Deuteronomii 4
1 Et nunc, Israël, audi præcepta et judicia, quæ ego doceo te: ut faciens ea, vivas, et ingrediens possideas terram, quam Dominus Deus patrum vestrorum daturus est vobis.
“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 Non addetis ad verbum, quod vobis loquor, nec auferetis ex eo: custodite mandata Domini Dei vestri, quæ ego præcipio vobis.
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 Oculi vestri viderunt omnia quæ fecit Dominus contra Beelphegor, quomodo contriverit omnes cultores ejus de medio vestri.
“You have seen what Yahweh did at Baal-Peor [Mountain]. He got rid of all the people who worshiped [the god] Baal there,
4 Vos autem qui adhæretis Domino Deo vestro, vivitis universi usque in præsentem diem.
but you who faithfully [continued to worship] Yahweh our God are still alive today.
5 Scitis quod docuerim vos præcepta atque justitias, sicut mandavit mihi Dominus Deus meus: sic facietis ea in terra, quam possessuri estis:
“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 et observabitis et implebitis opere. Hæc est enim vestra sapientia, et intellectus coram populis, ut audientes universa præcepta hæc, dicant: En populus sapiens et intelligens, gens magna.
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 Nec est alia natio tam grandis, quæ habeat deos appropinquantes sibi, sicut Deus noster adest cunctis obsecrationibus nostris.
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 Quæ est enim alia gens sic inclyta, ut habeat cæremonias, justaque judicia, et universam legem, quam ego proponam hodie ante oculos vestros?
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 Custodi igitur temetipsum, et animam tuam sollicite. Ne obliviscaris verborum, quæ viderunt oculi tui, et ne excidant de corde tuo cunctis diebus vitæ tuæ. Docebis ea filios ac nepotes tuos,
“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 a die in quo stetisti coram Domino Deo tuo in Horeb, quando Dominus locutus est mihi, dicens: Congrega ad me populum, ut audiant sermones meos, et discant timere me omni tempore quo vivunt in terra, doceantque filios suos.
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 Et accessistis ad radices montis, qui ardebat usque ad cælum: erantque in eo tenebræ, et nubes, et caligo.
[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 Locutusque est Dominus ad vos de medio ignis. Vocem verborum ejus audistis, et formam penitus non vidistis.
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 Et ostendit vobis pactum suum, quod præcepit ut faceretis, et decem verba, quæ scripsit in duabus tabulis lapideis.
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 Mihique mandavit in illo tempore ut docerem vos cæremonias et judicia, quæ facere deberetis in terra, quam possessuri estis.
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 Custodite igitur sollicite animas vestras. Non vidistis aliquam similitudinem in die, qua locutus est vobis Dominus in Horeb de medio ignis:
“On the day that Yahweh spoke to your ancestors at Sinai [Mountain], he was invisible. So, be careful
16 ne forte decepti faciatis vobis sculptam similitudinem, aut imaginem masculi vel feminæ:
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 similitudinem omnium jumentorum, quæ sunt super terram, vel avium sub cælo volantium,
or that resembles any animal or any bird
18 atque reptilium, quæ moventur in terra, sive piscium qui sub terra morantur in aquis:
or any (reptile/creature that scurries across the ground) or any fish in the deep ocean.
19 ne forte elevatis oculis ad cælum, videas solem et lunam, et omnia astra cæli, et errore deceptus adores ea, et colas quæ creavit Dominus Deus tuus in ministerium cunctis gentibus, quæ sub cælo sunt.
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 Vos autem tulit Dominus, et eduxit de fornace ferrea Ægypti, ut haberet populum hæreditarium, sicut est in præsenti die.
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 Iratusque est Dominus contra me propter sermones vestros, et juravit ut non transirem Jordanem, nec ingrederer terram optimam, quam daturus est vobis.
“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 Ecce morior in hac humo; non transibo Jordanem: vos transibitis, et possidebitis terram egregiam.
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 Cave nequando obliviscaris pacti Domini Dei tui, quod pepigit tecum, et facias tibi sculptam similitudinem eorum, quæ fieri Dominus prohibuit:
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 quia Dominus Deus tuus ignis consumens est, Deus æmulator.
[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 Si genueritis filios ac nepotes, et morati fueritis in terra, deceptique feceritis vobis aliquam similitudinem, patrantes malum coram Domino Deo vestro, ut eum ad iracundiam provocetis:
“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 testes invoco hodie cælum et terram, cito perituros vos esse de terra, quam transito Jordane possessuri estis: non habitabitis in ea longo tempore, sed delebit vos Dominus,
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 atque disperget in omnes gentes, et remanebitis pauci in nationibus, ad quas vos ducturus est Dominus.
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 Ibique servietis diis, qui hominum manu fabricati sunt, ligno et lapidi qui non vident, nec audiunt, nec comedunt, nec odorantur.
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 Cumque quæsieris ibi Dominum Deum tuum, invenies eum: si tamen toto corde quæsieris, et tota tribulatione animæ tuæ.
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 Postquam te invenerint omnia quæ prædicta sunt, novissimo tempore reverteris ad Dominum Deum tuum, et audies vocem ejus.
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 Quia Deus misericors Dominus Deus tuus est: non dimittet te, nec omnino delebit, neque obliviscetur pacti, in quo juravit patribus tuis.
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 Interroga de diebus antiquis, qui fuerunt ante te ex die quo creavit Deus hominem super terram, a summo cælo usque ad summum ejus, si facta est aliquando hujuscemodi res, aut umquam cognitum est,
“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 ut audiret populus vocem Dei loquentis de medio ignis, sicut tu audisti, et vixisti:
(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 si fecit Deus ut ingrederetur, et tolleret sibi gentem de medio nationum, per tentationes, signa atque portenta, per pugnam et robustam manum, extentumque brachium, et horribiles visiones juxta omnia quæ fecit pro vobis Dominus Deus vester in Ægypto, videntibus oculis tuis:
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 ut scires quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus, et non est alius præter eum.
“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 De cælo te fecit audire vocem suam, ut doceret te, et in terra ostendit tibi ignem suum maximum, et audisti verba illius de medio ignis:
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 quia dilexit patres tuos, et elegit semen eorum post eos. Eduxitque te præcedens in virtute sua magna ex Ægypto,
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 ut deleret nationes maximas et fortiores te in introitu tuo: et introduceret te, daretque tibi terram earum in possessionem, sicut cernis in præsenti die.
[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 Scito ergo hodie, et cogitato in corde tuo quod Dominus ipse sit Deus in cælo sursum, et in terra deorsum, et non sit alius.
“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 Custodi præcepta ejus atque mandata, quæ ego præcipio tibi: ut bene sit tibi, et filiis tuis post te, et permaneas multo tempore super terram, quam Dominus Deus tuus daturus est tibi.
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 Tunc separavit Moyses tres civitates trans Jordanem ad orientalem plagam,
Then Moses/I set apart three cities that are on the east side of the Jordan [River].
42 ut confugiat ad eas qui occiderit nolens proximum suum, nec sibi fuerit inimicus ante unum et alterum diem, et ad harum aliquam urbium possit evadere:
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 Bosor in solitudine, quæ sita est in terra campestri de tribu Ruben: et Ramoth in Galaad, quæ est in tribu Gad: et Golan in Basan, quæ est in tribu Manasse.
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 Ista est lex, quam proposuit Moyses coram filiis Israël:
Moses/I gave [God’s] laws to the Israeli people.
45 et hæc testimonia et cæremoniæ atque judicia, quæ locutus est ad filios Israël, quando egressi sunt de Ægypto,
They included all the rules and instructions and commands that Moses/I gave to them, after they/we had come out of Egypt,
46 trans Jordanem in valle contra fanum Phogor in terra Sehon regis Amorrhæi, qui habitavit in Hesebon, quem percussit Moyses. Filii quoque Israël egressi ex Ægypto
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 possederunt terram ejus, et terram Og regis Basan, duorum regum Amorrhæorum, qui erant trans Jordanem ad solis ortum:
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 ab Aroër, quæ sita est super ripam torrentis Arnon, usque ad montem Sion, qui est et 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 omnem planitiem trans Jordanem ad orientalem plagam, usque ad mare solitudinis, et usque ad radices montis Phasga.
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].
