Deuteronomy 4

1 'And now, Israel, hearken unto the statutes, and unto the judgments which I am teaching you to do, so that ye live, and have gone in, and possessed the land which Jehovah God of your fathers is giving to 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 do not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor diminish from it, to keep the commands of Jehovah your God which I am commanding you.

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 are seeing that which Jehovah hath done in Baal-Peor, for every man who hath gone after Baal-Peor, Jehovah thy God hath destroyed him from thy midst;

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 and ye who are cleaving to Jehovah your God, [are] alive, all of you, to-day.

But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.

5 'See, I have taught you statutes and judgments, as Jehovah my God hath commanded me — to do so, in the midst of the land whither ye are going in to possess 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 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, Only, a people wise and understanding [is] this great nation.

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 which [is] the great nation that hath God near unto it, as Jehovah our God, in all we have called unto 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 which [is] the great nation which hath righteous statutes and judgments according to all this law which I am setting before you to-day?

And what nation is great enough to have righteous statutes and ordinances like this entire law I set before you today?

9 'Only, take heed to thyself, and watch thy soul exceedingly, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they turn aside from thy heart, all days of thy life; and thou hast made them known to thy sons, and to 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 'The day when thou hast stood before Jehovah thy God in Horeb — in Jehovah's saying unto me, Assemble to Me the people, 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 their sons they teach; —

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 draw near and stand under the mountain, and the mountain is burning with fire unto the heart of the heavens — darkness, cloud, yea, thick darkness:

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 Jehovah speaketh unto you out of the midst of the fire; a voice of words ye are hearing and a similitude ye are not seeing, only 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 declareth to you His covenant, which He hath commanded you to do, the Ten Matters, and He writeth them upon 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 me hath Jehovah commanded at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, for your doing them in the land whither ye are passing over to possess 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 ye have been very watchful of your souls, for ye have not seen any similitude in the day of Jehovah's speaking unto you in Horeb 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 do corruptly, and have made to you a graven image, a similitude of any figure, a form 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 a form of any beast which [is] in the earth — a form of any winged bird which flieth in the heavens —

of any beast that is on the earth or bird that flies in the air,

18 a form of any creeping thing on the ground — a form of any fish which [is] 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 thou lift up thine eyes towards the heavens, and hast seen the sun, and the moon, and the stars, all the host of the heavens, and thou hast been forced, and hast bowed thyself to them, and served them, which Jehovah thy God hath apportioned to all the peoples under the whole heavens.

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 'And you hath Jehovah taken, 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.

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 Jehovah hath shewed himself wroth with me because of your words, and sweareth to my not passing over the Jordan, and to my not going in unto the good land which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee — 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 dying in this land; I am not passing over the Jordan, and ye are passing over, and have possessed 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 Jehovah your God, which He hath made with you, and have made to yourselves a graven image, a similitude of anything [concerning] which Jehovah thy God hath charged 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 Jehovah thy God is a fire consuming — a zealous God.

For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

25 'When thou begettest sons and sons' sons, and ye have become old in the land, and have done corruptly, and have made a graven image, a similitude of anything, and have done the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, to provoke Him to anger: —

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

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 Jehovah hath scattered you among the peoples, and ye have been left few in number among the nations, whither Jehovah leadeth 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 have served there gods, work of man's hands, wood and stone, which see not, nor 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 — ye have sought from thence Jehovah thy God, and hast found, when thou seekest Him with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,

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 in distress [being] to thee, and all these things have found thee, in the latter end of the days, and thou hast turned back unto Jehovah thy God, and hast hearkened 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 for a merciful God [is] Jehovah thy God; He doth not fail thee, nor destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers, which He hath sworn 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 'For, ask, I pray thee, at the former days which have been before thee, from the day that God prepared man on the earth, and from the [one] end of the heavens even unto the [other] end of the heavens, whether there hath been as this great thing — or hath been heard like it?

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 Hath a people heard the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, thou — and doth live?

Has a people ever heard the voice of God speaking out of the fire, as you have, and lived?

34 Or hath God tried to go in to take to Himself, a nation from the midst of a nation, by trials, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm, and by great terrors — according to all that Jehovah your God hath done to you, in Egypt, before your eyes?

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 Thou, thou hast been shewn [it], to know that Jehovah He [is] God; there is none else besides Him.

You were shown these things so that you would know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him.

36 'From the heavens He hath caused thee to hear His voice, to instruct thee, and on earth He hath shewed thee His great fire, and His words thou hast heard 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 'And because that He hath loved thy fathers, He doth also fix on their seed after them, and doth bring thee out, in His presence, by His great power, from 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 dispossess nations greater and stronger than thou, from thy presence, to bring thee in to give to thee their land — an inheritance, as [at] 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 'And thou hast known to-day, and hast turned [it] back unto thy heart, that Jehovah He [is] God, in the heavens above, and on the earth beneath — there is none else;

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 thou hast kept His statutes and His commands which I am commanding thee to-day, so that it is well to thee, and to thy sons after thee, and so that thou prolongest days on the ground which Jehovah thy God is giving to thee — all the days.'

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 separateth three cities beyond the Jordan, towards the sun-rising,

Then Moses set aside three cities across the Jordan to the east

42 for the fleeing thither of the man-slayer, who slayeth his neighbour unknowingly, and he is not hating him heretofore, and he hath fled unto one of these cities, and he hath lived:

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

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

This is the law that Moses set before the Israelites.

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

These are the testimonies, statutes, and ordinances that Moses proclaimed to them after they had come out of Egypt,

46 beyond the Jordan, in the valley over-against Beth-Peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorite, who is dwelling in Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel have smitten, in their coming out 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 possess his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorite who [are] beyond the Jordan, [towards] the sun-rising;

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] by the edge of the brook Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which [is] Hermon —

extending from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley as far as Mount Siyon (that is, Hermon),

49 and all the plain beyond the Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.

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.