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Deuteronomy 1:1-8:5
English Standard Version

The Command to Leave Horeb

1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in (A)the Arabah opposite (B)Suph, between (C)Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to (D)Kadesh-barnea. 3 (E)In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the people of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him in commandment to them, 4 after (F)he had defeated Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and (G)Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth and in (H)Edrei. 5 Beyond the Jordan, (I)in the land of Moab, Moses undertook to explain this law, saying, 6 “The Lord our God said to us in Horeb, (J)‘You have stayed long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to (K)the hill country of the Amorites and to all their neighbors in (L)the Arabah, (M)in the hill country and in the lowland and in the Negeb and (N)by the seacoast, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you. Go in and take possession of the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, (O)to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their offspring after them.’

Leaders Appointed

9 “At that time (P)I said to you, ‘I am not able to bear you by myself. 10 The Lord your God has multiplied you, and behold, (Q)you are today as numerous as the stars of heaven. 11 (R)May the Lord, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, (S)as he has promised you! 12 (T)How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? 13 (U)Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as your heads.’ 14 And you answered me, ‘The thing that you have spoken is good for us to do.’ 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and experienced men, (V)and set them as heads over you, commanders of thousands, commanders of hundreds, commanders of fifties, commanders of tens, and officers, throughout your tribes. 16 And I charged your judges at that time, ‘Hear the cases between your brothers, and (W)judge righteously between a man and his brother or the alien who is with him. 17 (X)You shall not be partial in judgment. You shall hear the small and the great alike. You shall not be intimidated by anyone, for (Y)the judgment is God's. And the case that is too hard for you, you shall (Z)bring to me, and I will hear it.’ 18 And I commanded you at that time all the things that you should do.

Israel's Refusal to Enter the Land

19 “Then we set out from Horeb and (AA)went through all that great and terrifying wilderness that you saw, on the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as the Lord our God commanded us. And (AB)we came to Kadesh-barnea. 20 And I said to you, ‘You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has set the land before you. Go up, take possession, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has told you. (AC)Do not fear or be dismayed.’ 22 Then all of you came near me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may explore the land for us and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up and the cities into which we shall come.’ 23 The thing seemed good to me, and (AD)I took twelve men from you, one man from each tribe. 24 And (AE)they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied it out. 25 And they took in their hands some of the fruit of the land and brought it down to us, and brought us word again and said, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’

26 “Yet you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 And (AF)you murmured in your tents and said, ‘Because the Lord (AG)hated us he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, (AH)to give us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? (AI)Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, (AJ)“The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen (AK)the sons of the Anakim there.”’ 29 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread or afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God who goes before you (AL)will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God (AM)carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32 Yet in spite of this word (AN)you did not believe the Lord your God, 33 (AO)who went before you in the way (AP)to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go.

The Penalty for Israel's Rebellion

34 “And the Lord heard your words and was angered, and he swore, 35 (AQ)‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, 36 (AR)except Caleb the son of Jephunneh. He shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land on which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord!’ 37 Even with me (AS)the Lord was angry on your account and said, ‘You also shall not go in there. 38 (AT)Joshua the son of Nun, (AU)who stands before you, he shall enter. (AV)Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39 And as for (AW)your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who today (AX)have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there. And to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. 40 But as for you, (AY)turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.’

41 “Then you answered me, (AZ)‘We have sinned against the Lord. We ourselves will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every one of you fastened on his weapons of war and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. 42 And the Lord said to me, (BA)‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, (BB)for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’ 43 So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and (BC)presumptuously went up into the hill country. 44 (BD)Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you (BE)as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as (BF)Hormah. 45 And you returned and wept before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. 46 So (BG)you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.

The Wilderness Years

2 “Then we turned and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, (BH)as the Lord told me. And for many days we traveled around Mount Seir. 2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 ‘You have been traveling around this mountain country (BI)long enough. Turn northward 4 and command the people, “You are about to pass through the territory of (BJ)your brothers, the people of Esau, (BK)who live in Seir; and (BL)they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. 5 Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because (BM)I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession. 6 (BN)You shall purchase food from them with money, that you may eat, and you shall also buy water from them with money, that you may drink. 7 For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. (BO)He knows your going through this great wilderness. (BP)These forty years the Lord your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.”’ 8 So (BQ)we went on, away from our brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir, away from (BR)the Arabah road from (BS)Elath and (BT)Ezion-geber.

“And we turned and went in the direction of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And the Lord said to me, (BU)‘Do not harass Moab or contend with them in battle, for I will not give you any of their land for a possession, because I have given (BV)Ar to (BW)the people of Lot for a possession.’ 10 ((BX)The Emim formerly lived there, (BY)a people great and many, and tall (BZ)as the Anakim. 11 Like the Anakim they are also counted as (CA)Rephaim, but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 (CB)The Horites also lived in Seir formerly, but the people of Esau dispossessed them and destroyed them from before them and settled in their place, (CC)as Israel did to the land of their possession, which the Lord gave to them.) 13 ‘Now rise up and go over (CD)the brook Zered.’ So we went over (CE)the brook Zered. 14 And the time from our leaving (CF)Kadesh-barnea until we crossed (CG)the brook Zered was thirty-eight years, (CH)until the entire generation, that is, the men of war, had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them. 15 For indeed the hand of the Lord was against them, to destroy them from the camp, until they had perished.

16 “So as soon as all the men of war had perished and were dead from among the people, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 ‘Today you are to cross the border of Moab at Ar. 19 And when you approach the territory of the people of Ammon, (CI)do not harass them or contend with them, for I will not give you any of the land of the people of Ammon as a possession, because I have given it to (CJ)the sons of Lot for a possession.’ 20 (It is also counted as a land of (CK)Rephaim. Rephaim formerly lived there—but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim— 21 (CL)a people great and many, and tall as the Anakim; but the Lord destroyed them before the Ammonites,[a] and they dispossessed them and settled in their place, 22 as he did for the people of Esau, who live in Seir, when he destroyed (CM)the Horites before them and they dispossessed them and settled in their place even to this day. 23 As for (CN)the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as (CO)Gaza, (CP)the Caphtorim, who came from Caphtor, destroyed them and settled in their place.) 24 ‘Rise up, set out on your journey and (CQ)go over the Valley of the Arnon. Behold, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of (CR)Heshbon, and his land. Begin to take possession, and (CS)contend with him in battle. 25 This day I will begin to put (CT)the dread and fear of you on the peoples who are under the whole heaven, who shall hear the report of you and shall tremble and be in anguish because of you.’

The Defeat of King Sihon

26 “So I sent messengers from the wilderness of (CU)Kedemoth to Sihon the king of (CV)Heshbon, (CW)with words of peace, saying, 27 (CX)‘Let me pass through your land. I will go only by the road; I will turn aside neither to the right nor to the left. 28 (CY)You shall sell me food for money, that I may eat, and give me water for money, that I may drink. Only let me pass through on foot, 29 (CZ)as the sons of Esau who live in Seir and the Moabites who live in Ar did for me, until I go over the Jordan into the land that the Lord our God is giving to us.’ 30 But (DA)Sihon the king of (DB)Heshbon would not let us pass by him, for the Lord your God (DC)hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, that he might give him into your hand, as he is this day. 31 And the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have begun to give Sihon and his land over to you. Begin to take possession, that you may occupy his land.’ 32 Then (DD)Sihon came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Jahaz. 33 And (DE)the Lord our God gave him over to us, and (DF)we defeated him and his sons and all his people. 34 And we captured all his cities at that time and devoted to destruction[b] every (DG)city, men, women, and children. We left no survivors. 35 Only the livestock we took as spoil for ourselves, with the plunder of the cities that we captured. 36 (DH)From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from (DI)the city that is in the valley, as far as Gilead, there was not a city too high for us. (DJ)The Lord our God gave all into our hands. 37 Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not draw near, that is, to all the banks of the river (DK)Jabbok and the cities of the hill country, whatever the Lord our God had forbidden us.

The Defeat of King Og

3 “Then we turned and went up the way to Bashan. And (DL)Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at (DM)Edrei. 2 But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land into your hand. And you shall do to him as you did to (DN)Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.’ 3 So the Lord our God gave into our hand Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people, (DO)and we struck him down until he had no survivor left. 4 And we took all his cities at that time—there was not a city that we did not take from them—sixty cities, (DP)the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these were cities fortified with high walls, gates, and bars, besides very many unwalled villages. 6 And (DQ)we devoted them to destruction,[c] as we did to Sihon the king of Heshbon, devoting to destruction every (DR)city, men, women, and children. 7 But all the livestock and the spoil of the cities we took as our plunder. 8 So we took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon 9 (the Sidonians call (DS)Hermon (DT)Sirion, while the Amorites call it (DU)Senir), 10 all the cities of the (DV)tableland and all Gilead and all Bashan, as far as (DW)Salecah and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 (For (DX)only Og the king of Bashan was left of the remnant of (DY)the Rephaim. Behold, his bed was a bed of iron. Is it not in (DZ)Rabbah of the Ammonites? Nine cubits[d] was its length, and four cubits its breadth, according to the (EA)common cubit.[e])

12 “When we took possession of this land at that time, I gave to the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory beginning (EB)at Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead with (EC)its cities. 13 (ED)The rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, that is, (EE)all the region of Argob, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (All that portion of Bashan is called the land of (EF)Rephaim. 14 (EG)Jair the Manassite took all the region of Argob, that is, Bashan, as far as the border of (EH)the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called the villages (EI)after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15 To Machir (EJ)I gave Gilead, 16 and to the Reubenites (EK)and the Gadites I gave the territory from Gilead as far as the Valley of the Arnon, with the middle of the valley as a border, as far over as the river Jabbok, (EL)the border of the Ammonites; 17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan as the border, from (EM)Chinnereth as far as (EN)the Sea of the Arabah, (EO)the Salt Sea, under (EP)the slopes of Pisgah on the east.

18 “And I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. (EQ)All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel. 19 Only your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (ER)(I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in the cities that I have given you, 20 (ES)until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’ 21 And I commanded (ET)Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. 22 You shall not fear them, for it is (EU)the Lord your God who fights for you.’

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land

23 “And I pleaded with the Lord at that time, saying, 24 ‘O Lord God, you have only begun to show your servant (EV)your greatness and your mighty hand. For (EW)what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as yours? 25 Please let me go over and see (EX)the good land beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and (EY)Lebanon.’ 26 But (EZ)the Lord was angry with me because of you and would not listen to me. And the Lord said to me, (FA)‘Enough from you; do not speak to me of this matter again. 27 (FB)Go up to the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and look at it with your eyes, for you shall not go over this Jordan. 28 But (FC)charge Joshua, and encourage and strengthen him, for he shall go over at the head of this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land that you shall see.’ 29 So we remained in (FD)the valley opposite Beth-peor.

Moses Commands Obedience

4 “And now, O Israel, listen to (FE)the statutes and the rules[f] that I am teaching you, and do them, (FF)that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 (FG)You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did (FH)at Baal-peor, for the Lord your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. 4 But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. 5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 (FI)Keep them and do them, for (FJ)that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For (FK)what great nation is there that has (FL)a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so (FM)righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

9 (FN)“Only take care, and (FO)keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. (FP)Make them known to your children and your children's children— 10 how on (FQ)the day that you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb, the Lord said to me, (FR)‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, (FS)so that they may learn to fear (FT)me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’ 11 And (FU)you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while (FV)the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. 12 Then (FW)the Lord spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, (FX)but saw no form; (FY)there was only a voice. 13 (FZ)And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, (GA)the Ten Commandments,[g] (GB)and he wrote them on two tablets of stone. 14 And (GC)the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

15 (GD)“Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since (GE)you saw no form on the day that the Lord spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire, 16 beware (GF)lest you act corruptly (GG)by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, (GH)the likeness of male or female, 17 the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the air, 18 the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water under the earth. 19 And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see (GI)the sun and the moon and the stars, (GJ)all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. 20 But the Lord has taken you and (GK)brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, (GL)to be a people of his own inheritance, as you are this day. 21 Furthermore, (GM)the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he swore that I should not cross the Jordan, and that I should not enter the good land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. 22 For I must die in this land; (GN)I must not go over the Jordan. But you shall go over and take possession of (GO)that good land. 23 (GP)Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you, and (GQ)make a carved image, the form of anything that the Lord your God has forbidden you. 24 For (GR)the Lord your God is a consuming fire, (GS)a jealous God.

25 “When you father children and children's children, and have grown old in the land, (GT)if you act corruptly by making a carved image in the form of anything, and (GU)by doing what is evil in the sight of the Lord your God, so as to provoke him to anger, 26 I (GV)call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess. You will not live long in it, but will be utterly destroyed. 27 And the Lord (GW)will scatter you among the peoples, (GX)and you will be left few in number among the nations where the Lord will drive you. 28 And (GY)there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, (GZ)that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. 29 (HA)But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. 30 When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you (HB)in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. 31 For the Lord your God is (HC)a merciful God. (HD)He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

The Lord Alone Is God

32 “For (HE)ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. 33 (HF)Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? 34 Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, (HG)by signs, by wonders, and (HH)by war, (HI)by a mighty hand and (HJ)an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? 35 To you it was shown, (HK)that you might know that the Lord is God; (HL)there is no other besides him. 36 (HM)Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and (HN)you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. 37 And because (HO)he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them[h] and brought you out of Egypt (HP)with his own presence, by his great power, 38 (HQ)driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, 39 know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that (HR)the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; (HS)there is no other. 40 (HT)Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, (HU)that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Cities of Refuge

41 Then Moses (HV)set apart three cities in the east beyond the Jordan, 42 that (HW)the manslayer might flee there, anyone who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without being at enmity with him in time past; he may flee to one of these cities and save his life: 43 (HX)Bezer in the wilderness on the (HY)tableland for the Reubenites, Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites, and Golan in Bashan for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

44 This is the law that Moses set before the people of Israel. 45 These are the testimonies, the statutes, and the rules, which Moses spoke to the people of Israel when they came out of Egypt, 46 beyond the Jordan (HZ)in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, (IA)whom Moses and the people of Israel defeated when they came out of Egypt. 47 And they took possession of his land and the land (IB)of Og, the king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, who lived to the east beyond the Jordan; 48 (IC)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, as far as Mount (ID)Sirion[i] (that is, (IE)Hermon), 49 together with all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as (IF)the Sea of the Arabah, under the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments

5 And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. 2 (IG)The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 (IH)Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. 4 The Lord spoke with you (II)face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, 5 (IJ)while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For (IK)you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:

6 (IL)“‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

7 “‘You shall have no other gods before[j] me.

8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 10 but showing steadfast love to (IM)thousands[k] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

11 “‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but (IN)the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, (IO)that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. 15 (IP)You shall remember that you were a slave[l] in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there (IQ)with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, (IR)that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

17 (IS)“‘You shall not murder.[m]

18 (IT)“‘And you shall not commit adultery.

19 “‘And you shall not steal.

20 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

21 “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor's wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.’

22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly (IU)at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And (IV)he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. 23 And (IW)as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders. 24 And you said, ‘Behold, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and (IX)greatness, and (IY)we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man (IZ)still live. 25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. (JA)If we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, we shall die. 26 (JB)For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived? 27 Go near and hear all that the Lord our God will say, and (JC)speak to us all that the Lord our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’

28 “And the Lord heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. (JD)They are right in all that they have spoken. 29 (JE)Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, (JF)that it might go well with them and with their descendants[n] forever! 30 Go and say to them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you, stand here by me, and (JG)I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.’ 32 You shall be careful therefore to do as the Lord your God has commanded you. (JH)You shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 (JI)You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and (JJ)that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.

The Greatest Commandment

6 “Now this is (JK)the commandment—the statutes and the rules[o]—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that (JL)you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and (JM)that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, (JN)as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, O Israel: (JO)The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[p] 5 You (JP)shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And (JQ)these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 (JR)You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 (JS)You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 (JT)You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities (JU)that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 (JV)then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is (JW)the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and (JX)by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not (JY)go after other gods, (JZ)the gods of the peoples who are around you— 15 for (KA)the Lord your God in your midst (KB)is a jealous God—(KC)lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

16 (KD)“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, (KE)as you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall (KF)diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. 18 (KG)And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers 19 (KH)by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the Lord has promised.

20 (KI)“When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, (KJ)‘We were Pharaoh's slaves in Egypt. And the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And (KK)the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, (KL)to fear the Lord our God, (KM)for our good always, that (KN)he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. 25 And (KO)it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us.’

A Chosen People

7 “When the (KP)Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it, and clears away many nations before you, (KQ)the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations (KR)more numerous and mightier than you, 2 (KS)and when the Lord your God gives them over to you, and you defeat them, then you must (KT)devote them to complete destruction.[q] (KU)You shall make no covenant with them and show no mercy to them. 3 (KV)You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. (KW)Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you (KX)quickly. 5 But thus shall you deal with them: (KY)you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their (KZ)pillars and chop down their (LA)Asherim and (LB)burn their carved images with fire.

6 “For (LC)you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be (LD)a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. 7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but (LE)it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping (LF)the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, (LG)the faithful God (LH)who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, 10 and (LI)repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. (LJ)He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. 11 (LK)You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.

12 (LL)“And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you (LM)the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers. 13 He will (LN)love you, bless you, and multiply you. (LO)He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you. 14 You shall be blessed above all peoples. (LP)There shall not be male or female barren among you or among your livestock. 15 And the Lord will take away from you all sickness, and none of the evil (LQ)diseases of Egypt, which you knew, will he inflict on you, but he will lay them on all who hate you. 16 And (LR)you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. (LS)Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be (LT)a snare to you.

17 “If you say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I. How can I dispossess them?’ 18 (LU)you shall not be afraid of them but you shall (LV)remember what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt, 19 the great trials that your eyes saw, (LW)the signs, the wonders, the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the Lord your God brought you out. So will the Lord your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. 20 Moreover, (LX)the Lord your God will send hornets among them, until those who are left and hide themselves from you are destroyed. 21 You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is (LY)in your midst, (LZ)a great and awesome God. 22 (MA)The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once,[r] lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you. 23 (MB)But the Lord your God will give them over to you and throw them into great confusion, until they are destroyed. 24 And (MC)he will give their kings into your hand, and you shall (MD)make their name perish from under heaven. (ME)No one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. 25 The carved images of their gods (MF)you shall burn with fire. You (MG)shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, lest you be (MH)ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God. 26 And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction[s] like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, (MI)for it is devoted to destruction.

Remember the Lord Your God

8 “The whole commandment that I command you today (MJ)you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you (MK)these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, (ML)testing you (MM)to know what was in your heart, (MN)whether you would keep his commandments or not. 3 And he humbled you and (MO)let you hunger and (MP)fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that (MQ)man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word[t] that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 4 (MR)Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. 5 Know then in your heart that, (MS)as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 2:21 Hebrew them
  2. Deuteronomy 2:34 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
  3. Deuteronomy 3:6 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); twice in this verse
  4. Deuteronomy 3:11 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
  5. Deuteronomy 3:11 Hebrew cubit of a man
  6. Deuteronomy 4:1 Or just decrees; also verses 5, 8, 14, 45
  7. Deuteronomy 4:13 Hebrew the ten words
  8. Deuteronomy 4:37 Hebrew his offspring after him
  9. Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac; Hebrew Sion
  10. Deuteronomy 5:7 Or besides
  11. Deuteronomy 5:10 Or to the thousandth generation
  12. Deuteronomy 5:15 Or servant
  13. Deuteronomy 5:17 The Hebrew word also covers causing human death through carelessness or negligence
  14. Deuteronomy 5:29 Or sons
  15. Deuteronomy 6:1 Or just decrees; also verse 20
  16. Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone
  17. Deuteronomy 7:2 That is, set apart (devote) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction)
  18. Deuteronomy 7:22 Or quickly
  19. Deuteronomy 7:26 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); twice in this verse
  20. Deuteronomy 8:3 Hebrew by all
Listen to Deuteronomy 1:1-8:5
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Deuteronomy 1:1-8:5
New International Version

The Command to Leave Horeb

1 These are the words Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan(A)—that is, in the Arabah(B)—opposite Suph, between Paran(C) and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 (It takes eleven days to go from Horeb(D) to Kadesh Barnea(E) by the Mount Seir(F) road.)(G)

3 In the fortieth year,(H) on the first day of the eleventh month,(I) Moses proclaimed(J) to the Israelites all that the Lord had commanded him concerning them. 4 This was after he had defeated Sihon(K) king of the Amorites,(L) who reigned in Heshbon,(M) and at Edrei had defeated Og(N) king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth.(O)

5 East of the Jordan in the territory of Moab,(P) Moses began to expound this law, saying:

6 The Lord our God said to us(Q) at Horeb,(R) “You have stayed long enough(S) at this mountain. 7 Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites;(T) go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah,(U) in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev(V) and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites(W) and to Lebanon,(X) as far as the great river, the Euphrates.(Y) 8 See, I have given you this land(Z).(AA) Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore(AB) he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

The Appointment of Leaders

9 At that time I said to you, “You are too heavy a burden(AC) for me to carry alone.(AD) 10 The Lord your God has increased(AE) your numbers(AF) so that today you are as numerous(AG) as the stars in the sky.(AH) 11 May the Lord, the God of your ancestors, increase(AI) you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!(AJ) 12 But how can I bear your problems and your burdens and your disputes all by myself?(AK) 13 Choose some wise, understanding and respected men(AL) from each of your tribes, and I will set them over you.”

14 You answered me, “What you propose to do is good.”

15 So I took(AM) the leading men of your tribes,(AN) wise and respected men,(AO) and appointed them to have authority over you—as commanders(AP) of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens and as tribal officials.(AQ) 16 And I charged your judges at that time, “Hear the disputes between your people and judge(AR) fairly,(AS) whether the case is between two Israelites or between an Israelite and a foreigner residing among you.(AT) 17 Do not show partiality(AU) in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of anyone,(AV) for judgment belongs to God. Bring me any case too hard for you, and I will hear it.”(AW) 18 And at that time I told you everything you were to do.(AX)

Spies Sent Out

19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites(AY) through all that vast and dreadful wilderness(AZ) that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.(BA) 20 Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession(BB) of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid;(BC) do not be discouraged.”(BD)

22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy(BE) out the land(BF) for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected(BG) twelve of you, one man from each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol(BH) and explored it. 25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported,(BI) “It is a good land(BJ) that the Lord our God is giving us.”(BK)

Rebellion Against the Lord

26 But you were unwilling to go up;(BL) you rebelled(BM) against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled(BN) in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller(BO) than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites(BP) there.’”

29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid(BQ) of them.(BR) 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight(BS) for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried(BT) you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”(BU)

32 In spite of this,(BV) you did not trust(BW) in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day,(BX) to search(BY) out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

34 When the Lord heard(BZ) what you said, he was angry(CA) and solemnly swore:(CB) 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land(CC) I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb(CD) son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.(CE)”

37 Because of you the Lord became angry(CF) with me also and said, “You shall not enter(CG) it, either. 38 But your assistant, Joshua(CH) son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage(CI) him, because he will lead(CJ) Israel to inherit(CK) it. 39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive,(CL) your children who do not yet know(CM) good from bad—they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it. 40 But as for you, turn around and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.[a](CN)”

41 Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” So every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.

42 But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’”(CO)

43 So I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance you marched up into the hill country. 44 The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees(CP) and beat you down from Seir(CQ) all the way to Hormah.(CR) 45 You came back and wept before the Lord,(CS) but he paid no attention(CT) to your weeping and turned a deaf ear(CU) to you. 46 And so you stayed in Kadesh(CV) many days—all the time you spent there.

Wanderings in the Wilderness

2 Then we turned back and set out toward the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea,[b](CW) as the Lord had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.(CX)

2 Then the Lord said to me, 3 “You have made your way around this hill country long enough;(CY) now turn north. 4 Give the people these orders:(CZ) ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives the descendants of Esau,(DA) who live in Seir.(DB) They will be afraid(DC) of you, but be very careful. 5 Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, not even enough to put your foot on. I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.(DD) 6 You are to pay them in silver for the food you eat and the water you drink.’”

7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched(DE) over your journey through this vast wilderness.(DF) These forty years(DG) the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.(DH)

8 So we went on past our relatives the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We turned from(DI) the Arabah(DJ) road, which comes up from Elath and Ezion Geber,(DK) and traveled along the desert road of Moab.(DL)

9 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any part of their land. I have given Ar(DM) to the descendants of Lot(DN) as a possession.”

10 (The Emites(DO) used to live there—a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.(DP) 11 Like the Anakites, they too were considered Rephaites,(DQ) but the Moabites called them Emites. 12 Horites(DR) used to live in Seir, but the descendants of Esau drove them out. They destroyed the Horites from before them and settled in their place, just as Israel did(DS) in the land the Lord gave them as their possession.)

13 And the Lord said, “Now get up and cross the Zered Valley.(DT)” So we crossed the valley.

14 Thirty-eight years(DU) passed from the time we left Kadesh Barnea(DV) until we crossed the Zered Valley. By then, that entire generation(DW) of fighting men had perished from the camp, as the Lord had sworn to them.(DX) 15 The Lord’s hand was against them until he had completely eliminated(DY) them from the camp.

16 Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.(DZ) 19 When you come to the Ammonites,(EA) do not harass them or provoke them to war,(EB) for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.(EC)”

20 (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites,(ED) who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites. 21 They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites.(EE) The Lord destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place. 22 The Lord had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir,(EF) when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day. 23 And as for the Avvites(EG) who lived in villages as far as Gaza,(EH) the Caphtorites(EI) coming out from Caphtor[c](EJ) destroyed them and settled in their place.)

Defeat of Sihon King of Heshbon

24 “Set out now and cross the Arnon Gorge.(EK) See, I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite,(EL) king of Heshbon, and his country. Begin to take possession of it and engage(EM) him in battle. 25 This very day I will begin to put the terror(EN) and fear(EO) of you on all the nations under heaven. They will hear reports of you and will tremble(EP) and be in anguish because of you.”

26 From the Desert of Kedemoth(EQ) I sent messengers to Sihon(ER) king of Heshbon offering peace(ES) and saying, 27 “Let us pass through your country. We will stay on the main road; we will not turn aside to the right or to the left.(ET) 28 Sell us food to eat(EU) and water to drink for their price in silver. Only let us pass through on foot(EV)— 29 as the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and the Moabites, who live in Ar, did for us—until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.” 30 But Sihon king of Heshbon refused to let us pass through. For the Lord(EW) your God had made his spirit stubborn(EX) and his heart obstinate(EY) in order to give him into your hands,(EZ) as he has now done.

31 The Lord said to me, “See, I have begun to deliver Sihon and his country over to you. Now begin to conquer and possess his land.”(FA)

32 When Sihon and all his army came out to meet us in battle(FB) at Jahaz, 33 the Lord our God delivered(FC) him over to us and we struck him down,(FD) together with his sons and his whole army. 34 At that time we took all his towns and completely destroyed[d](FE) them—men, women and children. We left no survivors. 35 But the livestock(FF) and the plunder(FG) from the towns we had captured we carried off for ourselves. 36 From Aroer(FH) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the gorge, even as far as Gilead,(FI) not one town was too strong for us. The Lord our God gave(FJ) us all of them. 37 But in accordance with the command of the Lord our God,(FK) you did not encroach on any of the land of the Ammonites,(FL) neither the land along the course of the Jabbok(FM) nor that around the towns in the hills.

Defeat of Og King of Bashan

3 Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan(FN) with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.(FO) 2 The Lord said to me, “Do not be afraid(FP) of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”

3 So the Lord our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down,(FQ) leaving no survivors.(FR) 4 At that time we took all his cities.(FS) There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them—the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom(FT) in Bashan.(FU) 5 All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages. 6 We completely destroyed[e] them, as we had done with Sihon king of Heshbon, destroying[f](FV) every city—men, women and children. 7 But all the livestock(FW) and the plunder from their cities we carried off for ourselves.

8 So at that time we took from these two kings of the Amorites(FX) the territory east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Gorge as far as Mount Hermon.(FY) 9 (Hermon is called Sirion(FZ) by the Sidonians; the Amorites call it Senir.)(GA) 10 We took all the towns on the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan as far as Salekah(GB) and Edrei, towns of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (Og king of Bashan was the last of the Rephaites.(GC) His bed was decorated with iron and was more than nine cubits long and four cubits wide.[g] It is still in Rabbah(GD) of the Ammonites.)

Division of the Land

12 Of the land that we took over at that time, I gave the Reubenites and the Gadites the territory north of Aroer(GE) by the Arnon Gorge, including half the hill country of Gilead, together with its towns. 13 The rest of Gilead and also all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh.(GF) (The whole region of Argob in Bashan used to be known as a land of the Rephaites.(GG) 14 Jair,(GH) a descendant of Manasseh, took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maakathites;(GI) it was named(GJ) after him, so that to this day Bashan is called Havvoth Jair.[h]) 15 And I gave Gilead to Makir.(GK) 16 But to the Reubenites and the Gadites I gave the territory extending from Gilead down to the Arnon Gorge (the middle of the gorge being the border) and out to the Jabbok River,(GL) which is the border of the Ammonites. 17 Its western border was the Jordan in the Arabah,(GM) from Kinnereth(GN) to the Sea of the Arabah(GO) (that is, the Dead Sea(GP)), below the slopes of Pisgah.

18 I commanded you at that time: “The Lord your God has given(GQ) you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of the other Israelites.(GR) 19 However, your wives,(GS) your children and your livestock(GT) (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your fellow Israelites as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”

Moses Forbidden to Cross the Jordan

21 At that time I commanded Joshua: “You have seen with your own eyes all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. The Lord will do the same to all the kingdoms over there where you are going. 22 Do not be afraid(GU) of them;(GV) the Lord your God himself will fight(GW) for you.”

23 At that time I pleaded(GX) with the Lord: 24 “Sovereign Lord, you have begun to show to your servant your greatness(GY) and your strong hand. For what god(GZ) is there in heaven or on earth who can do the deeds and mighty works(HA) you do?(HB) 25 Let me go over and see the good land(HC) beyond the Jordan—that fine hill country and Lebanon.(HD)”

26 But because of you the Lord was angry(HE) with me and would not listen to me. “That is enough,” the Lord said. “Do not speak to me anymore about this matter. 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah(HF) and look west and north and south and east.(HG) Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross(HH) this Jordan.(HI) 28 But commission(HJ) Joshua, and encourage(HK) and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across(HL) and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.(HM)

Obedience Commanded

4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees(HN) and laws I am about to teach(HO) you. Follow them so that you may live(HP) and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add(HQ) to what I command you and do not subtract(HR) from it, but keep(HS) the commands(HT) of the Lord your God that I give you.

3 You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor.(HU) The Lord your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor, 4 but all of you who held fast to the Lord your God are still alive today.

5 See, I have taught(HV) you decrees and laws(HW) as the Lord my God commanded(HX) me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering(HY) to take possession of it. 6 Observe(HZ) them carefully, for this will show your wisdom(IA) and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”(IB) 7 What other nation is so great(IC) as to have their gods near(ID) them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws(IE) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

9 Only be careful,(IF) and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach(IG) them to your children(IH) and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb,(II) when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn(IJ) to revere(IK) me as long as they live in the land(IL) and may teach(IM) them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain(IN) while it blazed with fire(IO) to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.(IP) 12 Then the Lord spoke(IQ) to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form;(IR) there was only a voice.(IS) 13 He declared to you his covenant,(IT) the Ten Commandments,(IU) which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets. 14 And the Lord directed me at that time to teach you the decrees and laws(IV) you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

15 You saw no form(IW) of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb(IX) out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,(IY) 16 so that you do not become corrupt(IZ) and make for yourselves an idol,(JA) an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,(JB) 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun,(JC) the moon and the stars(JD)—all the heavenly array(JE)—do not be enticed(JF) into bowing down to them and worshiping(JG) things the Lord your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven. 20 But as for you, the Lord took you and brought you out of the iron-smelting furnace,(JH) out of Egypt,(JI) to be the people of his inheritance,(JJ) as you now are.

21 The Lord was angry with me(JK) because of you, and he solemnly swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your inheritance. 22 I will die in this land;(JL) I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.(JM) 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant(JN) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol(JO) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,(JP) a jealous God.(JQ)

25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt(JR) and make any kind of idol,(JS) doing evil(JT) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses(JU) against you(JV) this day that you will quickly perish(JW) from the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You will not live there long but will certainly be destroyed. 27 The Lord will scatter(JX) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive(JY) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods(JZ) of wood and stone,(KA) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.(KB) 29 But if from there you seek(KC) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart(KD) and with all your soul.(KE) 30 When you are in distress(KF) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days(KG) you will return(KH) to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful(KI) God; he will not abandon(KJ) or destroy(KK) you or forget(KL) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

32 Ask(KM) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;(KN) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.(KO) Has anything so great(KP) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God[i] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?(KQ) 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,(KR) by testings,(KS) by signs(KT) and wonders,(KU) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,(KV) or by great and awesome deeds,(KW) like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

35 You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God; besides him there is no other.(KX) 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice(KY) to discipline(KZ) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved(LA) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,(LB) 38 to drive out before you nations greater and stronger than you and to bring you into their land to give it to you for your inheritance,(LC) as it is today.

39 Acknowledge(LD) and take to heart this day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other.(LE) 40 Keep(LF) his decrees and commands,(LG) which I am giving you today, so that it may go well(LH) with you and your children after you and that you may live long(LI) in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.

Cities of Refuge(LJ)

41 Then Moses set aside three cities east of the Jordan, 42 to which anyone who had killed a person could flee if they had unintentionally(LK) killed a neighbor without malice aforethought. They could flee into one of these cities and save their life. 43 The cities were these: Bezer in the wilderness plateau, for the Reubenites; Ramoth(LL) in Gilead, for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites.

Introduction to the Law

44 This is the law Moses set before the Israelites. 45 These are the stipulations, decrees and laws Moses gave them when they came out of Egypt 46 and were in the valley near Beth Peor east of the Jordan, in the land of Sihon(LM) king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses and the Israelites as they came out of Egypt. 47 They took possession of his land and the land of Og king of Bashan, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 48 This land extended from Aroer(LN) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion[j](LO) (that is, Hermon(LP)), 49 and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,[k] below the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments(LQ)

5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws(LR) I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant(LS) with us at Horeb.(LT) 3 It was not with our ancestors[l] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us,(LU) with all of us who are alive here today.(LV) 4 The Lord spoke(LW) to you face to face(LX) out of the fire(LY) on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between(LZ) the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid(MA) of the fire and did not go up the mountain.) And he said:

6 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt,(MB) out of the land of slavery.(MC)

7 “You shall have no other gods before[m] me.

8 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.(MD) 9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents(ME) to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,(MF) 10 but showing love to a thousand(MG) generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.(MH)

11 “You shall not misuse the name(MI) of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.(MJ)

12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,(MK) as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day(ML) is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant,(MM) nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do.(MN) 15 Remember that you were slaves(MO) in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand(MP) and an outstretched arm.(MQ) Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

16 “Honor your father(MR) and your mother,(MS) as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long(MT) and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

17 “You shall not murder.(MU)

18 “You shall not commit adultery.(MV)

19 “You shall not steal.(MW)

20 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.(MX)

21 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”(MY)

22 These are the commandments the Lord proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness;(MZ) and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets(NA) and gave them to me.

23 When you heard the voice out of the darkness, while the mountain was ablaze with fire, all the leaders of your tribes and your elders(NB) came to me. 24 And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us(NC) his glory and his majesty,(ND) and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.(NE) 25 But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer.(NF) 26 For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?(NG) 27 Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says.(NH) Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”(NI)

28 The Lord heard you when you spoke to me, and the Lord said to me, “I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good.(NJ) 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me(NK) and keep all my commands(NL) always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!(NM)

30 “Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here(NN) with me so that I may give you all the commands, decrees and laws you are to teach them to follow in the land I am giving them to possess.”

32 So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you;(NO) do not turn aside to the right or to the left.(NP) 33 Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you,(NQ) so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days(NR) in the land that you will possess.

Love the Lord Your God

6 These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, 2 so that you, your children and their children after them may fear(NS) the Lord your God as long as you live(NT) by keeping all his decrees and commands(NU) that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.(NV) 3 Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey(NW) so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly(NX) in a land flowing with milk and honey,(NY) just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised(NZ) you.

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.[n](OA) 5 Love(OB) the Lord your God with all your heart(OC) and with all your soul and with all your strength.(OD) 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.(OE) 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.(OF) 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.(OG) 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.(OH)

10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build,(OI) 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig,(OJ) and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied,(OK) 12 be careful that you do not forget(OL) the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

13 Fear the Lord(OM) your God, serve him only(ON) and take your oaths(OO) in his name.(OP) 14 Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; 15 for the Lord your God(OQ), who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. 16 Do not put the Lord your God to the test(OR) as you did at Massah. 17 Be sure to keep(OS) the commands of the Lord your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you.(OT) 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight,(OU) so that it may go well(OV) with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors, 19 thrusting out all your enemies(OW) before you, as the Lord said.

20 In the future, when your son asks you,(OX) “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?” 21 tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.(OY) 22 Before our eyes the Lord sent signs and wonders—great and terrible—on Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. 23 But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land he promised on oath to our ancestors. 24 The Lord commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the Lord our God,(OZ) so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today.(PA) 25 And if we are careful to obey all this law(PB) before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.(PC)”

Driving Out the Nations

7 When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess(PD) and drives out before you many nations(PE)—the Hittites,(PF) Girgashites,(PG) Amorites,(PH) Canaanites, Perizzites,(PI) Hivites(PJ) and Jebusites,(PK) seven nations larger and stronger than you— 2 and when the Lord your God has delivered(PL) them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy(PM) them totally.[o](PN) Make no treaty(PO) with them, and show them no mercy.(PP) 3 Do not intermarry with them.(PQ) Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, 4 for they will turn your children away from following me to serve other gods,(PR) and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy(PS) you. 5 This is what you are to do to them: Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, cut down their Asherah poles[p](PT) and burn their idols in the fire.(PU) 6 For you are a people holy(PV) to the Lord your God.(PW) The Lord your God has chosen(PX) you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.(PY)

7 The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous(PZ) than other peoples, for you were the fewest(QA) of all peoples.(QB) 8 But it was because the Lord loved(QC) you and kept the oath he swore(QD) to your ancestors that he brought you out with a mighty hand(QE) and redeemed(QF) you from the land of slavery,(QG) from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 9 Know therefore that the Lord your God is God;(QH) he is the faithful God,(QI) keeping his covenant of love(QJ) to a thousand generations(QK) of those who love him and keep his commandments.(QL) 10 But

those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
    he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him.(QM)

11 Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.

12 If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your ancestors.(QN) 13 He will love you and bless you(QO) and increase your numbers.(QP) He will bless the fruit of your womb,(QQ) the crops of your land—your grain, new wine(QR) and olive oil(QS)—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks in the land he swore to your ancestors to give you.(QT) 14 You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor will any of your livestock be without young.(QU) 15 The Lord will keep you free from every disease.(QV) He will not inflict on you the horrible diseases you knew in Egypt,(QW) but he will inflict them on all who hate you.(QX) 16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you.(QY) Do not look on them with pity(QZ) and do not serve their gods,(RA) for that will be a snare(RB) to you.

17 You may say to yourselves, “These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?(RC)” 18 But do not be afraid(RD) of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt.(RE) 19 You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand(RF) and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.(RG) 20 Moreover, the Lord your God will send the hornet(RH) among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished. 21 Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you,(RI) is a great and awesome God.(RJ) 22 The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little.(RK) You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you. 23 But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed.(RL) 24 He will give their kings(RM) into your hand,(RN) and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you;(RO) you will destroy them.(RP) 25 The images of their gods you are to burn(RQ) in the fire. Do not covet(RR) the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared(RS) by it, for it is detestable(RT) to the Lord your God. 26 Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction.(RU) Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

Do Not Forget the Lord

8 Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live(RV) and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.(RW) 2 Remember how the Lord your God led(RX) you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test(RY) you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 3 He humbled(RZ) you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna,(SA) which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach(SB) you that man does not live on bread(SC) alone but on every word that comes from the mouth(SD) of the Lord.(SE) 4 Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.(SF) 5 Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.(SG)

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 1:40 Or the Sea of Reeds
  2. Deuteronomy 2:1 Or the Sea of Reeds
  3. Deuteronomy 2:23 That is, Crete
  4. Deuteronomy 2:34 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  5. Deuteronomy 3:6 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  6. Deuteronomy 3:6 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  7. Deuteronomy 3:11 That is, about 14 feet long and 6 feet wide or about 4 meters long and 1.8 meters wide
  8. Deuteronomy 3:14 Or called the settlements of Jair
  9. Deuteronomy 4:33 Or of a god
  10. Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac (see also 3:9); Hebrew Siyon
  11. Deuteronomy 4:49 Hebrew the Sea of the Arabah
  12. Deuteronomy 5:3 Or not only with our parents
  13. Deuteronomy 5:7 Or besides
  14. Deuteronomy 6:4 Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone
  15. Deuteronomy 7:2 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them; also in verse 26.
  16. Deuteronomy 7:5 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah; here and elsewhere in Deuteronomy
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