Deuteronomy 4

1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, to the statutes and to the judgments, which I teach you, to do [them], that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.

“And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and to the judgments which I am teaching you to do, so that you live, and have gone in, and possessed the land which YHWH God of your fathers is giving to you.

2 Ye shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish [aught] from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

You do not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor diminish from it, to keep the commands of your God YHWH which I am commanding you.

3 Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baal-peor: for all the men that followed Baal-peor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.

Your eyes are seeing that which YHWH has done in Ba‘al-Peor, for every man who has gone after Ba‘al-Peor, your God YHWH has destroyed him from your midst;

4 But ye who adhered to the LORD your God, [are] alive every one of you this day.

and you who are cleaving to your God YHWH [are] alive today—all of you.

5 Behold, I have taught you statutes, and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.

See, I have taught you statutes and judgments, as my God YHWH has commanded me, to do so in the midst of the land to where you are going in to possess it;

6 Keep therefore and do [them]; for this [is] your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which will hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation [is] a wise and understanding people.

and you have kept and done [them] (for it [is] your wisdom and your understanding) before the eyes of the peoples who hear all these statutes, and they have said, Surely a people wise and understanding [is] this great nation.

7 For what nation [is there so] great, which [hath] God [so] nigh to them, as the LORD our God [is] in all [things that] we call upon him [for]?

For which [is] the great nation that has God [so] near to it, as our God YHWH, in all we have called to 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?

And which [is] the great nation which has righteous statutes and judgments according to all this law which I am setting before you today?

9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou shouldst forget the things which thy eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them to thy sons, and thy sons' sons:

Only, take heed to yourself, and watch your soul exceedingly, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they turn aside from your heart all [the] days of your life; and you have made them known to your sons and to your sons’ sons.

10 [Specially] the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, Assemble the people to me, 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.

[Never forget] the day when you have stood before your God YHWH in Horeb, in YHWH’s saying to me, Assemble the people to Me, and I cause them to hear My words, so that they learn to fear Me all the days that they are alive on the ground, and they teach their sons;

11 And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.

and you draw near and stand under the mountain, and the mountain is burning with fire to the heart of the heavens, [with] darkness, cloud, and thick darkness,

12 And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only [ye heard] a voice.

and YHWH speaks to you out of the midst of the fire; you are hearing a voice of words, but you are seeing no likeness, only a voice;

13 And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, [even] ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.

and He declares His covenant to you, which He has commanded you to do, the Ten Commandments, and He writes them on two tablets of stone.

14 And the LORD 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.

And YHWH has commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, for your doing them in the land to where you are passing over to possess it.

15 Take ye therefore good heed to yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day [that] the LORD spoke to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire;

And you have been very watchful of your souls, for you have not seen any likeness in the day of YHWH’s speaking to you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire,

16 Lest ye corrupt [yourselves], and make to you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

lest you do corruptly, and have made for yourselves a carved image, a likeness of any figure: a form of 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,

a form of any beast which [is] in the earth, a form of any winged bird which flies in the heavens,

18 The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that [is] in the waters beneath the earth:

a form of any creeping thing on the ground, a form of any fish which [is] in the waters below the earth.

19 And lest thou shouldst lift up thy eyes to heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, [even] all the host of heaven, shouldst be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided to all nations under the whole heaven.

And lest you lift up your eyes to the heavens, and have seen the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of the heavens, and have been drawn away, and have bowed yourself to them and served them, which your God YHWH has apportioned to all the peoples under all the heavens.

20 But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you out of the iron furnace, [even] from Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as [ye are] this day.

And YHWH has taken you, and He is bringing you out from the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be to Him for a people, an inheritance, as [at] this day.

21 Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not enter that good land which the LORD thy God giveth thee [for] an inheritance:

And YHWH has showed Himself angry with me because of your words, and swears to my not passing over the Jordan, and to my not going into the good land which your God YHWH is giving to you [for] an inheritance;

22 But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.

for I am dying in this land; I am not passing over the Jordan, but you are passing over and have possessed this good land.

23 Take heed to yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, [or] the likeness of any [thing] which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.

Take heed to yourselves lest you forget the covenant of your God YHWH which He has made with you, and have made a carved image for yourselves, a likeness of anything [concerning] which your God YHWH has charged you;

24 For the LORD thy God [is] a consuming fire, [even] a jealous God.

for your God YHWH is a consuming fire—a zealous 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 the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:

When you beget sons and sons’ sons, and you have become old in the land, and have done corruptly, and have made a carved image, a likeness of anything, and have done evil in the eyes of YHWH to provoke Him to anger,

26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from the land to which ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong [your] days upon it, but shall be utterly destroyed.

I have caused the heavens and the earth to testify against you this day, that you perish utterly quickly from off the land to where you are passing over the Jordan to possess it; you do not prolong days on it, but are utterly destroyed;

27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.

and YHWH has scattered you among the peoples, and you have been left few in number among the nations to where YHWH leads 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.

and you have served gods there, work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which do not see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.

29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find [him], if thou shalt seek him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.

And you have sought your God YHWH from there, and have found [Him] when you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things have come upon thee, [even] in the latter days, if thou shalt turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient to his voice;

In the distress of yours, when all these things have found you in the latter end of the days, and you have turned back to your God YHWH and have listened to His voice—

31 (For the LORD thy God [is] a merciful God; ) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which he swore to them.

for your God YHWH [is] a merciful God—He does not fail you, nor destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which He has sworn to them.

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 to the other, whether there hath been [any such thing] as this great thing [is], or hath been heard like it?

For ask now of the former days which have been before you, from the day that God created man on the earth, and from the [one] end of the heavens even to the [other] end of the heavens, whether there has been as this great thing, or [if anything] has been heard like it.

33 Did [ever] people hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?

Has a people heard the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, you—and live?

34 Or hath God essayed 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 an out-stretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?

Or has God tried to go in to take a nation for Himself from the midst of a nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a strong hand, and by an outstretched arm, and by great terrors, according to all that your God YHWH has done to you in Egypt before your eyes?

35 To thee it was shown, that thou mightest know that the LORD he [is] God; [there is] none besides him.

You—you have been shown [it], to know that He, YHWH, [is] God; there is none else besides Him.

36 Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee; and upon earth he showed thee his great fire; and thou heardst his words from the midst of the fire.

He has caused you to hear His voice from the heavens, to instruct you; and on earth He has showed you His great fire, and you have heard His words out of the midst of the fire.

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

And because that He has loved your fathers, He also fixes on their seed after them, and brings you out in His presence, by His great power, from Egypt,

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.

to dispossess nations greater and stronger than you from your presence, to bring you in to give their land to you [for] an inheritance, as [at] this day.

39 Know therefore this day, and consider [it] in thy heart, that the LORD he [is] God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: [there is] none else.

And you have known today, and have turned [it] back to your heart, that He, YHWH, [is] God in the heavens above and on the earth below—there is none else;

40 Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes and his commandments which I command thee this day, that it may be well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong [thy] days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.

and you have kept His statutes and His commands which I am commanding you today, so that it is well for you, and for your sons after you, and so that you prolong days on the ground which your God YHWH is giving to you—all the days.”

41 Then Moses set apart three cities on the side of Jordan, towards the sun-rising;

Then Moses separates three cities beyond the Jordan, toward the sun-rising,

42 That the slayer might flee thither, who should kill his neighbor unawares, and when he had not hated him in times past; and that fleeing to one of these cities he might live:

for the fleeing there of the manslayer who slays his neighbor unknowingly, and he is not hating him before, and he has fled to one of these cities and he has lived:

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 wilderness, in the land of the plain, for the Reubenite; and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadite; and Golan in Bashan for the Manassite.

44 And this [is] the law which Moses set before the children of Israel.

And this [is] the law which Moses has set before the sons of Israel;

45 These [are] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spoke to the children of Israel, after they came forth from Egypt,

these [are] the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses has spoken to the sons of Israel in their coming out of Egypt,

46 On the east side of 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 had come forth from Egypt:

beyond the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-Peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorite, who is dwelling in Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel have struck in their coming out of Egypt;

47 And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, who [were] on the side of Jordan, towards the sun-rising;

and they possess his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorite who [are] beyond the Jordan, [toward] the sun-rising,

48 From Aroer, which [is] by the bank of the river Arnon, even to mount Sion, which [is] Hermon,

from Aroer, which [is] by the edge of the Brook of Arnon, even to Mount Zion, which [is] Hermon—

49 And all the plain on the side of Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.

and all the plain beyond the Jordan eastward, even to the Sea of the Plain, below the Springs of Pisgah.