"It is not for your righteousnessor for the uprightnessof your heartthat you are goingto possesstheir land,but [it is] becauseof the wickednessof thesenations[that] the LORDyour Godis drivingthem out beforeyou, in orderto confirmthe oathwhichthe LORDsworeto your fathers,to Abraham,Isaacand Jacob.
He savedus, not on the basisof deedswhichwe have donein righteousness,but accordingto His mercy,by the washingof regenerationand renewingby the HolySpirit,
"I will multiplyyour descendantsas the starsof heaven,and will giveyour descendantsalltheselands;and by your descendantsallthe nationsof the earthshall be blessed;
"I will giveto you and to your descendantsafteryou, the landof your sojournings,allthe landof Canaan,for an everlastingpossession;and I will be their God."
And He saidto him, "I am the LORDwhobroughtyou out of Urof the Chaldeans,to giveyou thislandto possessit."
for allthe landwhichyou see,I will giveit to you and to your descendantsforever.
The LORDappearedto Abramand said,"To your descendantsI will givethisland."So he builtan altarthereto the LORDwho had appearedto him.
"But I actedfor the sakeof My name,that it should not be profanedin the sightof the nations,before whosesightI had broughtthem out.
"RememberAbraham,Isaac,and Israel,Your servantsto whomYou sworeby Yourself, and saidto them, 'I will multiplyyour descendantsas the starsof the heavens,and allthislandof whichI have spokenI will giveto your descendants,and they shall inherit[it] forever.'"
And behold,the LORDstoodaboveit and said,"I am the LORD,the Godof your fatherAbrahamand the Godof Isaac;the landon whichyou lie,I will giveit to you and to your descendants.
For I saythat Christhas becomea servantto the circumcisionon behalfof the truthof Godto confirmthe promises[given] to the fathers,
From the standpointof the gospelthey are enemiesfor your sake,but from the standpointof [God's] choicethey are belovedfor the sakeof the fathers;
"It is you who are the sonsof the prophetsand of the covenantwhichGodmadewith your fathers,sayingto Abraham,AND IN YOUR SEEDALLTHE FAMILIESOF THE EARTHSHALL BE BLESSED.'
You will givetruthto Jacob[And] unchangingloveto Abraham,WhichYou sworeto our forefathersFrom the daysof old.
Thus it cameabout, when Goddestroyedthe citiesof the valley,that GodrememberedAbraham,and sentLotout of the midstof the overthrow,when He overthrewthe citiesin whichLotlived.
For the landhas becomedefiled,therefore I have broughtits punishmentupon it, so the landhas spewedout its inhabitants.
"You shall not behavethustoward the LORDyour God,for everyabominableactwhichthe LORDhatesthey have donefor their gods;for they evenburntheir sonsand daughtersin the fireto their gods.
"Whenyou enterthe landwhichthe LORDyour Godgivesyou, you shall not learnto imitatethe detestablethingsof thosenations.
sothat they may not teachyou to doaccording to alltheir detestablethingswhichthey have donefor their gods,so that you would sinagainst the LORDyour God.
"Thereforesayto the houseof Israel,'Thussaysthe LordGOD,"It is not for your sake,O houseof Israel,that I am about to act,but for My holyname,whichyou have profanedamong the nationswhereyou went.
"I am not doing[this] for your sake,"declaresthe LordGOD,"let it be knownto you. Be ashamedand confoundedfor your ways,O houseof Israel!"
"Then in the fourthgenerationthey will returnhere,for the iniquityof the Amoriteis not yetcomplete."
Do not defileyourselves by anyof thesethings;for by allthesethe nationswhichI am castingout beforeyou have becomedefiled.
See,I have placedthe landbeforeyou; goin and possessthe landwhichthe LORDsworeto giveto your fathers,to Abraham,to Isaac,and to Jacob,to them and their descendantsafterthem.'
"For whoeverdoesthesethingsis detestableto the LORD;and becauseof thesedetestablethingsthe LORDyour Godwill drivethem out beforeyou.
