Deuteronomy 9:4

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.

Speak {H559} not thou in thine heart {H3824}, after that the LORD {H3068} thy God {H430} hath cast them out {H1920} from before {H6440} thee, saying {H559}, For my righteousness {H6666} the LORD {H3068} hath brought me in {H935} to possess {H3423} this land {H776}: but for the wickedness {H7564} of these nations {H1471} the LORD {H3068} doth drive them out {H3423} from before {H6440} thee.

"Don't think to yourself, after your God has pushed them out ahead of you, 'It is to reward my righteousness that ADONAI has brought me in to take possession of this land.' No, it is because these nations have been so wicked that ADONAI is driving them out ahead of you.

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.

Speak not thou in thy heart, after that Jehovah thy God hath thrust them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness Jehovah hath brought me in to possess this land; whereas for the wickedness of these nations Jehovah doth drive them out from before thee.

Commentary

Note: If the commentary doesn’t appear instantly, please allow 2–5 seconds for it to load. It is generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash using a prompt focused on Biblical fidelity over bias. While the insights have been consistently reliable, we encourage prayerful discernment through the Holy Spirit.

Please note that only the commentary section is AI-generated — the main Scripture and cross-references are stored on the site and are from trusted and verified sources.

Cross-References

  • Deuteronomy 8:17 (6 votes)

    And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of [mine] hand hath gotten me this wealth.

  • Deuteronomy 9:5 (5 votes)

    Not 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.

  • 2 Timothy 1:9 (5 votes)

    Who hath saved us, and called [us] with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

  • Deuteronomy 18:9 (5 votes)

    ¶ When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.

  • Deuteronomy 18:14 (5 votes)

    For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so [to do].

  • 1 Corinthians 4:7 (4 votes)

    ¶ For who maketh thee to differ [from another]? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive [it], why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received [it]?

  • Leviticus 18:24 (4 votes)

    Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you: