Deuteronomy 9:4-5

9:4 Do not think to yourself after the Lord your God has driven them out before you, “Because of my own righteousness the Lord has brought me here to possess this land.” It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out ahead of you. 9:5 It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness, ¹  that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he ²  made on oath to your ancestors, ³  to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 15:9

15:9 Be careful lest you entertain the wicked thought that the seventh year, the year of cancellation of debts, has almost arrived, and your attitude ⁴  be wrong toward your impoverished fellow Israelite ⁵  and you do not lend ⁶  him anything; he will cry out to the Lord against you and you will be regarded as having sinned. ⁷ 

Deuteronomy 17:20

17:20 Then he will not exalt himself above his fellow citizens or turn from the commandments to the right or left, and he and his descendants will enjoy many years ruling over his kingdom ⁸  in Israel.

Deuteronomy 19:6

19:6 Otherwise the blood avenger will chase after the killer in the heat of his anger, eventually overtake him, ⁹  and kill him, ¹⁰  though this is not a capital case ¹¹  since he did not hate him at the time of the accident.

Deuteronomy 25:19

25:19 So when the Lord your God gives you relief from all the enemies who surround you in the land he ¹²  is giving you as an inheritance, ¹³  you must wipe out the memory of the Amalekites from under heaven ¹⁴  – do not forget! ¹⁵ 

Deuteronomy 26:13

26:13 Then you shall say before the Lord your God, “I have removed the sacred offering ¹⁶  from my house and given it to the Levites, the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows just as you have commanded me. ¹⁷  I have not violated or forgotten your commandments.

Deuteronomy 29:18

29:18 Beware that the heart of no man, woman, clan, or tribe among you turns away from the Lord our God today to pursue and serve the gods of those nations; beware that there is among you no root producing poisonous and bitter fruit. ¹⁸ 

Deuteronomy 31:21

31:21 Then when ¹⁹  many disasters and distresses overcome them ²⁰  this song will testify against them, ²¹  for their ²²  descendants will not forget it. ²³  I know the ²⁴  intentions they have in mind ²⁵  today, even before I bring them ²⁶  to the land I have promised.”

¹ tn Heb “uprightness of your heart” (so NASB, NRSV). The Hebrew word צְדָקָה (tsÿdaqah, “righteousness”), though essentially synonymous here with יֹשֶׁר (yosher, “uprightness”), carries the idea of conformity to an objective standard. The term יֹשֶׁר has more to do with an inner, moral quality (cf. NAB, NIV “integrity”). Neither, however, was grounds for the Lord’s favor. As he states in both vv. 4-5, the main reason he allowed Israel to take this land was the sinfulness of the Canaanites who lived there (cf. Gen 15:16).

² tn Heb “the Lord.” See note on “he” in 9:3.

³ tn Heb “fathers.”

¹ tn Heb “your eye.”

² tn Heb “your needy brother.”

³ tn Heb “give” (likewise in v. 10).

⁴ tn Heb “it will be a sin to you.”

¹ tc Heb “upon his kingship.” Smr supplies כִּסֵא (kise’, “throne”) so as to read “upon the throne of his kingship.” This overliteralizes what is a clearly understood figure of speech.

¹ tn Heb “and overtake him, for the road is long.”

² tn Heb “smite with respect to life,” that is, fatally.

³ tn Heb “no judgment of death.”

¹ tn Heb “ the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.

² tn The Hebrew text includes “to possess it.”

³ tn Or “from beneath the sky.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.

⁴ sn This command is fulfilled in 1 Sam 15:1-33.

¹ tn Heb “the sacred thing.” The term הַקֹּדֶשׁ (haqqodesh) likely refers to an offering normally set apart for the Lord but, as a third-year tithe, given on this occasion to people in need. Sometimes this is translated as “the sacred portion” (cf. NASB, NIV, NRSV), but that could sound to a modern reader as if a part of the house were being removed and given away.

² tn Heb “according to all your commandment that you commanded me.” This has been simplified in the translation for stylistic reasons.

¹ tn Heb “yielding fruit poisonous and wormwood.” The Hebrew noun לַעֲנָה (la’anah) literally means “wormwood” (so KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB), but is used figuratively for anything extremely bitter, thus here “fruit poisonous and bitter.”

¹ tn Heb “Then it will come to pass that.”

² tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

³ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

⁴ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

⁵ tn Heb “it will not be forgotten from the mouth of his seed.”

⁶ tn Heb “his.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “their.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.

⁷ tn Heb “which he is doing.”

⁸ tn Heb “him.” Smr, LXX, and the Targums read the plural “them.” See note on the first occurrence of “they” in v. 16.