1Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fenced up to heaven, 2A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard say, Who can stand before the children of Anak! 3Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he which goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said unto thee. 4Speak 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. 5Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 6Understand therefore, that the LORD thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
7¶ Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the LORD thy God to wrath in the wilderness: 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. 8Also in Horeb ye provoked the LORD to wrath, so that the LORD was angry with you to have destroyed you. 9When I was gone up into the mount to receive the tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant which the LORD made with you, then I abode in the mount forty days and forty nights, I neither did eat bread nor drink water: 10And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. 11And it came to pass at the end of forty days and forty nights, that the LORD gave me the two tables of stone, even the tables of the covenant. 12And the LORD said unto me, Arise, get thee down quickly from hence; for thy people which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt have corrupted themselves; they are quickly turned aside out of the way which I commanded them; they have made them a molten image. 13Furthermore the LORD spake unto me, saying, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: 14Let 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. 15So I turned and came down from the mount, and the mount burned with fire: and the two tables of the covenant were in my two hands. 16And I looked, and, behold, ye had sinned against the LORD your God, and had made you a molten calf: ye had turned aside quickly out of the way which the LORD had commanded you. 17And I took the two tables, and cast them out of my two hands, and brake them before your eyes. 18And I fell down before the LORD, as at the first, forty days and forty nights: I did neither eat bread, nor drink water, because of all your sins which ye sinned, in doing wickedly in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. 19For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure, wherewith the LORD was wroth against you to destroy you. But the LORD hearkened unto me at that time also. 20And the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him: and I prayed for Aaron also the same time. 21And I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small, even until it was as small as dust: and I cast the dust thereof into the brook that descended out of the mount. 22And at Taberah, and at Massah, and at Kibroth-hattaavah, ye provoked the LORD to wrath. 23Likewise when the LORD sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and possess the land which I have given you; then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice. 24Ye have been rebellious against the LORD from the day that I knew you. 25Thus I fell down before the LORD forty days and forty nights, as I fell down at the first; because the LORD had said he would destroy you. 26I prayed therefore unto the LORD, and said, O Lord GOD, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 27Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin: 28Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because the LORD was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. 29Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.
Kana’anæernes ondskab
1Hør efter, Israels folk! Nu er det tid at gå over Jordanfloden og erobre landet fra folkeslagene på den anden side. De er større og stærkere end jer og bor i byer med himmelhøje mure. 2Blandt dem bor de frygtede anakitter, kæmper, som siges at være uovervindelige. 3Men Herren, jeres Gud, vil gå foran jer som en fortærende ild, der ødelægger alt på sin vej, og I vil hurtigt besejre dem og udrydde dem, sådan som Herren har lovet.
4-5Når Herren rydder dem bort foran jer og giver jer landet i besiddelse, må I ikke sige: ‚Herren hjalp os, fordi vi fortjente det!’ Nej, det er ikke jer, der fortjener hans hjælp, men dem, der fortjener hans straf. Han driver dem ud af landet på grund af deres ondskab og for at opfylde sit løfte til jeres forfædre, Abraham, Isak og Jakob. 6Jeg kan forsikre jer om, at Herren ikke giver jer det dejlige land, fordi I har gjort jer fortjent til det. I er nemlig et stædigt og oprørsk folk!
Påmindelse om Israels folks genstridighed
7Glem aldrig, hvordan folket gang på gang fremkaldte Herrens vrede i ørkenen, lige fra den dag, de forlod Egypten, og til nu. Hele vejen har de været stride imod ham.
8Husk på, hvor vred de gjorde ham ved Horebs bjerg, så vred, at han faktisk havde besluttet at udrydde hele folket. 9-11Det var dengang jeg opholdt mig på bjerget i 40 dage9,9-11 På hebraisk 40 dage og 40 nætter, hvilket svarer til 40 dage og 39 nætter eller 39 døgn på dansk. uden at spise eller drikke, mens jeg ventede på, at Herren skulle give mig stentavlerne med pagtens betingelser, som de allerede havde hørt ham erklære fra ilden på bjerget. 12Han befalede mig imidlertid at skynde mig ned ad bjerget, fordi folket, jeg havde ført ud af Egypten, havde syndet ved at tage afstand fra ham og støbe et afgudsbillede i stedet.
13-14‚Lad mig få lov til at udrydde dette oprørske folk fra jordens overflade!’ sagde Herren til mig. ‚Derefter vil jeg begynde forfra med dig og gøre dig til et mægtigt folk, større og stærkere end dem.’
15Jeg gik så ned fra det flammende bjerg. I hænderne havde jeg de to stentavler. 16Da jeg ved bjergets fod fik øje på den tyrekalv, de havde fremstillet, blev jeg så rasende over, at de så hurtigt havde forladt Herrens vej, 17at jeg løftede stentavlerne i vejret og kastede dem til jorden, så de splintredes for øjnene af folket. 18Derefter lå jeg for Herrens ansigt endnu 40 dage uden at spise eller drikke. Jeg sørgede over deres utrolige ondskab, som endnu en gang havde fremkaldt hans vrede. 19Jeg rystede af angst for, at Herren ville gøre alvor af sin trussel og udslette sit folk, men også denne gang hørte han min bøn. 20Selv Aron, der havde svigtet sit ansvar, blev ramt af Herrens vrede, men han blev skånet ved, at jeg gik i forbøn for ham. 21Den forfærdelige tyrekalv, folket havde fremstillet, brændte jeg i ilden, hvorefter jeg knuste resterne til fint støv og smed støvet i bækken, der flød ned ad bjerget.
22Senere ved Tabera og Massa provokerede folket Herren igen, og endnu en gang ved ‚De Grådiges Grav’. 23Da vi nåede til Kadesh-Barnea, og Herren opfordrede dem til at gå ind i det land, han havde lovet dem, nægtede de at adlyde ham, fordi de ikke havde tillid til, at han ville hjælpe dem. 24Folket har været i oprør imod Herren, lige så længe jeg kan huske.
25Da jeg lå for Herrens ansigt i 40 dage og bad for dem, var det, fordi Herren havde sagt, at han ville udrydde sit folk. 26Derfor gik jeg i forbøn for dem med følgende ord: ‚Min Herre og Gud, udslet ikke dit ejendomsfolk, som du med magt og vælde befriede fra slaveriet i Egypten. 27Husk på dine løfter til dine tjenere Abraham, Isak og Jakob og se i nåde til det her oprørske folk med dets synd og ulydighed. 28Hvis du udrydder dem, vil egypterne jo påstå, at du ikke var i stand til at gennemføre din plan om at føre dem til det land, du havde lovet dem, eller de vil sige, at du er en ond Gud, der af had til dit folk lagde en fælde for dem i ørkenen. 29Vis dog, at de er dit ejendomsfolk, og at det ikke var forgæves, at du med magt og vælde førte dem ud af Egypten.’
