Deuteronomy 4
1 Now, therefore, O Israel, hearken thou unto the statutes, and unto the regulations, which, I, am teaching you, to do [them], —to the end ye may live and enter and possess the land, which, Yahweh, the God of your fathers, is giving unto 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, am commanding you, neither shall ye take away therefrom, —that ye may keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, which, I, am commanding 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 Yours are the eyes, that have seen what Yahweh did in Baal-peor, for every man who went after Baal-peor, did Yahweh thy God destroy out of thy midst;
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 who kept on cleaving unto Yahweh your God, alive, are ye all to-day.
Those of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today, every one of you.
5 See! I have taught you statutes, and regulations, as Yahweh my God commanded me, —that ye should do so, in the midst of the land whereinto ye are entering 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 Therefore shall ye observe, and do [them], for that, will be your wisdom, and discernment, in the eyes of the peoples, —who will hear all these statutes, and will say—Nevertheless, a people wise and discerning, is this great nation.
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 great nation is there which hath gods nigh unto it, —like Yahweh our God, whensoever we have cried out unto him.
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 Or what great nation which hath righteous statutes and regulations, like all this law, which, I, am setting before you to-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 thou heed to thyself and keep thy soul diligently, so that thou forget not the things which thine own eyes have seen, and so that they go not out of thy heart, all the days of thy life, —but thou shalt make them known unto thy sons and unto 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 What day thou didst stand before Yahweh thy God, in Horeb, when Yahweh said unto me, Gather unto me the people, that I may let them hear my words, —which they must learn that they may revere me all the days which they are living upon the soil, their children also, must they teach.
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 So ye drew near and stood, under the mountain. Now, the mountain, was burning with fire, up to the midst of the heavens, —darkness, cloud, and thick gloom.
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 Then spake Yahweh unto you out of the midst of the fire, —a voice of words, ye were hearing, no form, were ye seeing, there was only 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 Then declared he unto you his covenant which he commanded you to do, the ten words, —and 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 unto me, gave Yahweh command, at that time, to teach you statutes and regulations, —that ye should do them, in the land whereinto ye are passing 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 Ye must take diligent heed, therefore unto your own souls, for ye saw no manner of form, on the day Yahweh 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 should break faith, and make you an image, a form of any likeness, —a model 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 a model of any beast that is in the earth, —a model of any winged bird, that flieth in the heavens;
or any land animal or bird that flies,
18 a model of any thing that creepeth on the ground, —a model 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 or lest thou shouldest lift up thine eyes towards the heavens and see the sun and the moon, and the stars—all the host of the heavens, and shouldest be seduced, and shouldest bow thyself down to them and he led to serve them, —the which Yahweh thy God hath assigned unto all the peoples under all the heavens;
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 whereas you, hath Yahweh taken, and brought you forth out of a smelting-pot of iron, out of Egypt, —that ye might become his own inherited people as at 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 But, Yahweh shewed himself angry with me, for your sakes, —and sware that I should not pass over the Jordan, and that I should not enter into the good land, which, Yahweh thy God, is giving unto thee as 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 for, I, am about to die in this land, I am not to pass over the Jordan, —but, ye, are to pass over, and possess this 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 to yourselves lest ye forget the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he hath solemnised with you, —and so make for yourselves an image, the form of anything, the which Yahweh 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 seeing that as for Yahweh thy God, a consuming fire, he is, —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 sons, and sons’ sons, and become careless in the land and break faith and make an image the form of any thing, and shalt do the thing that is wicked in the eyes of Yahweh thy God provoking 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 take both the heavens and the earth to witness against you to-day, that ye shall, perish, speedily, from off the land which ye are passing over the Jordan to possess, —ye shall not prolong your days thereupon; for, ye shall surely be laid waste;
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 Yahweh will scatter you among the peoples, —and ye shall have left remaining of you men easily counted, among the nations whither Yahweh will drive 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 ye will serve there gods made by the hands of man, —wood or 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 If thou shalt seek from thence, Yahweh thy God, then shalt thou find him, —when thou shalt search after 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 In thy distress, when all these things have found thee out—in the afterpart of the days, thou wilt return unto Yahweh thy God, and wilt hearken to 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, a GOD of compassion, is Yahweh thy God, he will not forsake thee neither will he 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, I pray you, of the former days which were before thee, even from the day when God created man upon the earth, yea from one end of the heavens even to the other end of the heavens, —whether aught was ever brought to pass, like this great thing, or was ever heard of 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 a people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of fire, as, thou, didst hear, and yet live?
Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, like you have, and survived?
34 Or did a god ever make trial of entering in to take unto him a nation out of the midst of a nation, by provings, by signs and by wonders and by fighting, and by a firm hand and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors, —according to all that Yahweh 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 Thou, wast allowed to see that thou mightest know, that Yahweh, he is God, there is none other than he alone.
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 the heavens, he let thee hear his voice to instruct thee, —and, upon the earth, he let thee see his great fire, and his own words, thou didst hear 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 that he loved thy fathers, therefore chose he his seed after him, —and brought thee forth with his presence with his great might, 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 dispossess nations, greater and stronger than thou from before thee, —to bring thee in. to give unto thee their land for an inheritance: As at 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 So then thou must consider to-day, and bring it back to thy heart, that, Yahweh, he is God in the heavens above and upon the earth beneath, —there is none other.
So today be sure about this and never forget: the Lord is the only God in heaven above and on the earth below.
40 So shalt thou keep his statutes and his commandments which, I, am commanding thee to-day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy sons after thee, —and to the end thou mayest prolong thy days upon the soil, which Yahweh thy God, is giving thee, all the days.
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, did Moses set apart three cities, over the Jordan, —towards the rising of the sun:
Then Moses assigned three sanctuary towns to the east of the Jordan
42 that the manslayer might flee thither who should slay his neighbour unawares, he, not having hated him, aforetime, —and might flee unto one of these cities, and 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 desert of the table-land, for the Reubenites, —and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan, for 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 This, then is the law which Moses set before the sons of Israel:
This is the law that Moses placed before the Israelites.
45 These, are the testimonies, and the statutes and the regulations, —which Moses spake unto the sons of Israel when they came forth out of Egypt:
These are the laws, rules, and regulations Moses gave them after they had come out of Egypt.
46 over the Jordan in the valley over against Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, —whom Moses and the sons of Israel smote, when they came 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 so they took possession of his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan the two kings of the Amorites, who were over the Jordan, —towards the rising of the sun;
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 on the edge of the ravine of Arnon, even unto Mount Sion, the same, 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 waste plain over the Jordan, towards sunrise, even unto the sea of the waste plain, —under the slopes of the 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.
