Deuteronomy 4
1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which Yhwh God of your fathers giveth you.
People of Israel, pay attention to the rules and regulations I'm teaching you to observe. That way you can stay alive, and go in and take over the country the Lord, the God of your forefathers, is giving you.
2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of Yhwh your God which I command you.
You are not to add to or take away from what I'm telling you, so that you can keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I'm ordering you to follow.
3 Your eyes have seen what Yhwh did because of Baal–peor: for all the men that followed Baal–peor, Yhwh thy God hath destroyed them from among you.
You've seen for yourselves what the Lord did at Baal-peor where the Lord your God killed everyone among you who worshiped Baal of Peor.
4 But ye that did cleave unto Yhwh your God are alive every one of you this day.
Those of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today, every one of you.
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as Yhwh my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.
Listen, I have taught you the rules and regulations just as the Lord my God ordered me to do, so you can follow them in the country that you are about to enter and take over.
6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
Be careful to observe them, because this will demonstrate your wisdom and insight to the other people living there who are watching. They will find out about all these rules and say, “The people of this great nation are very wise and have good insight.”
7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as Yhwh our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
What nation is as great as us, having a god so close to them as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call on him?
8 And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
What nation is as great as us, having such good rules and regulations like all these laws that I'm placing before you today?
9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons;
Just make sure to be very careful, and really watch what you do, so you don't forget the things you've have seen. Keep them in mind as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.
10 Specially the day that thou stoodest before Yhwh thy God in Horeb, when Yhwh said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.
That day when you stood in the presence of the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord told me, “Have the people come to me and to hear what I have to say, so they may learn to have respect for me throughout their lives here on earth, and so they may teach this to their children.”
11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
You gathered and stood at the foot of the mountain. The mountain was on fire, shooting out flames into the sky and producing thick dark clouds.
12 And Yhwh spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
The Lord spoke to you from the fire. You heard the words, but you didn't see the form of anyone speaking—there was just a voice.
13 And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.
He explained to you his agreement, the Ten Commandments, which he ordered you to follow. He wrote them down on two tablets of stone.
14 And Yhwh commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.
This was the time that the Lord ordered me to teach you the rules and regulations that you are to follow when you arrive in the country you're going to own once you've crossed the Jordan.
15 Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that Yhwh spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:
You didn't see any form when the Lord spoke to you from the fire at Horeb, so be very careful
16 Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
that you don't spoil your relationship with the Lord by making an idol for yourselves in any shape or form, whether it looks like a male or female,
17 The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,
or any land animal or bird that flies,
18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:
or of any animal that crawls on the ground or any fish in the deep sea.
19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which Yhwh thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
When you look up at the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the heavenly bodies—don't be tempted to bow down to them. Don't worship them like all the other nations on earth in the way that the Lord has allowed.
20 But Yhwh hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.
Remember that the Lord took you and led you out of the iron furnace which was Egypt to be his own people, just as you are today.
21 Furthermore Yhwh was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which Yhwh thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:
But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he vowed that I wouldn't cross the Jordan to enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you to own.
22 But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.
So I will not be crossing the Jordan, because I have to die here in this land. But you will cross over and occupy that good land.
23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of Yhwh your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which Yhwh thy God hath forbidden thee.
However, be careful not to forget the agreement of the Lord your God that he made with you. Don't make an idol for yourselves in the form of anything, because he has forbidden you to do this.
24 For Yhwh thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
For the Lord your God is a fire that burns everything up. He is an exclusive God.
25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of Yhwh thy God, to provoke him to anger:
After you have been living in the country for a long time and have had children and grandchildren, if you then spoil the relationship you have with the Lord and make an idol in any form. The Lord your God sees this as evil makes him angry.
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
If you do this, I call on heaven and earth to be witnesses against you today that you will be completely wiped out from the country that you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will not live long there—you will be totally destroyed.
27 And Yhwh shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither Yhwh shall lead you.
The Lord will scatter you among the other nations, and not many of you will survive in the countries where the Lord has exiled you.
28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
There you will worship gods of wood and stone made by human beings. These idols can't see or hear or eat or smell.
29 But if from thence thou shalt seek Yhwh thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
However, if while you're there you decide to come to the Lord your God, you will find him if you come to him whole-heartedly, with complete commitment.
30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to Yhwh thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
When you are in trouble, after you've experienced all these things, then eventually you will return to the Lord your God and do what he says.
31 ( For Yhwh thy God is a merciful God; ) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
The Lord your God is a merciful God. He won't abandon you or destroy you or forget the agreement he made with your forefathers, confirmed by a solemn promise.
32 For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?
Think about it! Examine the whole of history from the beginning of time, long before you existed, when God made human beings, right up until now. Ask this question anywhere, from one end of the earth to the other: Has anything as amazing as this ever happened before; has anyone ever heard anything like this?
33 Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?
Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, like you have, and survived?
34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that Yhwh your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
Has any god tried to take a nation out of another nation and make them his own, using tests and signs and miracles and war—with his great power and incredible strength and terrifying actions—like the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes?
35 Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that Yhwh he is God; there is none else beside him.
You were shown all this so you could be certain that the Lord is God and there is no one like him.
36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.
He made you hear his voice from heaven so you would obey him. On earth he revealed himself though blazing fire, and you heard him speak to you from the fire.
37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
Because he loved your forefathers, he chose you, their descendants. He himself led you out of Egypt by his great power,
38 To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.
driving out ahead of you nations that were greater and stronger than you, in order to lead you to their land and give it to you as yours to own, just as you do today.
39 Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that Yhwh he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.
So today be sure about this and never forget: the Lord is the only God in heaven above and on the earth below.
40 Thou shalt keep therefore 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 prolong thy days upon the earth, which Yhwh thy God giveth thee, for ever.
Observe his rules and regulations that I'm giving you right now, so that you and your children will do well, and that you may have long lives in the country that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.
41 Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;
Then Moses assigned three sanctuary towns to the east of the Jordan
42 That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:
where a person could run to after accidentally killing someone without deliberate hatred. To save their life they could run to one of these towns:
43 Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.
Bezer in the desert plain belonging to the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the tribe of Gad, or Golan in Bashan belonging to the tribe of Manasseh.
44 And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:
This is the law that Moses placed before the Israelites.
45 These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt,
These are the laws, rules, and regulations Moses gave them after they had come out of Egypt.
46 On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Beth–peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:
This was when they were in the valley to the east of the Jordan near Beth-peor in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites. He had ruled from Heshbon and had been defeated by Moses and the Israelites after they had left Egypt.
47 And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;
They took over his country and the country of Og king of Bashan. (They were the two kings of the Amorites who previously ruled on the east side of the Jordan.)
48 From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon,
The territory went from the town of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley all the way to Mount Sirion, otherwise known as Mount Hermon,
49 And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.
and included all the Arabah to the east of the Jordan down as far as the Dead Sea beside the slopes of Mount Pisgah.
