Deuteronomy 4

1 Hear now, O Israel, the statutes and ordinances I am teaching you to follow, so that you may live and may enter and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.

And now, O Israel, hearken unto the statutes and unto the ordinances which I teach you to do; in order that ye may live, and go in and take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, giveth unto you.

2 You must not add to or subtract from what I command you, so that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I am giving you.

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, nor shall ye diminish aught from it; that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.

3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did at Baal-peor, for the LORD your God destroyed from among you all who followed Baal of Peor.

Your own eyes have seen that which the Lord hath done because of Baal-peor; for every man that followed Baal-peor, him the Lord thy God hath destroyed from the midst of thee.

4 But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.

But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God, are alive, every one of you, this day.

5 See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess.

See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances, just as the Lord my God commanded me; that ye may do so in the midst of the land whither ye go to take possession of it.

6 Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”

Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding before the eyes of the nations, that shall hear all these statutes, and they will say, Nothing but a wise and understanding people is this great nation.

7 For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?

For what great nation is there that hath gods so nigh unto it, as is the Lord our God at all times that we call upon him.

8 And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?

And what great nation is there that hath statutes and ordinances so righteous as is all this law, which I lay before you this day?

9 Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.

Only take heed to thyself, and guard thy soul diligently, that thou do not forget the things which thy eyes have seen, and that they depart not from thy heart all the days of thy life; but thou shalt make them known unto thy sons, and unto thy sons' sons;

10 The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach them to their children.”

The day that thou stoodest before the Lord thy God at Horeb, when the Lord said unto me, Assemble for me the people, and I will cause them to hear my words, which they shall learn, to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and which they shall teach their children.

11 You came near and stood at the base of the mountain, a mountain blazing with fire to the heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.

And ye came near and stood at the foot of the mount; and the mount was burning with fire unto the midst of the heaven, [from amidst] darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.

12 And the LORD spoke to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; there was only a voice.

And the Lord spoke unto you out of the midst of the fire; the sound of words ye heard, but any similitude ye saw not: there was nothing but a sound.

13 He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone.

And he told unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, the ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

14 At that time the LORD commanded me to teach you the statutes and ordinances you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

And me the Lord commanded at that time to teach you statutes and ordinances, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.

15 So since you saw no form of any kind on the day the LORD spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb, be careful

Take ye therefore good heed of your souls; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spoke unto you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire:

16 that you do not act corruptly and make an idol for yourselves of any form or shape, whether in the likeness of a male or female,

That ye become not corrupt, and make yourselves a graven image, the similitude of any idol-figure, the likeness of a male or of a female,

17 of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,

The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air of heaven,

18 or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.

The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth;

19 When you look to the heavens and see the sun and moon and stars—all the host of heaven—do not be enticed to bow down and worship what the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.

And that thou lift not up thy eyes unto the heavens, and thou see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be misled to bow down to them, and to serve them, those which the Lord thy God hath assigned unto all nations under the whole heaven.

20 Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.

But you did the Lord take, and he brought you forth out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be unto you a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.

21 The LORD, however, was angry with me on account of you, and He swore that I would not cross the Jordan to enter the good land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Farthermore the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, and he swore that I should not go over the Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the Lord thy God giveth unto thee for an inheritance;

22 For I will not be crossing the Jordan, because I must die in this land. But you shall cross over and take possession of that good land.

For I must die in this land; I shall not go over the Jordan; but ye will go over and take possession of this good land.

23 Be careful that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God that He made with you; do not make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything He has forbidden you.

Take heed unto yourselves, that ye do not forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he hath made with you, and make yourselves a graven image, the likeness of any thing, which the Lord thy God hath forbidden thee.

24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire; yea, a watchful God.

25 After you have children and grandchildren and you have been in the land a long time, if you then act corruptly and make an idol of any form—doing evil in the sight of the LORD your God and provoking Him to anger—

When thou begettest children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and ye become corrupt, and make a graven image, the likeness of any thing, and do the evil in the eyes of the Lord thy God, to provoke him to anger:

26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you this day that you will quickly perish from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live long upon it, but will be utterly destroyed.

I call this day the heavens and the earth to witness against you, that ye shall soon perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not remain many days upon it, but ye shall surely be destroyed.

27 Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.

And the Lord will scatter you among the nations, and ye will be left few in number among the nations, whither the Lord will lead you.

28 And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.

And ye will serve there gods, the work of man's hands, wood and stone, which neither can see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

But thou wilt seek from there the Lord thy God, and wilt find him, if thou apply to him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

30 When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice.

When thou art in tribulation, and all these things have overtaken thee, in the latter end of days: then wilt thou return to the Lord thy God, and be obedient unto his voice.

31 For the LORD your God is a merciful God; He will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers, which He swore to them by oath.

For a merciful God is the Lord thy God; he will not forsake thee, nor destroy thee; and he will not forget the covenant of thy fathers which he hath sworn unto them.

32 Indeed, ask now from one end of the heavens to the other about the days that long preceded you, from the day that God created man on earth: Has anything as great as this ever happened or been reported?

For do but ask of former days, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and from the one end of the heavens unto the other end of the heavens, whether there hath been the like of this great thing, or whether the like of it hath been heard.

33 Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?

Hath ever a people heard the voice of a god, speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and remained alive?

34 Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?

Or hath a god essayed to go to take himself a nation from the midst of a nation, by proofs, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, like all that which the Lord your God hath done for you in Egypt before thy eyes.

35 You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.

Unto thee it was shown, that thou mightest know, that the Eternal is the God: there is none else besides him.

36 He let you hear His voice from heaven to discipline you, and on earth He showed you His great fire, and you heard His words out of the fire.

Out of the heavens he caused thee to hear his voice, to correct thee: and upon the earth he caused thee to see his great fire; and his words didst thou hear out of the midst of the fire.

37 Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power,

And therefore, because he loved thy fathers, he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his presence with his mighty power out of Egypt;

38 to drive out before you nations greater and mightier than you, and to bring you into their land and give it to you for your inheritance, as it is this day.

To drive out nations greater and mightier than thou art, from before thee, to bring thee in, to give unto thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.

39 Know therefore this day and take to heart that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.

Know therefore this day, and reflect in thy heart, that the Eternal is the God in the heavens above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.

40 Keep His statutes and commandments, which I am giving you today, so that you and your children after you may prosper, and that you may live long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.

And thou shalt keep his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee; and that thou mayest live many days upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for all times.

41 Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east

Then Moses set aside three cities on this side of the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun;

42 to which a manslayer could flee after killing his neighbor unintentionally without prior malice. To save one’s own life, he could flee to one of these cities:

That thither might flee the manslayer, who should kill his neighbor unawares, when he had not been an enemy to him in times past; and that he should flee unto one of these cities and live.

43 Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau belonging to the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the Gadites, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the Manassites.

Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gil'ad for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for the Menassites.

44 This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.

And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:

45 These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,

These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the ordinances, which Moses spoke unto the children of Israel, when they came forth out of Egypt,

46 while they were in the valley across the Jordan facing Beth-peor in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt.

On this side of the Jordan, in the valley opposite to Beth-peor, in the land of Sichon the king of the Emorites, who dwelt at Cheshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt;

47 They took possession of the land belonging to Sihon and to Og king of Bashan—the two Amorite kings across the Jordan to the east—

And they took possession of his land, and of the land of 'Og the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Emorites, who were on this side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun;

48 extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),

From 'Aro'er, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Chermon,

49 including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.

And all the plain on this side of the Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the declivities of Pisgah.