Passage Resources Hebrew/Greek Your Content
Previous Next
Add parallel Print Page Options
Close CEV

Deuteronomy 3:21-5:33
Contemporary English Version

21-22 Then I told Joshua, “You saw how the Lord our God helped us destroy King Sihon and King Og. So don't be afraid! Wherever you go, the Lord will fight on your side and help you destroy your enemies.”

God Refused To Let Moses Enter Canaan

Moses said to Israel:

23 (A) At that time I prayed and begged, 24 “Our Lord, it seems that you have just begun to show me your great power. No other god in the sky or on earth is able to do the mighty things that you do. 25 The land west of the Jordan is such good land. Please let me cross the Jordan and see the hills and the Lebanon Mountains.”

26 But the Lord was angry with me because of you people,[a] and he refused to listen. “That's enough!” he said. “I don't want to hear any more. 27 Climb to the top of Mount Pisgah and look north, south, east, and west. Take a good look, but you are not going to cross the Jordan River. 28 Joshua will lead Israel across the Jordan to take the land, so help him be strong and brave and tell him what he must do.”

29 After this we stayed in the valley at Beth-Peor.

Israel Must Obey God

Moses said:

4 Israel, listen to these laws and teachings! If you obey them, you will live, and you will go in and take the land that the Lord is giving you. He is the God your ancestors worshiped, 2 (B) and now he is your God. I am telling you everything he has commanded, so don't add anything or take anything away.

3 (C) You saw how he killed everyone who worshiped the god Baal Peor.[b] 4 But all of you that were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today.

5-8 (D) No other nation has laws that are as fair as the ones the Lord my God told me to give you. If you faithfully obey them when you enter the land, you will show other nations how wise you are. In fact, everyone that hears about your laws will say, “That great nation certainly is wise!” And what makes us greater than other nations? We have a God who is close to us and answers our prayers.

9 You must be very careful not to forget the things you have seen God do for you. Keep reminding yourselves, and tell your children and grandchildren as well. 10 Do you remember the day you stood in the Lord's presence at Mount Sinai?[c] The Lord said, “Moses, bring the people of Israel here. I want to speak to them so they will obey me as long as they live, and so they will teach their children to obey me too.”

11 (E) Mount Sinai[d] was surrounded by deep dark clouds, and fire went up to the sky. You came to the foot of the mountain, 12 and the Lord spoke to you from the fire. You could hear him and understand what he was saying, but you couldn't see him. 13 (F) The Lord said he was making an agreement with you, and he told you that your part of the agreement is to obey the Ten Commandments. Then the Lord wrote these Commandments on two flat stones.

14 (G) That's when the Lord commanded me to give you the laws and teachings you must obey in the land that you will conquer west of the Jordan River.

Don't Worship Idols

Moses said to Israel:

15 When God spoke to you from the fire, he was invisible. So be careful 16 (H) not to commit the sin of worshiping idols. Don't make idols to be worshiped, whether they are shaped like men, women, 17 (I) animals, birds, 18 reptiles, or fish. 19 And when you see the sun or moon or stars, don't be tempted to bow down and worship them. The Lord put them there for all the other nations to worship. 20 (J) But you are the Lord's people, because he rescued you from Egypt, that fiery furnace.

21 (K) The Lord was angry with me because of what you said,[e] and he told me that he would not let me cross the Jordan River into the good land that he is giving you.[f] 22 So I must stay here and die on this side of the Jordan, but you will cross the river and take the land.

23 Always remember the agreement that the Lord your God made with you, and don't make an idol in any shape or form. 24 (L) The Lord will be angry if you worship other gods, and he can be like a fire destroying everything in its path.

25-26 Soon you will cross the Jordan River and settle down in the land. Then in the years to come, you will have children, and they will give you grandchildren. After many years, you might lose your sense of right and wrong and make idols, even though the Lord your God hates them. So I am giving you fair warning today, and I call the earth and the sky as witnesses. If you ever make idols, the Lord will be angry, and you won't have long to live, because the Lord will let you be wiped out. 27 (M) Only a few of you will survive, and the Lord will force you to leave the land and will scatter you among the nations. 28 There you will have to worship gods made of wood and stone, and these are nothing but idols that can't see or hear or eat or smell.

29-30 (N) In all of your troubles, you may finally decide that you want to worship only the Lord. And if you turn back to him and obey him completely, he will again be your God. 31 The Lord your God will have mercy—he won't destroy you or desert you. The Lord will remember his promise, and he will keep the agreement he made with your ancestors.

32-34 When the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt, you saw how he fought for you and showed his great power by performing terrifying miracles. You became his people, and at Mount Sinai you heard him talking to you out of fiery flames. And yet you are still alive! Has anything like this ever happened since the time God created humans? No matter where you go or who you ask, you will get the same answer. No one has ever heard of another god even trying to do such things as the Lord your God has done for you.

35-36 (O) The Lord wants you to know he is the only true God, and he wants you to obey him. That's why he let you see his mighty miracles and his fierce fire on earth, and why you heard his voice from that fire and from the sky.

37 The Lord loved your ancestors and decided that you would be his people. So the Lord used his great power to bring you out of Egypt. 38 Now you face other nations more powerful than you are, but the Lord has already started forcing them out of their land and giving it to you.

39 So remember that the Lord is the only true God, whether in the sky above or on the earth below. 40 Today I am explaining his laws and teachings. And if you always obey them, you and your descendants will live long and be successful in the land the Lord is giving you.

Safe Towns

41-43 (P) Moses said, “People of Israel, you must set aside the following three towns east of the Jordan River as Safe Towns: Bezer in the desert highlands belonging to the Reuben tribe; Ramoth in Gilead, belonging to the Gad tribe; and Golan in Bashan, belonging to the Manasseh tribe. If you kill a neighbor without meaning to, and if you had not been angry with that person, you can run to one of these towns and find safety.”[g]

The Second Speech: Moses Tells What the Lord Demands

Israel at Beth-Peor

44-46 The Israelites had come from Egypt and were camped east of the Jordan River near Beth-Peor, when Moses gave these laws and teachings. The land around their camp had once belonged to King Sihon of Heshbon. But Moses and the Israelites defeated him 47 and King Og of Bashan, and took their lands. These two Amorite kings had ruled the territory east of the Jordan River 48 from the town of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon River gorge, north to Mount Hermon.[h] 49 Their land included the eastern side of the Jordan River valley, as far south as the Dead Sea[i] below the slopes of Mount Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments

(Exodus 20.1-17)

5 Moses called together the people of Israel and said:

Today I am telling you the laws and teachings that you must follow, so listen carefully. 2 The Lord our God made an agreement with our nation at Mount Sinai.[j] 3 That agreement wasn't only with[k] our ancestors but with us, who are here today. 4 The Lord himself spoke to you out of the fire, 5 but you were afraid of the fire and refused to go up the mountain. So I spoke with the Lord for you, then I told you that he had said:

6 I am the Lord your God, the one who brought you out of Egypt where you were slaves.

7 Do not worship any god except me.

8 (Q) Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. 9 (R) Don't bow down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me and worship idols, I will punish your families for three or four generations. 10 But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations.

11 (S) Do not misuse my name.[l] I am the Lord your God, and I will punish anyone who misuses my name.

12 (T) Show respect for the Sabbath Day—it belongs to me. 13 (U) You have six days when you can do your work, 14 but the seventh day of the week belongs to me, your God. No one is to work on that day—not you, your children, your oxen or donkeys or any other animal, not even those foreigners who live in your towns. And don't make your slaves do any work. 15 This special day of rest will remind you that I reached out my mighty arm and rescued you from slavery in Egypt.

16 (V) Respect your father and mother, and you will live a long and successful life in the land I am giving you.

17 (W) Do not murder.

18 (X) Be faithful in marriage.

19 (Y) Do not steal.

20 (Z) Do not tell lies about others.

21 (AA) Do not desire to possess anything that belongs to another person—not a house, a wife, a husband, a slave, an ox, a donkey, or anything else.

22 (AB) When we were gathered at the mountain, the Lord spoke to us in a loud voice from the dark fiery cloud. The Lord gave us these commands, and only these. Then he wrote them on two flat stones and gave them to me.

The People Were Afraid

(Exodus 20.18-21)

Moses said to Israel:

23 When fire blazed from the mountain, and you heard the voice coming from the darkness, your tribal leaders came to me 24 and said:

Today the Lord our God has shown us how powerful and glorious he is. He spoke to us from the fire, and we learned that people can live, even though God speaks to them. 25 But we don't want to take a chance on being killed by that terrible fire, and if we keep on hearing the Lord's voice, we will die. 26 Has anyone else ever heard the only true God speaking from fire, as we have? And even if they have, would they live to tell about it? 27 Moses, go up close and listen to the Lord. Then come back and tell us, and we will do everything he says.

28 The Lord heard you and said:

Moses, I heard what the people said to you, and I approve. 29 I wish they would always worship me with fear and trembling and be this willing to obey me! Then they and their children would always enjoy a successful life.

30 Now, tell them to return to their tents, 31 but you come back here to me. After I tell you my laws and teachings, you will repeat them to the people, so they can obey these laws in the land I am giving them.

Moses said:

32 Israel, you must carefully obey the Lord's commands. 33 Follow them, because they make a path that will lead to a long successful life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

Footnotes

  1. 3.26 But the Lord … people: See 1.37.
  2. 4.3 Baal Peor: See Numbers 25.1-9.
  3. 4.10 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5.
  4. 4.11 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5.
  5. 4.21 what you said: Or “you people.”
  6. 4.21 The Lord was angry … giving you: See 1.37; 3.26.
  7. 4.41-43 find safety: From the victim's clan, who might appoint one of their men to track down and put to death the killer (see also 19.1-13).
  8. 4.48 Hermon: The Hebrew text also includes the name “Sion,” probably another form of “Sirion,” the name used by the Sidonians.
  9. 4.49 the Dead Sea: Hebrew “the Sea of the Arabah.”
  10. 5.2 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5.
  11. 5.3 wasn't only with: Hebrew “wasn't with.”
  12. 5.11 misuse my name: Probably includes breaking promises, telling lies after swearing to tell the truth, using the Lord's name as a curse word or a magic formula, and trying to control the Lord by using his name.
Listen to Deuteronomy 3:21-5:33
Close NIV

Deuteronomy 3:21-5:33
New International Version

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(A) of them;(B) the Lord your God himself will fight(C) for you.”

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

26 But because of you the Lord was angry(K) 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(L) and look west and north and south and east.(M) Look at the land with your own eyes, since you are not going to cross(N) this Jordan.(O) 28 But commission(P) Joshua, and encourage(Q) and strengthen him, for he will lead this people across(R) and will cause them to inherit the land that you will see.” 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth Peor.(S)

Obedience Commanded

4 Now, Israel, hear the decrees(T) and laws I am about to teach(U) you. Follow them so that you may live(V) and may go in and take possession of the land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. 2 Do not add(W) to what I command you and do not subtract(X) from it, but keep(Y) the commands(Z) of the Lord your God that I give you.

3 You saw with your own eyes what the Lord did at Baal Peor.(AA) 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(AB) you decrees and laws(AC) as the Lord my God commanded(AD) me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering(AE) to take possession of it. 6 Observe(AF) them carefully, for this will show your wisdom(AG) and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”(AH) 7 What other nation is so great(AI) as to have their gods near(AJ) 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(AK) as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

9 Only be careful,(AL) 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(AM) them to your children(AN) and to their children after them. 10 Remember the day you stood before the Lord your God at Horeb,(AO) when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn(AP) to revere(AQ) me as long as they live in the land(AR) and may teach(AS) them to their children.” 11 You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain(AT) while it blazed with fire(AU) to the very heavens, with black clouds and deep darkness.(AV) 12 Then the Lord spoke(AW) to you out of the fire. You heard the sound of words but saw no form;(AX) there was only a voice.(AY) 13 He declared to you his covenant,(AZ) the Ten Commandments,(BA) 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(BB) you are to follow in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess.

Idolatry Forbidden

15 You saw no form(BC) of any kind the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb(BD) out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,(BE) 16 so that you do not become corrupt(BF) and make for yourselves an idol,(BG) 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,(BH) 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,(BI) the moon and the stars(BJ)—all the heavenly array(BK)—do not be enticed(BL) into bowing down to them and worshiping(BM) 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,(BN) out of Egypt,(BO) to be the people of his inheritance,(BP) as you now are.

21 The Lord was angry with me(BQ) 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;(BR) I will not cross the Jordan; but you are about to cross over and take possession of that good land.(BS) 23 Be careful not to forget the covenant(BT) of the Lord your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol(BU) in the form of anything the Lord your God has forbidden. 24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire,(BV) a jealous God.(BW)

25 After you have had children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time—if you then become corrupt(BX) and make any kind of idol,(BY) doing evil(BZ) in the eyes of the Lord your God and arousing his anger, 26 I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses(CA) against you(CB) this day that you will quickly perish(CC) 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(CD) you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive(CE) among the nations to which the Lord will drive you. 28 There you will worship man-made gods(CF) of wood and stone,(CG) which cannot see or hear or eat or smell.(CH) 29 But if from there you seek(CI) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart(CJ) and with all your soul.(CK) 30 When you are in distress(CL) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days(CM) you will return(CN) to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful(CO) God; he will not abandon(CP) or destroy(CQ) you or forget(CR) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

The Lord Is God

32 Ask(CS) now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created human beings on the earth;(CT) ask from one end of the heavens to the other.(CU) Has anything so great(CV) as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Has any other people heard the voice of God[a] speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?(CW) 34 Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation,(CX) by testings,(CY) by signs(CZ) and wonders,(DA) by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,(DB) or by great and awesome deeds,(DC) 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.(DD) 36 From heaven he made you hear his voice(DE) to discipline(DF) you. On earth he showed you his great fire, and you heard his words from out of the fire. 37 Because he loved(DG) your ancestors and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of Egypt by his Presence and his great strength,(DH) 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,(DI) as it is today.

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

Cities of Refuge(DP)

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(DQ) 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(DR) 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(DS) 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(DT) on the rim of the Arnon Gorge to Mount Sirion[b](DU) (that is, Hermon(DV)), 49 and included all the Arabah east of the Jordan, as far as the Dead Sea,[c] below the slopes of Pisgah.

The Ten Commandments(DW)

5 Moses summoned all Israel and said:

Hear, Israel, the decrees and laws(DX) I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant(DY) with us at Horeb.(DZ) 3 It was not with our ancestors[d] that the Lord made this covenant, but with us,(EA) with all of us who are alive here today.(EB) 4 The Lord spoke(EC) to you face to face(ED) out of the fire(EE) on the mountain. 5 (At that time I stood between(EF) the Lord and you to declare to you the word of the Lord, because you were afraid(EG) 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,(EH) out of the land of slavery.(EI)

7 “You shall have no other gods before[e] 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.(EJ) 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(EK) to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,(EL) 10 but showing love to a thousand(EM) generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.(EN)

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

12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy,(EQ) as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day(ER) 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,(ES) 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.(ET) 15 Remember that you were slaves(EU) in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand(EV) and an outstretched arm.(EW) Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.

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

17 “You shall not murder.(FA)

18 “You shall not commit adultery.(FB)

19 “You shall not steal.(FC)

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

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.”(FE)

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;(FF) and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets(FG) 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(FH) came to me. 24 And you said, “The Lord our God has shown us(FI) his glory and his majesty,(FJ) and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a person can live even if God speaks with them.(FK) 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.(FL) 26 For what mortal has ever heard the voice of the living God speaking out of fire, as we have, and survived?(FM) 27 Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says.(FN) Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey.”(FO)

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.(FP) 29 Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me(FQ) and keep all my commands(FR) always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!(FS)

30 “Go, tell them to return to their tents. 31 But you stay here(FT) 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;(FU) do not turn aside to the right or to the left.(FV) 33 Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you,(FW) so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days(FX) in the land that you will possess.

Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 4:33 Or of a god
  2. Deuteronomy 4:48 Syriac (see also 3:9); Hebrew Siyon
  3. Deuteronomy 4:49 Hebrew the Sea of the Arabah
  4. Deuteronomy 5:3 Or not only with our parents
  5. Deuteronomy 5:7 Or besides
Next
Deuteronomy 2
Deuteronomy 6
Next
dropdown
Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.

CEV Resources
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

July Summer Surge

More on the NIV