A common misinterpretation of Deuteronomy 9:5 is to view it as endorsing racial or ethnic superiority, suggesting God arbitrarily displaces innocent peoples for Israel's benefit, ignoring the context of the Canaanites' long history of idolatry, child sacrifice, and moral depravity that provoked divine judgment after centuries of patience; others wrongly use it to justify modern conquests or violence, overlooking that the passage itself humbles Israel by denying their deservingness and warns of consequences for their own sins.
Deuteronomy 9:5
King James Version (1769)
5 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.
In Deuteronomy 9:5, Moses emphasizes that Israel's conquest of the Promised Land is not because of their own righteousness or moral superiority, but due to God's judgment on the extreme wickedness of the Canaanite nations and His unwavering commitment to fulfill the covenant promises sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, highlighting God's sovereign grace, justice, and faithfulness rather than human merit.