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Deuteronomy Chapter Nine                            

 

Deuteronomy 9 Outlines

Israel’s Rebellions Reviewed (v.1~29)

New King James Version (NKJV)

 

INTRODUCTION TO DEUTERONOMY 9

In this chapter the Israelites are assured of the ejection of the Canaanites though so great and mighty to make room for them Deuteronomy 9:1 and they are cautioned not to attribute this to their own righteousness but to the wickedness of the nations which deserved to be so treated and to the faithfulness of God in performing his promise made to their fathers Deuteronomy 9:4 and that it might appear that it could not be owing to their righteousness it is affirmed and proved that they had been a rebellious and provoking people from their coming out of Egypt to that time as was evident from their idolatry at Horeb; a particular account of which is given and of the displeasure of the Lord at it Deuteronomy 9:7 and of their murmurings with which they provoked the Lord at other places Deuteronomy 9:22 and the chapter is closed with an account of the prayer of Moses for them at Horeb to avert the wrath of God from them for their making and worshipping the golden calf Deuteronomy 9:25.

 

Deuteronomy 9:1   “Hear O Israel: You are to cross over the Jordan today and go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself cities great and fortified up to heaven

   YLT  1`Hear Israel thou art passing over to-day the Jordan to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself; cities great and fenced in the heavens;

Hear O Israel .... A pause being made after the delivery of the preceding discourse; or perhaps what follows might be delivered at another time at some little distance; and which being of moment and importance to the glory of God and that Israel might have a true notion of their duty they are called upon to listen with attention to what was now about to be said:

thou art to pass over Jordan this day; not precisely that very day but in a short time after this; for it was on the first day of the eleventh month that Moses began the repetition of the laws he was now going on with Deuteronomy 1:3 and it was not until the tenth day of the first month of the next year that the people passed over Jordan Joshua 4:19 which was about two months after this:

to go in and possess nations greater and mightier than thyself; the seven nations named Deuteronomy 7:1 where the same characters are given of them:

cities great and fenced up to heaven; as they were said to be by the spies Deuteronomy 1:28 and were no doubt both large and strongly fortified and not to be easily taken by the Israelites had not the Lord been with them Deuteronomy 9:3.

 

Deuteronomy 9:2   2 a people great and tall the descendants of the Anakim whom you know and of whom you heard it said ‘Who can stand before the descendants of Anak?’

   YLT  2a people great and tall sons of Anakim whom thou -- thou hast known (and thou -- thou hast heard: Who doth station himself before sons of Anak?)

A people great and tall .... Of a large bulky size and of an high stature so that the spies seemed to be as grasshoppers to them Numbers 13:33

the children of the Anakims whom thou knowest; by report having had an account of them by the spies who described them as very large bodied men and of a gigantic stature the descendants of one Anak a giant; and so the Targum of Jonathan "a people strong and high like the giants;'from these Bene Anak children of Anak or Phene Anak as the words might be pronounced the initial letter of the first word being of the same sound BochartF26Canaan l. 1. c. 1. col. 346. thinks the country had its name of Phoenicia:

and of whom thou hast heard say who can stand before the children of Anak? or the children of the giants as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan; which they had heard either from the spies who had suggested the same Numbers 13:31 or as a common proverb in the mouths of most people in those days.

 

Deuteronomy 9:3   3 Therefore understand today that the Lord your God is He who goes over before you as a consuming fire. He will destroy them and bring them down before you; so you shall drive them out and destroy them quickly as the Lord has said to you.

   YLT  3and thou hast known to-day that Jehovah thy God [is] He who is passing over before thee -- a fire consuming; He doth destroy them and He doth humble them before thee and thou hast dispossessed them and destroyed them hastily as Jehovah hath spoken to thee.

Understand therefore this day .... Or be it known to you for your encouragement and believe it:

that the Lord thy God is he which goeth over before thee as a consuming fire: did not only go before them over the river Jordan in a pillar of cloud and fire to guide and direct them and was a wall of fire around them to protect and defend them but as a consuming fire before which there is no standing to destroy their enemies; see Deuteronomy 4:24

he shall destroy them and he shall bring them down before thy face; be they as great and as mighty as large and as tall as they may they will not be able to stand before the Lord but will soon be made low and be easily brought down to the earth by him and to utter destruction; which would be done in a public and visible manner so as that the hand of the Lord would be seen in it by the Israelites:

so shalt thou drive them out and destroy them quickly as the Lord hath said unto thee; that is the far greater part of them and so many as to make room for the Israelites and which was quickly done. The Jews commonly sayF1Seder Olam Rabba c. 11. p. 31 32. that they were seven years in subduing the land; otherwise they were not to be driven out and destroyed at once but by little and little: see Deuteronomy 7:22.

 

Deuteronomy 9:4   4 “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.

   YLT  4`Thou dost not speak in thy heart (in Jehovah thy God's driving them away from before thee) saying For my righteousness hath Jehovah brought me in to possess this land seeing for the wickedness of these nations is Jehovah dispossessing them from thy presence;

Speak not thou in thine heart .... Never once think within thyself or give way to such a vain imagination and please thyself with it:

after that the Lord thy God hath cast them out from before thee; to make way for the Israelites and put them into the possession of their land; which is to be ascribed not to them but to the Lord:

saying for my righteousness the Lord hath brought me in to possess this land; such a thought as this was not to be secretly cherished in their hearts and much less expressed with their lips; nothing being more foreign from truth than this and yet a notion they were prone to entertain. They were always a people more or less from first to last tainted with a conceit of their own righteousness and goodness which they laboured to establish and were ready to attribute all the good things to it they enjoyed and nothing is more natural to men than to fancy they shall be brought to the heavenly Canaan by and for their own righteousness; which is contrary to the perfections of God his purity holiness and justice which can never admit of an imperfect righteousness in the room of a perfect one; to justify anyone thereby is contrary to the Gospel scheme of salvation; which is not by works of righteousness men have done but by the grace and mercy of God through Christ; it would make useless null and void the righteousness of Christ which only can justify men in the sight of God give a title to heaven and happiness and an abundant entrance into it; and would occasion boasting not only in the present state but even in heaven itself; whereas the scheme of salvation is so framed and fixed that there may be no room for boasting here or hereafter see Romans 3:27

but for the wickedness of these nations the Lord doth drive them out from before thee; namely their idolatry incest and other notorious crimes; see Leviticus 18:3 which sufficiently justifies God in all his dealings with these nations.

 

Deuteronomy 9:5   5 It is not because of your righteousness or the uprightness of your heart that you go in to possess their land but because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord your God drives them out from before you and that He may fulfill the word which the Lord swore to your fathers to Abraham Isaac and Jacob.

   YLT  5not for thy righteousness and for the uprightness of thy heart art thou going in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations is Jehovah thy God dispossessing them from before thee; and in order to establish the word which Jehovah hath sworn to thy fathers to Abraham to Isaac and to Jacob;

Not for thy righteousness or for the uprightness of thine heart .... Neither for their external righteousness before men or their outward conformity to the law nor for the inward sincerity of their hearts and their upright intentions in doing good in which they were defective:

dost thou go to possess their land; this is repeated and enlarged on and explained that this notion might be entirely removed from them and not entertained by them; similar to which is that of men who fancy that their sincere obedience though imperfect will be accepted of God instead of a perfect one on account of which they shall be justified and saved; but by the deeds of the law no flesh living can be justified in the sight of God nor by any works of righteousness done by the best of men and in the best manner they are capable of will any be saved:

but for the wickedness of those nations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee; which is repeated that it might be taken notice of as the true reason of the Lord's dealing with them in such severity; and which because it would be now doing when the Israelites passed over Jordan and went in to possess the land it is expressed in the present tense "doth drive" the work being not yet finished; sin was the cause of their ejection out of their land and another thing was the reason of the Israelites possessing it and not their righteousness next expressed:

and that he may perform the word which the Lord sware unto thy fathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob; it was to fulfil his covenant and make good his word of promise to their fathers and not on account of any righteousness of theirs; and the salvation of the Lord's people in a spiritual sense and their enjoyment of the heavenly Canaan are owing to the gracious purposes and promises of God and to his covenant engagements as well as to the undertakings obedience and righteousness of his Son and not to any righteousness of theirs.

 

Deuteronomy 9:6   6 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.

   YLT  6and 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].

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.

 

Deuteronomy 9:7   7 “Remember! Do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness. From the day that you departed from the land of Egypt until you came to this place you have been rebellious against the Lord.

   YLT  7`Remember -- do not forget -- that [with] which thou hast made Jehovah thy God wroth in the wilderness; even from the day that thou hast come out of the land of Egypt till your coming in unto this place rebels ye have been with Jehovah;

Remember and forget not how thou provokedst the Lord thy God to wrath in the wilderness .... Aben Ezra remarks that this was after they journeyed from Horeb; but before they came thither even as soon as they were in the wilderness they provoked the Lord as by their murmuring for water at Marah when they had been but three days in the wilderness; and for bread in the wilderness of Sin and for water again at Rephidim; all which were before they came to Horeb or Sinai and which agrees with what follows:

from the day that thou didst depart out of the land of Egypt until ye came unto this place ye have been rebellious against the Lord; though they had such a series of mercies yet their life was a continued course of rebellion against the Lord: which is a sad character of them indeed and given by one that thoroughly knew them was an eyewitness of facts and had a hearty respect for them too and cannot be thought to exaggerate things; so that they were far from being righteous persons in themselves nor was there any reason to conclude it was for their righteousness the land of Canaan was given them.

 

Deuteronomy 9:8   8 Also in Horeb you provoked the Lord to wrath so that the Lord was angry enough with you to have destroyed you.

   YLT  8even in Horeb ye have made Jehovah wroth and Jehovah sheweth Himself angry against you -- to destroy you.

Also in Horeb ye provoked the Lord to wrath .... The word "also" shows that they had provoked him before but this instance is given as a very notorious one; here they made the golden calf and worshipped it while Moses was on the mount with God receiving instructions from him for their good. Near to this place a rock had been smitten for them from whence flowed water for the refreshment of them and their cattle; here the Lord appeared in the glory of his majesty to them and from hence for it is the same mount with Sinai the law was given to them in such an awful and terrible manner; and yet none of these things were sufficient to restrain them from provoking the Lord to wrath by their sins:

so that the Lord was angry with you to have destroyed you; so very angry with them and so justly that he proposed to Moses to destroy them and make of him a great nation in their stead Exodus 32:10.

 

Deuteronomy 9:9   9 When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone the tablets of the covenant which the Lord made with you then I stayed on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water.

   YLT  9`In my going up into the mount to receive the tables of stone (tables of the covenant which Jehovah hath made with you) and I abide in the mount forty days and forty nights; bread I have not eaten and water I have not drunk;

When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone .... The tables of the law the same law which forbid idolatry and which they had lately heard from the mouth of God himself: even

the tables of the covenant which the Lord made with you; which they had agreed unto and solemnly promised they would observe and do Exodus 24:7

then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights; and this long stay was one reason of their falling into idolatry not knowing what was become of him Exodus 24:18.

I neither did eat bread nor drink water; all those forty days and nights Exodus 34:28.

 

Deuteronomy 9:10   10 Then the Lord delivered to me two tablets of stone written with the finger of God and on them were all the words which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

   YLT  10and Jehovah giveth unto me the two tables of stone written with the finger of God and on them according to all the words which Jehovah hath spoken with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God .... The letters were of his devising and forming the writing was his the engraving them on the stones was his own doing; and which was done to show its original to stamp a divine authority on it and to denote its duration; see Exodus 31:18.

and on them was written according to all the words which the Lord spake with you in the mount; the ten commands exactly in the same order and in the same words without any variation as they were delivered to them with an articulate voice in their hearing; but now were written in this manner that they might be read by them and remain with them see Exodus 34:28.

out the midst of the fire; in which the Lord was and whence he spake:

in the day of the assembly; when all the people of Israel were gathered together at the foot of the mount; see Exodus 19:17.

 

Deuteronomy 9:11   11 And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights that the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone the tablets of the covenant.

   YLT  11`And it cometh to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights Jehovah hath given unto me the two tables of stone -- tables of the covenant

And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights .... The time of Moses's stay in the mount when it was just up and not before: that

the Lord gave me the two tables of stone even the tables of the covenant as in Deuteronomy 9:9. Aben Ezra observes that this shows that the day the tables were given to Moses the calf was made.

 

Deuteronomy 9:12   12 “Then the Lord said to me ‘Arise go down quickly from here for your people whom you brought out of Egypt have acted corruptly; they have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them; they have made themselves a molded image.’

   YLT  12and Jehovah saith unto me Rise go down hasten from this for thy people hath done corruptly whom thou hast brought out of Egypt; they have turned aside hastily out of the way which I have commanded them -- they have made to themselves a molten thing!

And the Lord said unto me .... The omniscient God who knew what was doing in the camp of Israel though Moses did not of which he informs him:

arise get thee down quickly from hence; from the mount where he was; and the word "arise" does not suppose him to be sitting or lying along neither of which postures would have been suitable considering in whose presence he was; but is only expressive of urgency and haste of his departure; it is not used in Exodus 32:7.

for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; their way as the Targum of Jonathan; that is by idolatry than which nothing is more corrupting and defiling; the Lord calls them not his people but the people of Moses being highly displeased with them; and ascribes their coming out of Egypt to Moses the instrument and not to himself as if he repented of bringing them from thence:

they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them: it being but about six weeks ago that the command forbidding idolatry the sin they had fallen into had been given them:

and they have made them a molten image; the image of a calf made of melted gold.

 

Deuteronomy 9:13   13 “Furthermore the Lord spoke to me saying ‘I have seen this people and indeed they are a stiff-necked people.

   YLT  13`And Jehovah speaketh unto me saying I have seen this people and lo a people stiff of neck it [is];

Furthermore the Lord spake unto me saying .... After he had given him the two tables and before his departure from the mount:

I have seen this people; took notice of them their ways and their works:

and behold it is a stiffnecked people; unwilling to submit to and bear the yoke of my commandments; see Exodus 32:9.

 

Deuteronomy 9:14   14 Let Me alone that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

   YLT  14desist from Me and I destroy them and blot out their name from under the heavens and I make thee become a nation more mighty and numerous than it.

Let me alone that I may destroy them .... Do not say one word to me on their behalf or entreat me to spare them and not destroy them:

and blot out their name from under heaven; that no such nation may be heard of or known by the name of Israel:

and I will make of thee a nation mightier and greater than they; of his family whereby the Lord's promise to Abraham would not have been made void but equally firm and sure since this mightier and greater nation would have been of his seed; See Gill on Exodus 32:10.

 

Deuteronomy 9:15   15 “So I turned and came down from the mountain and the mountain burned with fire; and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands.

   YLT  15`And I turn and come down from the mount and the mount is burning with fire and the two tables of the covenant on my two hands

So I turned and came down from the mount .... As the Lord commanded:

and the mount burned with fire; as it had for six weeks past ever since the Lord's descent upon it; and so it continued for the words may be rendered "and the mount was burning"F2בער "de monte ardente" V. L. Heb. "burning" Ainsworth. ; and yet this did not deter the Israelites from idolatry:

and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands: one table in one hand and the other in the other hand.

 

Deuteronomy 9:16   16 And I looked and behold you had sinned against the Lord your God—had made for yourselves a molded calf! You had turned aside quickly from the way which the Lord had commanded you.

   YLT  16and I see and lo ye have sinned against Jehovah your God; ye have made to yourselves a molten calf; ye have turned aside hastily out of the way which Jehovah hath commanded you.

And I looked .... When he was come down from the mount and was nigh the camp:

and behold ye had sinned against the Lord your God; that plainly appeared by what they had done and at which he was amazed; and therefore a behold is prefixed to it it being such a gross sin having so much impiety and ingratitude and stupidity in it:

and made you a molten calf; that he saw with his eyes and them dancing about it; see Exodus 32:19.

ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the Lord had commanded you; see Deuteronomy 9:7.

 

Deuteronomy 9:17   17 Then I took the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.

   YLT  17`And I lay hold on the two tables and cast them out of my two hands and break them before your eyes

And I took the two tables and cast them out of my two hands .... In wrath and indignation at the sin they were guilty of:

and brake them before your eyes; as an emblem of their breach of them by transgressing them.

 

Deuteronomy 9:18   18 And I fell down before the Lord as at the first forty days and forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water because of all your sin which you committed in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger.

   YLT  18and I throw myself before Jehovah as at first forty days and forty nights; bread I have not eaten and water I have not drunk because of all your sins which ye have sinned by doing the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah to make Him angry.

And I fell down before the Lord .... In prayer for Israel who had sinned; but this he did not immediately after he had broken the tables but when he had first ground the calf to powder strewed it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it; and when he had chided Aaron and ordered the sons of Levi to slay every man his brother:

as at the first forty days and forty mights; which is to be connected I think not with what goes before; for we read not that he fell down before the Lord at the first time he was with him so long in the mount; but with what follows: "I did neither eat bread nor drink water"; as he neither ate nor drank the first forty days so neither did he these second forty; see Deuteronomy 9:9.

because of all your sins which ye sinned in doing wickedly in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger; for they were guilty of more sins than one; besides idolatry they were guilty of unbelief ingratitude &c. which were notorious and flagrant were done openly and publicly in sight of his glory and majesty on the mount; all which must be very provoking to him and on account of these Moses prayed and fasted.

 

Deuteronomy 9:19   19 For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the Lord was angry with you to destroy you. But the Lord listened to me at that time also.

   YLT  19`For I have been afraid because of the anger and the fury with which Jehovah hath been wroth against you to destroy you; and Jehovah doth hearken unto me also at this time.

For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure wherewith the Lord was wroth against you .... Which was exceeding vehement as appeared by his words to Moses forbidding to intercede for them that he might consume them and make of him a greater nation; wherefore he dreaded the issue of it lest it should be

to destroy you; that that should be his full resolution and determination; however he made use of means and betook himself to fasting and prayer; so heartily affected was he to this people when his temptations lay another way:

but the Lord hearkened unto me at that time also; as he had at other times when this people had sinned and he entreated for them; in which he was a type of Christ the Mediator and Advocate whom the Father always hears.

 

Deuteronomy 9:20   20 And the Lord was very angry with Aaron and would have destroyed him; so I prayed for Aaron also at the same time.

   YLT  20`And with Aaron hath Jehovah shewed himself very angry to destroy him and I pray also for Aaron at that time;

And the Lord was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him .... For complying with the request of the people in making a calf for them and for that miserable shift he made to excuse himself; which so provoked the Lord that he threatened to destroy him and he was in danger of being cut off had it not been for the intercession of Moses:

and I prayed for Aaron also the same time: who either was included in the general prayer for the people Exodus 32:31 or a particular prayer was made for him though not recorded and which also succeeded.

 

Deuteronomy 9:21   21 Then I took your sin the calf which you had made and burned it with fire and crushed it and ground it very small until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that descended from the mountain.

   YLT  21and your sin which ye have made -- the calf -- I have taken and I burn it with fire and beat it grinding well till that it [is] small as dust and I cast its dust unto the brook which is going down out of the mount.

And I took your sin the calf which ye had made .... Which was the object of their sin which lay in making and worshipping it; see Isaiah 31:7.

and burnt it with fire and stamped it; with his feet after it was burnt to bring it into small pieces:

and ground it very small; or as the Targum of Jonathan "ground it in a mortar well;'the burnt and broken pieces:

even until it was as small as dust; being ground to powder as in Exodus 32:20.

and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount; and made the children of Israel to drink of it as in the previously mentioned place; See Gill on Exodus 32:2; all this was done before the prayer for Aaron and the people.

 

Deuteronomy 9:22   22 “Also at Taberah and Massah and Kibroth Hattaavah you provoked the Lord to wrath.

   YLT  22`And in Taberah and in Massah and in Kibroth-Hattaavah ye have been making Jehovah wroth:

And at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibrothhattaavah ye provoked the Lord to wrath. These places are not mentioned in the strict order in which the provocations were made at them; for they provoked the Lord at Massah by murmuring for water before they provoked him at Taberah by complaining as it should seem of their journeying; for Massah was before they came to Sinai and Taberah after they departed from thence; though some as Aben Ezra observes say that Taberah is Massah; but it could not be the Massah in Rephidim for that was on one side of Mount Sinai and Taberah on another; though different places might be so called from their tempting the Lord at them; rather Taberah and Kibrothhattaavah seem to be the same; where the people died with the flesh in their mouths they lusted after and were buried; since no mention is made of their removal at that time from the one place to the other nor of Taberah in the account of their journeys only Kibrothhattaavah; see Exodus 17:7.

 

Deuteronomy 9:23   23 Likewise when the Lord sent you from Kadesh Barnea saying ‘Go up and possess the land which I have given you ’ then you rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God and you did not believe Him nor obey His voice.

   YLT  23and in Jehovah's sending you from Kadesh-Barnea saying Go up and possess the land which I have given to you then ye provoke the mouth of Jehovah your God and have not given credence to Him nor hearkened to His voice;

Likewise when the Lord sent you from Kadeshbarnea .... From whence the spies were sent to search the land though previous to it they had the following order to go up and possess it; see Numbers 32:8.

saying go up and possess the land which I have given you; this they were bid to do before they desired the spies might be sent to search it first; and after they had returned and made their report they were encouraged to go up and take possession of it:

then ye rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God; refusing to go up into it: and ye believed him not; that he would cast out and destroy the inhabitants of it and put them into the possession of it; which they distrusted by reason of the gigantic stature of some that dwelt in it and their fortified cities:

nor hearkened to his voice; whether commanding or encouraging.

 

Deuteronomy 9:24   24 You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you.

   YLT  24rebels ye have been with Jehovah from the day of my knowing you.

You have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you. Either from the time he first had and took knowledge of them and visited them before his departure from Egypt to the land of Midian; (see Exodus 2:11 compared with Acts 7:25); or from the time that he was sent to them to deliver them out of Egypt; see Exodus 5:20 and especially from the time he brought them into the wilderness.

 

Deuteronomy 9:25   25 “Thus I prostrated myself before the Lord; forty days and forty nights I kept prostrating myself because the Lord had said He would destroy you.

   YLT  25`And I throw myself before Jehovah the forty days and the forty nights as I had thrown myself for Jehovah hath said -- to destroy you;

Thus I fell down before the Lord forty days and forty nights as I fell down at the first .... Which Jarchi says are the selfsame said above Deuteronomy 9:18 but doubled or repeated because of the order of his prayer. The words "at the first" are not in the text; and as before observed we do not read that Moses fell down at the first forty days he was in the mount unless it can be thought he did Exodus 32:11 wherefore this falling down seems to be as he fell down at the second forty days; and so this was a third forty days according to the Jewish writers and of which opinion were Dr. Lightfoot and others; See Gill on Exodus 34:28

because the Lord had said he would destroy you; threatened them with destruction and seemed as if it was his intention to destroy them; nay even after Moses's first prayer though he bid him go and lead the people on yet he declared that he would visit their sin upon them Exodus 32:34.

 

Deuteronomy 9:26   26 Therefore I prayed to the Lord and said: ‘O Lord God do not destroy Your people and Your inheritance whom You have redeemed through Your greatness whom You have brought out of Egypt with a mighty hand.

   YLT  26and I pray unto Jehovah and say Lord Jehovah destroy not Thy people and Thine inheritance whom Thou hast ransomed in Thy greatness; whom Thou hast brought out of Egypt with a strong hand;

And I prayed therefore unto the Lord .... What follows is a different prayer from that in Exodus 32:31 and agrees better with that in Deuteronomy 9:11 delivered before he came down from the mount yet could not be the same because delivered at another forty days and nights:

and said O Lord God destroy not thy people and thine inheritance: because they were his inheritance a people whom he had chosen for his peculiar treasure; this is the first argument used another follows:

which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness; redeemed out of the house of bondage the land of Egypt by his great power as next explained:

which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand: inflicting plagues on the Egyptians particularly destroying their firstborn which made them the Israelites urge to depart.

 

Deuteronomy 9:27   27 Remember Your servants Abraham Isaac and Jacob; do not look on the stubbornness of this people or on their wickedness or their sin

   YLT  27be mindful of Thy servants of Abraham of Isaac and of Jacob turn not unto the stiffness of this people and unto its wickedness and unto its sin;

Remember thy servants Abraham Isaac and Jacob .... The covenant he had made with them the promises he had made to them of the multiplication of their seed and of giving the land of Canaan to them; which is a third argument used with the Lord not to destroy them:

look not unto the stubbornness of this people nor to their wickedness nor to their sin; nor to the natural temper and disposition of the people which was to be stubborn obstinate stiffnecked and self-willed; nor to their wickedness which appears in various instances; nor to that particular sin of idolatry they had now been guilty of; tacitly owning that if God looked to these things there was sufficient reason to destroy them.

 

Deuteronomy 9:28   28 lest the land from which You brought us should say “Because the Lord was not able to bring them to the land which He promised them and because He hated them He has brought them out to kill them in the wilderness.”

   YLT  28lest the land say from which Thou hast brought us out Because of Jehovah's want of ability to bring them in unto the land of which He hath spoken to them and because of His hating them He brought them out to put them to death in the wilderness;

Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say .... The land of Egypt the inhabitants of it:

because the Lord was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them; the land of Canaan the inhabitants of it being so mighty and their cities so strongly fortified. Here Moses expresses his concern for the glory of God and the honour of his perfections and makes that a fourth argument why he should not destroy them:

and because he hated them he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness; out of Egypt a plentiful country into a wilderness where nothing was to be had; but his choice of them for his inheritance his redemption of them out of bondage and misery the care he took of them and the provision he had made for them in the wilderness clearly showed that they were not the objects of his hatred but of his love.

 

Deuteronomy 9:29   29 Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm.’

   YLT  29and they [are] Thy people and Thine inheritance whom Thou hast brought out by Thy great power and by Thy stretched-out arm!

Yet they are thy people .... Though they had sinned against him:

and thine inheritance; which he would not forsake and cast off; at least Moses hoped on this account he would not and makes use thereof as an argument with him why he should not and which he repeats adding in effect what he had said before:

which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and stretched out arm; even out of the land of Egypt; the doing of which was plainly the effect of his almighty power and an evidence of it considering the weakness of Israel and the strength of Egypt and the manner in which the Lord brought about this surprising event.

 

──John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible