Deuteronomy 4
1 And now, Israel, hear the ordinances and judgments, all that I teach you this day to do: that ye may live, and be multiplied, and that ye may go in and inherit the land, which the Lord God of your fathers gives you.
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.
2 Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, and ye shall not take from it: keep the commandments of the Lord our God, all that I command you this day.
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.
3 Your eyes have seen all that the Lord our God did in [the case of] Beel-phegor; for every man that went after Beel-phegor, the Lord your God has utterly destroyed him from among you.
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.
4 But ye that kept close to the Lord your God are all alive to-day.
But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.
5 Behold, I have shewn you ordinances and judgments as the Lord commanded me, that ye should do so in the land into which ye go to inherit it.
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.
6 And ye shall keep and do them: for this is your wisdom and understanding before all nations, as many as shall hear all these ordinances; and they shall say, Behold, this great nation [is] a wise and understanding people.
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.”
7 For what manner of nation [is so] great, which has God so near to them as the Lord our God [is] in all things in whatsoever we may call upon him?
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?
8 And what manner of nation [is so] great, which has righteous ordinances and judgments according to all this law, which I set before you this day?
And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?
9 Take heed to thyself, and keep thy heart diligently: forget not any of the things, which thine eyes have seen, and let them not depart from thine heart all the days of thy life; and thou shalt teach thy sons and thy sons' sons,
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.
10 [even the things that happened in] the day in which ye stood before the Lord our God in Choreb in the day of the assembly; for the Lord said to me, Gather the people to me, and let them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days which they live upon the earth, and they shall teach their sons.
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.”
11 And ye drew nigh and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire up to heaven: [there was] darkness, blackness, [and] tempest.
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.
12 And the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire a voice of words, which ye heard: and ye saw no likeness, only [ye heard] a voice.
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.
13 And he announced to you his covenant, which he commanded you to keep, even the ten commandments; and he wrote them on two tables of stone.
He declared to you His covenant, which He commanded you to follow—the Ten Commandments that He wrote on two tablets of stone.
14 And the Lord commanded me at that time, to teach you ordinances and judgments, that ye should do them on the land, into which ye go to inherit it.
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.
15 And take good heed to your hearts, for ye saw no similitude in the day in which the Lord spoke to you in Choreb in the mountain out of the midst of the fire:
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
16 lest ye transgress, and make to yourselves a carved image, any kind of figure, the likeness of male or female,
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,
17 the likeness of any beast of those that are on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird which flies under heaven,
of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,
18 the likeness of any reptile which creeps on the earth, the likeness of any fish of those which are in the waters under the earth;
or of any creature that crawls on the ground or fish that is in the waters below.
19 and lest having looked up to the sky, and having seen the sun and the moon and the stars, and all the heavenly bodies, thou shouldest go astray and worship them, and serve them, which the Lord thy God has distributed to all the nations under heaven.
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.
20 But God took you, and led you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as at this day.
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.
21 And the Lord God was angry with me for the things said by you, and sware that I should not go over this Jordan, and that I should not enter into the land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
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.
22 For I am to die in this land, and shall not pass over this Jordan; but ye are to pass over, and shall inherit this good land.
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.
23 Take heed to yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord our God, which he made with you, and ye transgress, and make to yourselves a graven image of any of the things concerning which the Lord thy God commanded thee.
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.
24 For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
25 And when thou shalt have begotten sons, and shalt have sons' sons, and ye shall have dwelt a long time on the land, and shall have transgressed, and made a graven image of any thing, and shall have done wickedly before the Lord your God to provoke him;
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—
26 I call heaven and earth this day to witness against you, that ye shall surely perish from off the land, into which ye go across Jordan to inherit it there; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall be utterly cut off.
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.
27 And the Lord shall scatter you among all nations, and ye shall be left few in number among all the nations, among which the Lord shall bring you.
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.
28 And ye shall there serve other gods, the works of the hands of men, wood and stones, which cannot see, nor can they hear, nor eat, nor smell.
And there you will serve man-made gods of wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.
29 And there ye shall seek the Lord your God, and ye shall find him whenever ye shall seek him with all your heart, and with all your soul in your affliction.
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.
30 And all these things shall come upon thee in the last days, and thou shalt turn to the Lord thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice.
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.
31 Because the Lord thy God [is] a God of pity: he will not forsake thee, nor destroy thee; he will not forget the covenant of thy fathers, which the Lord sware to them.
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.
32 Ask of the former days which were before thee, from the day when God created man upon the earth, and [beginning] at the [one] end of heaven to the other end of heaven, if there has happened any thing like to this great event, if such a thing has been heard:
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?
33 if a nation have heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard and hast lived;
Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?
34 if God has assayed to go and take to himself a nation out of the midst of [another] nation with trial, and with signs, and with wonders, and with war, and with a mighty hand, and with a high arm, and with great sights, according to all the things which the Lord our God did in Egypt in thy sight.
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?
35 So that thou shouldest know that the Lord thy God he is God, and there is none beside him.
You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.
36 His voice was made audible from heaven to instruct thee, and he shewed thee upon the earth his great fire, and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
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.
37 Because he loved thy fathers, he also chose you their seed after them, and he brought thee himself with his great strength out of Egypt,
Because He loved your fathers, He chose their descendants after them and brought you out of Egypt by His presence and great power,
38 to destroy nations great and stronger than thou before thy face, to bring thee in, to give thee their land to inherit, as thou hast it this day.
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.
39 An thou shalt know this day, and shalt consider in thine heart, that the Lord thy God he [is] God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath, and there is none else but he.
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.
40 And keep ye his commandments, and his ordinances, all that I command you this day; that it may be well with thee, and with thy sons after thee, that ye may be long-lived upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for ever.
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.
41 Then Moses separated three cities beyond Jordan on the east,
Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east
42 that the slayer might flee thither, who should have slain his neighbour unintentionally, and should not have hated him in times past, and he shall flee to one of these cities and live:
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:
43 Bosor in the wilderness, in the plain country of Ruben, and Ramoth in Galaad [belonging to] Gad, and Gaulon in Basan [belonging to] Manasse.
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.
44 This [is] the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.
This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.
45 These [are] the testimonies, and the ordinances, and the judgments, which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt:
These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,
46 on the other side of Jordan, in the valley near the house of Phogor, in the land of Seon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Esebon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel smote when they came out of the land of Egypt.
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.
47 And they inherited his land, and the land of Og king of Basan, two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan eastward.
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—
48 From Aroer, which is on the border of the brook Arnon, even to the mount of Seon, which is Aermon.
extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),
49 All Araba beyond Jordan eastward under Asedoth hewn in the rock.
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.
