Deuteronomy 8
New English Translation
The Lord’s Provision in the Desert
8 You must keep carefully all these commandments[a] I am giving[b] you today so that you may live, increase in number,[c] and go in and occupy the land that the Lord promised to your ancestors.[d] 2 Remember the whole way by which he[e] has brought you these forty years through the wilderness so that he might, by humbling you, test you to see if you have it within you to keep his commandments or not. 3 So he humbled you by making you hungry and then feeding you with unfamiliar manna.[f] He did this to teach you[g] that humankind[h] cannot live by bread[i] alone, but also by everything that comes from the Lord’s mouth.[j] 4 Your clothing did not wear out nor did your feet swell all these forty years. 5 Be keenly aware that just as a parent disciplines his child,[k] so the Lord your God disciplines you. 6 So you must keep his[l] commandments, live according to his standards,[m] and revere him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you to a good land, a land of brooks,[n] springs, and fountains flowing forth in valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, and pomegranates, of olive trees and honey, 9 a land where you may eat food[o] in plenty and find no lack of anything, a land whose stones are iron[p] and from whose hills you can mine copper. 10 You will eat your fill and then praise the Lord your God because of the good land he has given you.
Exhortation to Remember That Blessing Comes from God
11 Be sure you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments, ordinances, and statutes that I am giving you today. 12 When you eat your fill, when you build and occupy good houses, 13 when your cattle and flocks increase, when you have plenty of silver and gold, and when you have abundance of everything, 14 be sure[q] you do not feel self-important and forget the Lord your God who brought you from the land of Egypt, the place of slavery, 15 and who brought you through the great, fearful wilderness of venomous serpents[r] and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow[s] from a flint rock and 16 fed you in the wilderness with manna (which your ancestors had never before known) so that he might by humbling you test you[t] and eventually bring good to you. 17 Be careful[u] not to say, “My own ability and skill[v] have gotten me this wealth.” 18 You must remember the Lord your God, for he is the one who gives ability to get wealth; if you do this he will confirm his covenant that he made by oath to your ancestors,[w] even as he has to this day. 19 Now if you forget the Lord your God at all[x] and follow other gods, worshiping and prostrating yourselves before them, I testify to you today that you will surely be annihilated. 20 Just like the nations the Lord is about to destroy from your sight, so he will do to you[y] because you would not obey him.[z]
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 8:1 tn The singular term (מִצְוָה, mitsvah) includes the whole corpus of covenant stipulations, certainly the book of Deuteronomy at least (cf. Deut 5:28; 6:1, 25; 7:11; 11:8, 22; 15:5; 17:20; 19:9; 27:1; 30:11; 31:5). The plural (מִצְוֹת, mitsvot) refers to individual stipulations (as in vv. 2, 6).
- Deuteronomy 8:1 tn Heb “commanding” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons, to avoid redundancy, “giving” has been used in the translation (likewise in v. 11).
- Deuteronomy 8:1 tn Heb “multiply” (so KJV, NASB, NLT); NIV, NRSV “increase.”
- Deuteronomy 8:1 tn Heb “fathers” (also in vv. 16, 18).
- Deuteronomy 8:2 tn Heb “the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Deuteronomy 8:3 tn Heb “manna which you and your ancestors did not know.” By popular etymology the word “manna” comes from the Hebrew phrase מָן הוּא (man huʾ), i.e., “What is it?” (Exod 16:15). The question remains unanswered to this very day. Elsewhere the material is said to be “white like coriander seed” with “a taste like honey cakes” (Exod 16:31; cf. Num 11:7). Modern attempts to associate it with various desert plants are unsuccessful for the text says it was a new thing and, furthermore, one that appeared and disappeared miraculously (Exod 16:21-27).
- Deuteronomy 8:3 tn Heb “in order to make known to you.” In the Hebrew text this statement is subordinated to what precedes, resulting in a very long sentence in English. The translation makes this statement a separate sentence for stylistic reasons.
- Deuteronomy 8:3 tn Heb “the man,” but in a generic sense, referring to the whole human race (“mankind” or “humankind”).
- Deuteronomy 8:3 tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. CEV).
- Deuteronomy 8:3 sn Jesus quoted this text to the devil in the midst of his forty-day fast to make the point that spiritual nourishment is incomparably more important than mere physical bread (Matt 4:4; cf. Luke 4:4).
- Deuteronomy 8:5 tn Heb “just as a man disciplines his son.” The Hebrew text reflects the patriarchal idiom of the culture.
- Deuteronomy 8:6 tn Heb “the commandments of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
- Deuteronomy 8:6 tn Heb “by walking in his ways.” The “ways” of the Lord refer here to his moral standards as reflected in his commandments. The verb “walk” is used frequently in the Bible (both OT and NT) for one’s moral and ethical behavior.
- Deuteronomy 8:7 tn Or “wadis.”
- Deuteronomy 8:9 tn The Hebrew term may refer to “food” in a more general sense (cf. NASB, NCV, NLT) or “bread” in particular (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).
- Deuteronomy 8:9 sn A land whose stones are iron. Since iron deposits are few and far between in Palestine, the reference here is probably to iron ore found in mines as opposed to the meteorite iron more commonly known in that area.
- Deuteronomy 8:14 tn The words “be sure” are not in the Hebrew text; vv. 12-14 are part of the previous sentence. For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 12 in the translation and the words “be sure” repeated from v. 11 to indicate the connection.
- Deuteronomy 8:15 tn Heb “flaming serpents”; KJV, NASB “fiery serpents”; NAB “saraph serpents.” This figure of speech (metonymy) probably describes the venomous and painful results of snakebite. The feeling from such an experience would be like a burning fire (שָׂרָף, saraf).
- Deuteronomy 8:15 tn Heb “the one who brought out for you water.” In the Hebrew text this continues the preceding sentence, but the translation begins a new sentence here for stylistic reasons.
- Deuteronomy 8:16 tn Heb “in order to humble you and in order to test you.” See 8:2.
- Deuteronomy 8:17 tn For stylistic reasons a new sentence was started at the beginning of v. 17 in the translation and the words “be careful” supplied to indicate the connection.
- Deuteronomy 8:17 tn Heb “my strength and the might of my hand.”
- Deuteronomy 8:18 tc Smr and Lucian add “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” the standard way of rendering this almost stereotypical formula (cf. Deut 1:8; 6:10; 9:5, 27; 29:13; 30:20; 34:4). The MT’s harder reading presumptively argues for its originality, however.
- Deuteronomy 8:19 tn Heb “if forgetting, you forget.” The infinitive absolute is used for emphasis; the translation indicates this with the words “at all” (cf. KJV).
- Deuteronomy 8:20 tn Heb “so you will perish.”
- Deuteronomy 8:20 tn Heb “listen to the voice of the Lord your God.” The pronoun has been used in the translation for stylistic reasons to avoid redundancy.
Deuteronomio 8
Nueva Biblia Viva
Recuerda al Señor tu Dios
8 »Obedece los mandamientos que te doy en este día. Si así lo haces, no solamente vivirás sino que te multiplicarás y entrarás, y poseerás la tierra que el Señor prometió a tus antepasados. 2 ¿Recuerdas cómo te condujo el Señor a través del desierto durante estos cuarenta años, humillándote y probándote para saber dónde estaban tus prioridades y si realmente obedecerías o no sus mandamientos? 3 Sí, el Señor te humilló dejándote pasar hambre y luego te dio a comer maná, alimento que no conocían tú ni tus antepasados. Él lo hizo para que comprendieras que no sólo de pan vive el ser humano, sino de la Palabra de Dios. 4 En estos cuarenta años tus vestiduras no se han envejecido ni se te han hinchado los pies. 5 Así podrás comprender que como un padre disciplina a sus hijos, el Señor te disciplina para ayudarte.
6 »Obedece los mandamientos del Señor tu Dios, vive de acuerdo con su voluntad y dale la honra que se merece. 7 Porque el Señor tu Dios te está llevando a una buena tierra, tierra de arroyos, de pozos; de manantiales, de valles y de montes; 8 tierra de trigo y cebada y viñedos, de higueras y granados, de olivares, de aceite y de miel; 9 tierra donde el alimento es abundante y nada falta; tierra donde el hierro es tan común como las piedras, y el cobre abunda en las montañas. 10 Tendrás de todo hasta saciarte, y bendecirás al Señor tu Dios por la buena tierra que te ha dado.
11 »¡No olvides al Señor tu Dios, y no dejes de obedecer todos sus mandamientos! 12 Siempre existe el peligro de que cuando te hayas saciado y hayas prosperado, y hayas edificado casas hermosas, 13 y cuando tu ganado y rebaños se hayan engrandecido y tu oro y tu plata se hayan multiplicado, 14 caigas en el orgullo y te olvides del Señor tu Dios que te sacó de la esclavitud en la tierra de Egipto. Por eso, ten mucho cuidado, ¡no te olvides del Señor tu Dios, 15 pues te condujo a través del desierto grande y terrible habitado por víboras y escorpiones peligrosos, donde todo es árido y seco. No olvides que te dio de beber agua de la roca; 16 que te dio de comer maná en el desierto (una especie de pan que antes te era desconocido). A lo largo del camino te probó y te humilló con el fin de hacerte bien. 17 No pienses jamás que por tu poder y tu fuerza has obtenido esa riqueza. 18 Recuerda siempre que el Señor tu Dios es el que te da el poder para obtener las riquezas, y él lo hace para cumplir la promesa hecha a tus antepasados.
19 »Ten por cierto que si te olvidas del Señor tu Dios y adoras en su lugar a otros dioses, si te desvías por malos caminos, ciertamente perecerás 20 como las naciones que el Señor destruyó delante de ti. Tu destino será el mismo si no obedeces al Señor tu Dios.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Nueva Biblia Viva, © 2006, 2008 por Biblica, Inc.® Usado con permiso de Biblica, Inc.® Reservados todos los derechos en todo el mundo.