1. Listen, Israel. You will soon cross the Jordan River. You will go in to force out nations that are bigger and stronger than you. They have large cities with walls up to the sky.
2. The people there are Anakites. They are strong and tall. You know about them. You have heard it said: “No one can stop the Anakites.”
3. But today remember that the Lord your God goes in before you. He will destroy them like a fire that burns things up. He will defeat them ahead of you. And you will force them out. You will destroy them quickly. It will happen just as the Lord has said.
4. The Lord your God will force those nations out ahead of you. After that, don’t say to yourself, “The Lord brought me here. I own this land because I am so good.” No! It is because these nations are evil. That is why the Lord will force them out ahead of you.
5. You are going in to own the land. But it is not because you are good and honest. It is because these nations are evil. That is why the Lord your God will force them out ahead of you. The Lord will keep his promise to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
6. The Lord your God is giving you this good land to own. But know this: It is not because you are good. You are a stubborn people.
7. Remember this. Do not forget it. You made the Lord your God angry in the desert. You would not obey the Lord from the day you left Egypt until you arrived here.
8. At Mount Sinai you made the Lord angry. He was angry enough to destroy you.
9. I went up on the mountain to receive the stone tablets. The tablets were the agreement the Lord had made with you. I stayed on the mountain for 40 days and 40 nights. I did not eat bread or drink water.
10. The Lord gave me two stone tablets. God had written on them with his own finger. On them were all the commands of the Lord. He gave them to you on the mountain out of the fire. This was on the day you were gathered there.
11. Then the 40 days and 40 nights were over. And the Lord gave me the two stone tablets. Those tablets had the agreement on them.
12. Then the Lord told me, “Get up. Go down quickly from here. The people you brought out from Egypt are ruining themselves. They have quickly turned away from what I commanded. They have made an idol for themselves.”