are going in to possess their land, but it is because of their wickedness that the LORD your God is driving out these nations before you, to keep the promise He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
- Deuteronomy 18:9 When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there.
- 2 Timothy 1:9 He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.
- Leviticus 18:24 Do not defile yourselves by any of these practices, for by all these things the nations I am driving out before you have defiled themselves.
- 1 Corinthians 4:7 For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
- Genesis 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
- Deuteronomy 7:7 The LORD did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than the other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples.
- Deuteronomy 12:31 You must not worship the LORD your God in this way, because they practice for their gods every abomination which the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
- Romans 11:6 And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.