Deuteronomy 4
1 “And now, O Israel, listen to the precepts and judgments which I am teaching to you, so that, by doing these, you may live, and you may enter and possess the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, will give to you.
“Now, you Israeli people, obey all the rules and regulations [DOU] that I will teach you. If you do that, you will remain alive and you will enter and occupy/capture the land that Yahweh, the God whom your ancestors [worshiped], is giving to you.
2 You shall not add to the word which I speak to you, neither shall you take away from it. Preserve the commandments of the Lord your God which I am teaching to you.
Do not add anything to what I command you, and do not take anything away from what I tell you. Obey all the commands of Yahweh our God that I am giving to you.
3 Your eyes have seen all that the Lord has done against Baal-peor, in what manner he has crushed all of his worshippers from among you.
“You have seen what Yahweh did at Baal-Peor [Mountain]. He got rid of all the people who worshiped [the god] Baal there,
4 But you who adhere to the Lord your God are all still alive, to the present day.
but you who faithfully [continued to worship] Yahweh our God are still alive today.
5 You know that I have taught you precepts as well as justices, just as the Lord my God has commanded me. And so shall you do in the land that you will possess.
“Note that I have taught you all the rules and regulations, just like Yahweh our God told me to do. He wants you to obey them [when you are living] in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.
6 And you shall observe and fulfill these in practice. For this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, so that, upon hearing all these precepts, they may say: ‘Lo, a wise and understanding people, a great nation.’
Obey them faithfully because, [if you do that], you will show the people of other nations that you are very wise. When they hear about all these laws, they will say, ‘The people of this great nation [of Israel] are certainly very wise [DOU]!’
7 Neither is there any other nation so great, which has its gods so near to them, as our God is present to all our petitions.
Even if other nations are great, there is none [RHQ] of them that has a god who is as near to them as Yahweh our God is to us! Whenever we call out to him [to help us, he answers/helps us]
8 For what other nation is there so renowned as to have ceremonies, and just judgments, and the entire law that I will set forth today before your eyes?
And there is no [RHQ] other nation, even if it is a great nation, that has laws that are as just/fair as the laws that I am telling to you today.
9 And so, guard yourself and your soul carefully. You should not forget the words that your eyes have seen, and do not let them be cut away from your heart, throughout all the days of your life. You shall teach them to your sons and to your grandsons,
“But be very careful! [DOU, IDM] Do not forget what you [SYN] have seen [God do]. Remember those things as long as you are alive. Tell them to your children and your grandchildren.
10 from the day on which you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, when the Lord spoke to me, saying: ‘Gather the people to me, so that they may listen to my words, and may learn to fear me, throughout all the time that they are alive on earth, and so that they may teach their children.’
Tell them about the day that your ancestors stood in the presence of Yahweh our God at Sinai [Mountain], when he said to me, ‘Gather the people together, in order that they can hear what I say. I want them to learn to have an awesome respect for me as long as they are alive, and I want them to teach their children to do that also.’
11 And you approached the base of the mountain, which was burning even toward heaven. And there was a darkness upon it, and a cloud, and a mist.
[Tell them that] your ancestors came near the bottom of the mountain, while the mountain burned with a fire that went up to the sky, and the mountain was covered with dark clouds and black [smoke].
12 And the Lord spoke to you from the midst of fire. You heard the voice of his words, but you did not see any form at all.
Then Yahweh spoke to your ancestors out of the middle of the fire. Your ancestors heard him speak, but they did not see him. They only heard his voice.
13 And he revealed his covenant to you, which he instructed you to carry out, and the ten words which he wrote on two tablets of stone.
And he declared to them his agreement. That agreement contained the Ten Commandments that he wants you to obey. He wrote those on two stone tablets.
14 And he commanded me, at that time, that I should teach you the ceremonies and judgments which you must carry out, in the land that you shall possess.
Yahweh commanded me to teach all the rules and regulations to you, in order that you would obey them in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.”
15 And so, guard your souls carefully. You saw no likeness on the day that the Lord God spoke to you on Horeb from the midst of fire.
“On the day that Yahweh spoke to your ancestors at Sinai [Mountain], he was invisible. So, be careful
16 Otherwise, perhaps being deceived, you might have made a graven image, or an image of male or female,
that you do not sin by making for yourselves any idol [of something that can be seen!] not make an idol that resembles any person, either a man or a woman,
17 a likeness of any of the beasts, which are upon the earth, or of birds, which fly under heaven,
or that resembles any animal or any bird
18 or of reptiles, which move across the earth, or of fish, which abide in the waters under the earth.
or any (reptile/creature that scurries across the ground) or any fish in the deep ocean.
19 Otherwise, perhaps lifting up your eyes to heaven, you might look upon the sun and the moon and all the stars of heaven, and being deceived by error, you might adore and worship these things, which the Lord your God created for the service of all the nations, which are under heaven.
And be careful to not look up toward the sky and be tempted to worship anything that you see there—the sun or the moon or the stars. Yahweh our God has given those to [be a blessing to] all people everywhere, [but you must not worship them].
20 But the Lord has taken you up, and led you away from the iron furnaces of Egypt, in order to have a people of inheritance, just as it is to the present day.
Yahweh has brought your ancestors out of Egypt, where [they were suffering as though] they were in a blazing furnace, in order that they would be people who belong to him, which is what you are today.
21 And the Lord became angry against me because of your words, and he swore that I would not cross over the Jordan, nor enter into the excellent land, which he will give to you.
“But Yahweh was angry with me because of [what] your ancestors [made me do]. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan [River] to enter the good/fertile land that he is giving to you.
22 Behold, I shall die on this soil. I shall not cross over the Jordan. You shall cross it, and you shall possess the singular land.
He said that I must die here in this land and never cross the Jordan [River]. But you will go across it, and you will occupy that land.
23 Be careful, lest you at some time forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he has formed with you, and lest you make for yourselves a graven likeness of those things which the Lord has prohibited to be made.
Be sure that you do not forget the agreement that Yahweh our God made with you. He commanded you to not make any kind of idol, because he has forbidden that.
24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
[You must not do that] because Yahweh your God will destroy [anyone who worships idols, ] like [MET] a fire completely destroys things. He [wants people to worship only him, he] (cannot accept/will punish) people who worship anyone or anything else.
25 When you will have conceived sons and grandsons while abiding in the land, and if, having been deceived, you make for yourselves any likeness, accomplishing evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to wrath,
“When you have been in the land [of Canaan] for a long time and you have children and grandchildren, do not sin by making an idol that represents anything at all, because Yahweh says that is evil, and if you do that, you will cause him to become angry with you [and punish you].
26 I call heaven and earth as witnesses this day, that you shall quickly perish from the land, which, when you have crossed over the Jordan, you will possess. You will not live in it for a long time; instead, the Lord will destroy you.
Today I am requesting everyone who is in heaven and everyone who is on the earth [MTY] to watch what you are doing. [If you disobey what I am telling you], you will soon all die in the land that you will be crossing the Jordan [River] to occupy. You will not live very long there; Yahweh will completely get rid of many [HYP] of you.
27 And he will scatter you among all the nations, and few of you will remain among those nations, to which the Lord will lead you.
And [the rest of you], Yahweh will force you to go and live among the people of many other nations. Only a few of you will (survive/remain alive) there.
28 And there, you will serve gods which were fabricated by the hands of men: gods of wood and of stone, who neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
When you are in those nations, you will worship gods that are made of wood and stone, gods made by humans, gods that cannot see anything or hear anything or eat anything or smell anything.
29 And when you will seek the Lord your God in that place, you shall find him, if only you seek him with all your heart, and in all the tribulation of your soul.
But while you are there, if you will try to know Yahweh your God, and if you try with your entire inner being to know him, he will (answer/reveal himself to) you.
30 After all these things which have been foretold have found you, in the end time, you shall return to the Lord your God, and you will hear his voice.
In the future, after you have been mistreated there and all those bad things happen to you, you will again worship only Yahweh and obey him.
31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not abandon you, nor will he entirely destroy you, nor will he forget the covenant, which he swore to your fathers.
Yahweh is a God who acts mercifully. [If you continue to obey him], he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the agreement that he solemnly made with your ancestors.”
32 Inquire concerning the days of antiquity, which were before you, from the day when God created man upon the earth, from one end of heaven to another, if anything similar has ever occurred, or whether any such thing has ever been known,
“Now think about the past, about the time before you were born, about all the time since God first created people here on the earth. You could search everywhere, in heaven and on the earth. (Has anything like this ever happened that is as great as [what Yahweh did for the Israeli people]?/Certainly nothing has ever happened that is as great [as what Yahweh did for the Israeli people].) [RHQ] (Has anyone ever heard of anything like this?/Certainly no one has ever heard of anything like this.) [RHQ]
33 that a people would hear the voice of God, speaking from the midst of fire, just as you have heard it, and live,
(Has any group ever remained alive after they heard a god speak to them from the middle of a fire, like we did?/Certainly no group has ever remained alive after they heard a god speak to them from the middle of a fire, like we did.) [RHQ]
34 whether God has acted so as to enter and take for himself a nation from the midst of the nations, by means of tests, signs, and wonders, by means of fighting, and a strong hand, and an outstretched arm, and terrible visions, in accord with all the things which the Lord your God has accomplished for you in Egypt, in the sight of your eyes.
Certainly no other god has ever tried to take a [huge] group of people from one nation [to another location], like he did for us when he brought us out of Egypt. We saw Yahweh our God use great power [MTY, DOU] when he performed many kinds of [DOU] miracles, and sent plagues, and did many other very terrifying things in Egypt for us, [and rescued us when the army of Egypt tried to fight against us].
35 So may you know that the Lord himself is God, and there is no other beside him.
“Yahweh showed all these things to you, in order that you would know that only he is truly God, and that there is no other God.
36 He has caused you to hear his voice from heaven, so that he might teach you. And he showed you his exceedingly great fire on earth, and you heard his words from the midst of the fire.
He allowed your ancestors to hear him speak from heaven in order that he could discipline them. Here on the earth he allowed them to see his great fire [on Sinai Mountain], and he spoke to them from the middle of the fire.
37 For he loved your fathers, and he chose their offspring after them. And he led you away from Egypt, advancing before you with his great power,
Because he loved our ancestors, he chose you Israelis who are their descendants, and by his great power he brought your ancestors out of Egypt.
38 so as to wipe away, upon your arrival, nations, very great and stronger than you, and so as to lead you in, and to present to you their land as a possession, just as you discern in the present day.
[As they advanced], he expelled the people of nations that were greater and more powerful than they were, in order that he could allow them to capture their land and cause it to become yours, which is [what is happening] now.
39 Therefore, know on this day and consider in your heart, that the Lord himself is God in heaven above, and on earth below, and there is no other.
“So today you should (meditate on/think about) the fact that Yahweh is God, that he is/rules in heaven and also on the earth, and that there is no other god.
40 Keep his precepts and commandments, which I am teaching to you, so that it may be well with you, and with your sons after you, and so that you may remain for a long time upon the land, which the Lord your God will give to you.”
Obey all the rules and regulations that I am giving to you today, in order that things will go well for you and for your descendants, and that you will live a long time in the land that Yahweh our God is giving to you, [to belong to you] forever.”
41 Then Moses set aside three cities, across the Jordan toward the eastern region,
Then Moses/I set apart three cities that are on the east side of the Jordan [River].
42 so that anyone might flee to these if he has killed his neighbor unwillingly, who was not his enemy a day or two earlier, and so that he would be able to escape to one of these cities:
If someone accidentally killed another person, a person who had not been his enemy previously, he could escape to one of those cities. He would be safe/protected in one of those cities [because the people there would protect him].
43 Bezer in the wilderness, which is situated in the plains of the tribe of Ruben; and Ramoth in Gilead, which is in the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, which is in the tribe of Manasseh.
For the tribe of Reuben, Moses/I set apart Bezer [city] in the (plateau/high level) area. For the tribe of Gad, Moses/I set apart Ramoth [city] in the Gilead [area]. For the tribe of Manasseh, Moses/I set apart Golan [city] in the Bashan [region].
44 This is the law, which Moses set forth before the sons of Israel.
Moses/I gave [God’s] laws to the Israeli people.
45 And these are the testimonies and ceremonies as well as judgments, which he spoke to the sons of Israel, when they departed from Egypt,
They included all the rules and instructions and commands that Moses/I gave to them, after they/we had come out of Egypt,
46 across the Jordan, in the valley opposite the shrine of Peor, in the land of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses struck down. Accordingly, the sons of Israel, having departed from Egypt,
when they/we were in the valley east of the Jordan [River]. They/We were across from Beth-Peor [town], in the land that [previously] was ruled by Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lived in Heshbon [city]. Moses/I and the other Israelis had defeated his [army] when they/we came out of Egypt.
47 possessed his land, and the land of Og, the king of Bashan, the land of the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun:
They/We captured Sihon’s land and the land that Og, the king of the Bashan [region], ruled. They were the two kings who ruled the Amor people-group [in the area] east of the Jordan [River].
48 from Aroer, which is situated above the bank of the torrent Arnon, as far as Mount Zion, which is also called Hermon,
Their land extended from Aroer [town in the south] along the Arnon [River], as far [north] as Sirion Mountain, which [most people] call Hermon Mountain.
49 the entire plain across the Jordan, from its eastern region, as far as the sea of the wilderness, and even to the base of Mount Pisgah.
It also included all the area east of the Jordan [River] Valley, all the way south to the Dead Sea and east to the slopes of Pisgah [Mountain].
