Deuteronomy 9:6
in Deuteronomy 9Understand, then, that it is not because of your righteousness that the LORD your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Know therefore, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
KJV
Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this good land to possess it for thy righteousness; for thou art a stiffnecked people.
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This verse in Deuteronomy 9
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Understand therefore, that the Lord thy God giveth thee not
on Deuteronomy 9:6-7
The third denial adds a ground of its own, for thou art a stiffnecked people, which is the word God used of them at Exodus 32:9 and which the rest of the chapter goes on to document. Verse 7 then carries both of the book's standing commands in one breath, remember, and forget not, and it is the only verse in Deuteronomy where the two meet. Remember falls fourteen times in the book and forget nine, and what is to be remembered here is forty years of provocation rather than a deliverance. Barnes reads the chapter as the argument Paul makes at Ephesians 2:8-9.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
) it is insisted on, because it is hard to bring people from a conceit of their own merit, and yet very necessary that it be done: " Understand (know it, and believe it, and consider it) that the Lord thy God giveth thee not this land for thy righteousness.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
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.
To make it evident that they had no reason to boast of their own righteousness, he mentions their faults, shows Israel their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
It was not for the sake of the Israelites, but for His own sake, for the promise made to their pious ancestors, and in furtherance of high and comprehensive purposes of good to the world, that God was about to give them a grant of Canaan.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָדַעְתָּ֗ | veyada'ta | and you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֠י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| בְצִדְקָֽתְךָ֙ | vetzidkatecha | in righteousness your | H6666 → | 157 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱ֠לֹהֶיךָ | ʾeloheikha | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| נֹתֵ֨ן | noten | [is] about to give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| לְךָ֜ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֧רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| הַטּוֹבָ֛ה | hatovah | <the> good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| הַזֹּ֖את | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| לְרִשְׁתָּ֑הּ | lerishtah | to take possession of it | H3423 → | 231 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַם־ | ʾam- | [are] a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| קְשֵׁה־ | kesheh- | stiff of | H7186 → | 36 times |
| עֹ֖רֶף | ʾoref | neck | H6203 → | 33 times |
| אָֽתָּה׃ | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
וְיָדַעְתָּ֗and you will know
veyada'taH3045 →945 times
כִּ֠יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
בְצִדְקָֽתְךָ֙in righteousness your
vetzidkatechaH6666 →157 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱ֠לֹהֶיךָGod your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
נֹתֵ֨ן[is] about to give
notenH5414 →2011 times
לְךָ֜to <the> you
lekha
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֧רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
הַטּוֹבָ֛ה<the> good
hatovahH2896 →538 times
הַזֹּ֖את<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
לְרִשְׁתָּ֑הּto take possession of it
lerishtahH3423 →231 times
כִּ֥יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עַם־[are] a people
ʾam-H5971 →1873 times
קְשֵׁה־stiff of
kesheh-H7186 →36 times
עֹ֖רֶףneck
ʾorefH6203 →33 times
אָֽתָּה׃you
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Acts 7:51You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 26:41
and I acted with hostility toward them and brought them into the land of their enemies—and if their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled and they will make amends for their iniquity,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit. So He turned and became their enemy, and He Himself fought against them.
- Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
- Deuteronomy 10:16
Through
Deuteronomy 10:16Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:4
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your hearts, O men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 30:6
The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.
- Colossians 2:11
In Him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of your sinful nature, with the circumcision performed by Christ and not by human hands.
- Jeremiah 4:4
Through
Exodus 32:9The LORD also said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people.
it leads to
- Acts 7:51
You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.
- Acts 7:51
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Deuteronomy
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.